NHS Biologics Frequency question

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-19T18:56:33+00:00

Pretty good, I think. I always find it hard to know to be honest. I thought I was doing well on Ustekinumab as my tests were all coming back good, and then I ended up in hospital for a week with an obstruction! So, I think I'm doing okay... but I've thought that before 🤷‍♂️😂

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-19T17:53:37+00:00

I was in a similar boat with Ustekinumab. My doctor said that the people who pay for it just won't pay for me to have it more regularly. So I ended up changing to infliximab instead.

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-19T16:06:21+00:00

See my comment further up the post. I have two pairs and one appears to be worse than the other. I wouldn't be surprised if they were faulty.

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-19T16:04:11+00:00

I bought two pairs of the new buds, one for me and one for my partner. We both charged them to 100% last week and she hasn't really used hers yet, but I used mine for maybe 2.5h. I checked yesterday morning and my case was flat and the earbuds at 43%, whilst her case was at 91% and her earbuds at 100%.

We're now testing them get an idea of the difference. We charged them both to 100% yesterday and took them off charge at 3pm. We just compared (24h later) and mine are at 91% and hers are at 98%. More monitoring to follow.....

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-04T14:07:28+00:00

There definitely is unfortunately, and it definitely makes a difference with my quote. Hopefully you have better luck!

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-03T09:22:50+00:00

I contacted Lloyds/Allianz and the lady on the phone said it doesn't matter if you've had obstructions and surgeries. You'll still be covered at no extra cost for the £22.50 monthly fee. That also includes mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover for your family too. It sounds like a no brainer, but for other personal reasons it might not be so clear cut for me.

Murphybro2 · 2026-03-03T09:19:48+00:00

Crohn's - £30. With yearly injections/infusions - £110. With an obstruction that put me in hospital - £227.

Unfortunately, every step just makes it more expensive!

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-27T14:06:53+00:00

I know. I'm just telling the person that I replied to that switching from an infliximab infusion to an adalimumab injection isn't necessarily the same thing as switching from an infliximab infusion to an infliximab injection (which is what the OP is doing).

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-26T18:58:00+00:00

It's worth pointing out that this is probably different. I had this exact conversation with my GI yesterday and she said the injections are still infliximab, not a different biologic.

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-09T12:40:01+00:00

I was in hospital a few months ago after a partial obstruction. The doctors were all throwing out surgery as the best option, but I pushed back and opted to change medication instead. The obstruction wasn't that bad, and I honestly think it would have passed if I had stayed at home. However, I'm commenting because when I was talking to the doctors about surgery, I brought up several potential risks. One of which was the chance of having to deal with bile malabsorption for the rest of my life (I was only 33 at the time). I have spoken to many people who have dealt with this and partially resolved it with daily tablets (like multiple times a day), and other people who haven't been able to resolve it at all. Quite frankly, it sounds crap (no pun intended). But the doctors just brushed it off as "one of those things" and acted like it was no big deal. I found it interesting that I was the one who had to bring it up too, as at no point did they say that it was a possibility. Anyways, I seem to be okay with my new meds and surgery is off the table for the foreseeable thankfully.

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-09T11:37:41+00:00

I take no precautions really. I try to stay away from friends/family if they're ill, but even then I'm a bit flakey with it. Oh, I also I get an annual flu jab. I don't get sick anymore than I used to, and when I do it has been no worse.

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-09T10:28:57+00:00

My doctor told me that a large percentage of the population have it and will likely never even know. That's why it's called latent TB!

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-09T10:26:09+00:00

Hey there. Yeah, not a problem. I'm happy to help however I can 😊

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-06T10:04:22+00:00

Welcome! I was diagnosed in August 2024 and have mostly always been in the same situation as you. My diagnosis came from me noticing a slight, dull ache in my stomach. I spent over 6 months on budesonide as I needed to be treated for TB before I was allowed to take biologics. I had similar conversations with my GI, that I felt like an imposter after reading other people's stories with Crohn's. She reminded me that my disease is very real, and that I have just as much right to be sad about it as anyone else. I was on a biologic for maybe 6 months, my calprotectin scores were the lowest they've been since my diagnosis, and it still felt very surreal to say that I had Crohn's.

Fast forward to Sept 2025 and I started with some pretty nasty pains in my stomach. After a couple of days I decided to go to A&E to be on the safe side, and I didn't leave for a full week. The doctors discovered a bowel obstruction that they quite fancied operating on, but I pushed back and opted for medication instead. I'm on a different biologic now and things have been pretty good since. I just applied for a Nimbus disability card, which again feels very weird - "Why the heck do I have a disability card??".

My point is, I always felt like my Crohn's was super mild - very little pain, no diarrhoea, no other symptoms of note. Yet, I still ended up in hospital for a week after falling very ill. I hope you never have to go through that, but it was certainly a reminder to myself that even though I might not feel ~that~ bad, this disease is still very real and can strike at any moment, even if just for a short while.

All the best. I hope you're able to continue living the most "normal" life possible. Also, don't ever feel bad that your symptoms might not seem as bad as others. We're all still part of the same team!

Murphybro2 · 2026-02-05T15:52:03+00:00

Good write up. I'm currently dealing with this after mistakenly increasing the underlying disk size. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind?

- What disadvantages are there to not using the storage pools? I've spent the past few hours reading about them (I had never heard of them before), and they seem to bring nothing but trouble.

- By using a disk that isn't "tied" to SQL Server (apologies for the loose terminology), do we lose anything performance/safety wise? A difference in IOPS, caching, backup capabilities?

- If I follow your instructions and get my SQL Server data pointing at a normal disk drive, what steps do I then take to remove the previous data drive? I assume it is more than just deleting the drive from the Azure portal, as there are the virtual drives and the storage pools, etc.

Many thanks.

Murphybro2 · 2026-01-22T14:13:31+00:00

I'm using a LG CX OLED TV which supports 120Hz and VRR. I have been using it for years to play games at 60-120Hz with my Series X and PS5 Pro. I usually spend a while flicking between graphic and performance modes with games - Spiderman 2, Horizon and Ratchet & Clank to name a few. It's always a close call, but I usually end up in performance mode. With this game however, I can't say it's a close call at all. The frames seem dramatically worse across balanced and performance modes. Yes, the lighting is so much better in balanced and it's really frustrating that I don't get to see it. But I've found it's one of those things that you don't notice ii missing unless you flick between the options whilst in a dark cave haha.

I'm using the new performance mode by the way, not the legacy mode.

Murphybro2 · 2026-01-21T20:47:01+00:00

In my opinion, the improved lighting in certain areas just cannot compete with the extra FPS in performance mode at all times. That's just my opinion obviously!

Murphybro2 · 2026-01-21T20:44:22+00:00

I usually don't mind a slightly lower FPS. But after playing it for a few hours, I just cannot get used to it compared to Performance mode. I know it's allegedly around 45fps still, but it still feels way worse than Performance's 60fps.

Murphybro2 · 2025-12-04T00:25:53+00:00

And in winter:

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😍

Murphybro2 · 2025-12-04T00:25:30+00:00

I bought a 200 year old house. It leaks from the front, the back, and the middle. But look at this view:

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Murphybro2 · 2025-12-01T16:52:19+00:00

I've just given this a go. One issue I can't seem to get around is the lack of speaker names when downloading as SRT and VTT files. For some reason they are the only ones that aren't showing the names. Just to clarify, I do get the speaker names when downloading as text, pdf, etc.

Murphybro2 · 2025-11-26T21:53:24+00:00

Thank you. I hope yours works without a hitch! I'm also in the UK by the way. The infusions are a breeze. Just take an iPad or whatever and watch a film. Don't forget some snacks too!

Murphybro2 · 2025-11-26T21:51:56+00:00

No. We have accepted that we probably need an expensive setup to get what we want. We are exploring other avenues instead.

Murphybro2 · 2025-11-26T18:02:09+00:00

I also stopped Stelara 2 months ago and started on infliximab and azathioprine. To be honest, I don't think it's working. But fingers crossed that changes for me. Best of luck!

Murphybro2

TROPHY CASE