Hello, crhand.ch,
I see that your diagnosis of Crohn's disease was very recent and you have
been put on Pentasa as part of the treatment. I am not sure if you know
how much of your intestines are affected by Crohn's. Typically it affects
the last portion of the small bowel and the beginning of the large bowel,
the area called the ileo-cecal junction. But the disease can affect any
part of the digestive tract from mouth down to the anus. Maroon
colored stools are suggestive of colon involvement, Crohn's Colitis.
If your type-1
diabetes is well controlled, the
diarrhea is probably
not from that, a condition called "Diabetic Enteropathy" due to lack
of digestive enzymes from your pancreas.
I am assuming you are on adequate dose of Pentasa.
From your response, this has not been effective.
It is possible that you could try other
Mesalamine products such as
Asacol and see if the response is any better.
But, I think because of significant
weight loss and presumably blood
loss, Crohn's seems to be active despite your therapy.
There is locally acting steroid called
Budesonide which can bring on
remission if the mesalamine is not working. A 9mg. dose daily can
be effective.
There are other ways of treating by using what we call
"Immunomodulator " drugs such as 6-
mercaptopurine or Azathiprine.
There are known side effects from this type of drugs.
Next is called "Biologicals" which are highly effective.
The most commonly used drug is
Infliximab given as injection.
The best thing I would advice you is to see a gastroenterologist
who can asssess your situation properly and select appropriate
treatment that I have briefly mentioned above.
I wish you well.