Poor Memory.

I had been starting to worry a lot lately that the Remicade treatments were starting to fail. I have been getting them every 8 weeks for the last two years or so. At about 6 weeks into each of my last two treatments, I would start to get belly pain and that led me to believe that the Remicade had worn off.

I knew that Aleve would mess me up if I took it for pain, but I did not realize, or I had forgotten that Ibuprofen was an NSAID too. During training for the Pan Ohio, when I would do intense training and would get muscle pain from the workout I would occasionally take Ibuprofen. Then in August, I pulled a muscle in my back and took more Ibuprofen. A few weeks after that I hurt it again, this time bad enough to go to the ER. After the cortisone shot, the doctor mentioned to be careful and not take the Ibuprofen too long because he took it for a knee issue and if he took it for more than a few days, he would get stomach pain.

It was then, that I realized that I shouldn't be taking it at all. I went online and looked it up and basically found that the only OTC a person with Crohn's should take is Tylenol (Acetaminophen). Since I stopped taking the Ibuprofen, I have had at least 8 weeks with none of that type of belly pain, I have had some pain due to gas issues, but that is a different type of pain and I am at least able to differentiate between the two. I have had another Remicade treatment, and no symptoms of it wearing off. I had a Colonoscopy in which the biopsies showed inactive Crohn's and a CT scan that the doctor said showed little difference from one taken two years ago. I didn't ask, and may I should have, if it meant actual remission, but that is how I am taking it.

I still my issues with narrowing to deal with, but they seem under control lately. While I still have "off" days, I haven't felt this good overall in a long time.