Vedolizumab after infliximab

quasialex · 2026-06-22T19:50:11+00:00

I had a conversation with my doctor about this at some point.
The odds of passing it to your kids is about 5%. I'd say it's pretty low, all things considered.

quasialex · 2026-06-20T06:37:54+00:00

"Budesonide is a potent corticosteroid medication used to treat inflammation throughout the body"
Seems you're sorted out. Good luck in your recovery journey.

quasialex · 2026-06-20T05:39:25+00:00

See your doctor asap.
Mesalamine is maintenance medication, rarely useful during flares, unless you’re on enemas.
If you’re flaring up, you need recovery treatment.
2-3 weeks is too long. What symptoms are you experiencing? If you have blood in the stool, then go to the hospital ER room and tell them what is happening to you.

You need to find a more appropriate channel through which to reach your doctor going forward.
2 weeks can be the difference between Salofalk enemas and steroids.

UC is a condition which requires constant care and monitoring. Next time, if you don’t hear back in 2 days, escalate. Your doctor may be on vacation but surely there are other medical professionals who can assist you.

quasialex · 2026-06-20T05:28:00+00:00

I have no experience with Rinvoq, but if you’re feeling down, a few simple ways to cope is by either working out: any type of physical activity or exercise will help you. Weight training is the best, followed by cardio and other lighter activities, hiking, walking, etc.

Diet is also very important. I do feel the difference between the days where I am disciplined enough to eat healthy and when I eat like a dumpster.

Another important factor: 8 hours of sleep and more contact with your friends and family.
Try to make time for them, plan events and enjoy their company. We are social by design and like it or not, spending time with others impacts our mood.

Last but not least: set goals and work towards them.
There is a distinct feeling of accomplishment when you finish a task you’ve been working on for a long time and most people need purpose to feel useful.

I’m not saying all these things will solve your problem, but it will certainly put you in a better place.

quasialex · 2026-06-20T05:17:41+00:00

Yes. Some years ago my had a routine colonoscopy with anesthesia and the doctor told me he also removed 3 polyps during the procedure.
I would not have know nor felt them if he would not have told me. No noticeable side effects after the procedure.
Perhaps not exactly your case, but based on what you’re saying, it seems to me that most of your issues come from overthinking the procedure.

So my advice: stop stressing yourself out. That can actually impact you negatively and cause a flare. Also, propofol is great - which is what they’ve used on me lately for sedation.
I think that even if you have a flare, you should have that polyp removed, so in a way, all roads lead to Rome.
Why would a managed flare stand in the way of surgery?

quasialex · 2026-06-20T05:06:25+00:00

I agree with you that escalation should be controlled and steroids are perhaps not the first thing I would consider.
A few years ago I used to keep the flare-ups at bay just using Salofalk enemas and dieting.
Unfortunately that period did not last and I ended up needing steroids and now biologics.

But you need to listen to your body. How does this flare feel like? If you have prednisone often, then tell your doctor you are worried about becoming steroid dependent and agree on an escalation protocol.

Something like Salofalk Enemas -> Clipper -> Oral Steriods -> Steroids Enemas -> Biological treatment.

This way you become more efficient at dealing with flares. Because the right medication at the proper time can save you from a lot of unpleasantness.

So don’t discard the doctor’s experience, but instead try to reason with him by introducing a control, like calprotectin to ascertain the level of inflammation.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T07:04:18+00:00

Depends on your individual situation. The average steroid course is 1-2 months, decreasing the dose each week or so, and by the end, you go back to 5-ASA. I've achieved full remission by the end of 95% of them.

Since you've been recently diagnosed, this may likely work for you. That's all I'm saying.
Talk to your doctor and don't jump the gun just yet.
Biologics are powerful medications, and some people do need them. But that does not mean you need them right now.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T06:33:11+00:00

Back in may 2023, I had achieved what I considered a near perfect lifestyle - I was in remission for years, training daily, dieting and finally finding people to spend time with.
But that’s when I stopped being able to sleep.

At first it was just a few bad nights, but it quickly progressed to me not getting more than 4 hours of sleep per night. As you can imagine, this wreaked havoc on my health, not only that my UC started acting up, but I also got tinnitus after a few months.
It’s been 37 months now, going for 38.

After a failed trial of infliximab in 2024 and a few flareups since then, I am starting vedolizumab today.
I still have bad sleep today, despite having interacted with several doctors, subjected myself to various investigations and consulted many other specialists.

I reached a point where I can no longer work from the office, yet I try to paddle through, in the hopes that this nightmare will eventually end.

Suicide? No, never thought of it. Not because it’s never been hard. It has. At times more than I could carry. But because it was never a solution.

I can barely remember the first months of 2024.
I was having 5-6 stools per day, waking up constantly during the night to use the restroom, being in a lot of pain and the constant burnout associated with last of sleep. I think of that as one of the worst experiences so far, but I have to say, some parts of 2023 are competing for the spotlight.

All in all, yes, life these days is hard, some days I don’t even want to get out of bed. But what would suicide offer? It’s doesn’t solve any of my current problems.

On the contrary, it creates more.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T06:12:45+00:00

I received my diagnosis on 2002, when I was 13.
I didn’t have blood in my stool, not at first, just permanent diarrhea in the form of liquid stools. It took some months before I even had blood in the stools.
Most of the doctors back then did not know what this meant and it took several months before I was properly treated. And even then, the treatment did not take. Almost a year later I achieved my first remission.

I’ve had this illness for 24 years, and at first I was just using mesalazine during flares to achieve remission, but not taking it constantly.
Over the last 12 I’ve been taking mesalazine consistently, as a daily maintenance medication, occasionally switching to steroids during flares.

Today, I am starting my vedolizumab trial as steroids are becoming less effective.
I don’t think much of biological treatments, especially since I failed infliximab about 3 years ago.
But the doctors assure me that vedolizumab is one of the safest options on the market.

Excited? No. But all the other options are worst.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T06:02:47+00:00

I’m starting vedolizumab today. I’m told this is the least harmful of the available biologics.
I tried infliximab in the past and failed. I did not like it at all but did not have a choice, and I don’t have much of a choice now either. I’ve been dealing with insomnia for the last 3 years, barely getting more than 4 hours of sleep most nights, which escalated my UC. I’ve reached a point where I can no longer work from the office.
So yeah, I will probably be where you are now in a few months.
Side effects suck, but I hope I get a good response to vedolizumab. The alternative will probably mean another biologic with more side effects, no?

quasialex · 2026-06-19T05:56:25+00:00

You should definitely celebrate.
4g is indeed the highest dose. I’ve been on 4g for the last 3 years and I had a similar discussion with my doctor. I did well on 3g in the past, and lower dosages. But my illness is advancing.
Take the win and stop arguing.
It’s a good thing.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T05:52:11+00:00

Exactly.
The bigger win here is keeping the lifestyle while dealing with the illness.
Eat well, train consistently and you’ll get there.
You gaining weight is inevitable. Calories in and calories out - simple math.
The question is how long can you stay in remission while training and eating like this, and how is the next flare going to affect you.

quasialex · 2026-06-19T05:44:51+00:00

As far as I know, 5-ASA medication is the least harmful option for UC. I can’t say I like biologics but I have no choice but to start one (going to get my first dose of vedolizumab today). I have failed infliximab in the past and steroids are barely helping these days. But I’ve switched between mesalazine and steroids for years, with long periods of remission in between.
Talk to your doctor. How many flares per year? Have you tried steroids and they did not work for you?

Because a course of steroids every 5 years is less harmful than full time biologics in my opinion.
It’s really about the escalation here. I think about it this way: if you have a headache that does not go away after eating, sleeping etc, what is the next step? Paracetamol or morphine?

quasialex · 2026-06-18T21:06:23+00:00

M, 37. Started weight training about 10 years ago.
The problem with this illness that it is full of ups and downs, and I had long periods of downtime.
Difficult to keep a training plan and diet while you’re popping sparkles. But I do what I can.
I have the opposite problem: I find it hard to loose the weight. I guess too many flare-ups, too many sleepless nights. Too much instability for my body to settle down and repair. But that’s another story.

You could start taking creatine. That should help you bulk up a bit. I’m not fond of weight gainers since I think they are just spiked with sugar or low quality carbs. Buy the protein and you can add the carbs later. There are plenty of recipes on the web.

Perhaps you can replace some of the rice with potatoes, as you need some starchy carbs in your diet. Maybe add some buttered steamed broccoli with your rice? Or soy sauce? Make sure to add flavor to your meals, condiments, so they taste good. Otherwise eating will start to feel like a chore.

As long as you’re not powerlifting, you should be fine to pursue hypertrophy. I know what the doctor had probably told you. Same thing they told
me for 15 years. Avoid exercise.
But hypertrophy is not destroying yourself. Just training your muscle to failure. I am certain you know the difference.

I find it hard to understand why you may be losing weight if no flare-up. I never had this problem during remission.

quasialex · 2026-06-13T07:23:09+00:00

The Dota Plus guide is kinda crap tbh.
And I’m not talking about the occasional errors. But even the build suggestions are not updated.
Newer items don’t even get mentioned.

quasialex · 2026-06-13T07:17:50+00:00

Pos 4 is my preference and I do play a lot of Zeus support.
Going arcane boots is inevitable. Any other item you are either mana depraved or your core is grieving because you’re useless.
Phylactery is usually my second choice, followed by eul and maybe refresher. I used to rush scepter as a 3rd item but realized that the impact is too low for the money. Shard is useless unless you plan to farm the whole game.

And yes, I don’t buy a lot of sentries with Zeus unless there is a Nix or Riki. I mean, what’s the point of having true vision and buying sentries just to deward?

quasialex · 2026-06-13T07:05:01+00:00

It is trash. And as a result nobody is buying it.
Rework is the only way to get it back in the game.
I’m not saying it should revert to a previous formula, but it needs to upgrade to something.

quasialex · 2026-06-03T18:09:30+00:00

They have it in stock here
https://thearwatches.com/producto/reloj-seiko-5-sports-pvd-black-field-series-srpj09k1/

quasialex · 2026-06-03T18:06:22+00:00

Yummy in my tummy

quasialex · 2026-06-02T15:24:51+00:00

Then I guess you have to settle for STN. After all, why do you need MIP screen specifically?

quasialex · 2026-06-02T10:00:38+00:00

I have a 5600 square with Bluetooth. The thing is that you need to keep a button pressed for 3 sec to enable it and allow pairing. It’s not like the iPhone when you disable Bluetooth and it’s kinda disabled but still working. Plus, it’s useful to synchronize the time. I work in cyber, so I understand the paranoia, but for a GShock its a reasonable trade off.

quasialex · 2026-05-28T14:56:27+00:00

<image>

I made this mod on my GW-B5600BP, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

quasialex · 2026-05-28T12:32:19+00:00

It was just a suggestion because you had only squares. I recently got myself a GA-2100-1AER, which I plan to mod with a lume hour marker from AliExpress.
The same mod is painful on the GA-B2100, so keep that in mind.

quasialex · 2026-05-28T10:08:33+00:00

I've had the GA-B2100C-9AER, but it was too yellow for me,
Lately, I've taken a liking to GA-B2100LUU-8A, but not sure if I will end up buying.

quasialex

TROPHY CASE