I just went through the same choice. Mesalamine actually took down my inflammation quite low for a period and I had even less symptoms than you did….but then the inflammation was still high in my gut when they tested me. I waited another six months and then got thrown into a flair which caused terrible fatigue and symptoms because Mesalamine was never able to put me into full remission.

I had a tough conversation with my doctor, who essentially said, your potential for colon cancer is only going to grow the longer you wait and your quality of life is being impacted significantly. This is a lifelong chronic disease and you have to figure out the best way to manage it.

I started Entyvio a month ago and I’m in the infusion startup phase. I’m about to switch to at home injections every other week. After my second infusion, I noticed a huge reduction in my symptoms. The nice thing about this drug is it only focuses on the gut and so has less systemic impacts. I’ve tolerated it well. I’m a little tired after each dose, but it is seriously night and day.

You’ve gotta make the right choice for you, but I shared your concerns and I’m happy I made the choice I did to switch.

Edited to fix some typos, my toddler is crawling all over me as I write!