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My son is 8 and he was just diagnosed with Crohn's 2 weeks ago after 4 mths of symptoms.  He was diagnosed by biopsy done when he had his colonoscopy/endoscopy.  he also had a GI series with small bowel and the test showed a lot of abnormalities in his transverse illeum.  There is a large amount of rigidity in the SI and they say he has a chronic case which is pretty severe.  He has been started on cipro and pentasa and they are running test to make sure he can breakdown the 6MP.  Then they will drop the cipro and add 6mp.  I am worried about giving him such a strong medication especially considering the side effects.  Anyone have any experience with 6MP? or Pentasa? Or both?  Can you tell me about it?  Does it work well?  How quickly did it work for you?  Anyone suffer side effects from the meds?  Anyone have a child on it? Can you share your expperience.  Pros-cons, good-bad.  I'd like to hear more about the meds from people who have and are taking them, especially from parents whose children take the meds. Thanks

 Reply posted for mattsmom1.

Hi, my 14 year old son also has Crohn's and he has gotten some bad nose bleeds as well.  He is on predizone, 6mp, asacol, iron and protinex.  Why do you think your child is getting the nose bleeds?  We have difficulty getting them to stop.  Any info you have would be great!  thank you,

Kristi

 Reply posted for Safire9.

My son was diagnosed at three years old, he is now eight. When he was diagnosed we started off with Prednisone, Flaggel, and Asocal. After a few months the doctor found Asocal was not working so we switched to Pentasa. We slowly worked our way off the Prednisone and Flaggel it took about a year. He has been on Pentasa since. He now takes Pentasa 250MG, three times a day, a total of 2000MG daily. He also take Prilosec and of course all the vitamins. We have been very lucky, we have not experienced any side effects with the Pentasa we are very pleased with it. He just seen his doctor today, he is growing at a healthy rate, slightly anemic so we started back on iron which we do from time to time. I hope everything goes well for you and your child.

 Reply posted for Safire9.

Hi. I too have a child with Crohn's. She is 12 and diagnosed 2 years ago. After her diagnosis, she started with the Pentasa along with flaggell and  an iron supplement. She was doing fine but not up to her drs standards. Her philosophy was that she wanted my daughter to be who she was born to be, 5 foot, 6 foot, whatever her predisposition. She began the 6mp, dropped the flaggell and iron (because she was doing so well) and continues on the pentasa. Those 2 drugs have done a world of good for her. She has grown significantly, gained weight and has the energy to play 3 sports along with her other activities thruout the year. She doesn't miss a beat.  It is a drug with a dosage tailored to your child only. Hopefully you have a fantastic pediatric GI like we do.

Best of Luck!

 Reply posted for Safire9.

 Reply posted for Safire9.

My daughter is 6 & was diagnosed in June.  She is on prednisone & 6MP and hasn't suffered any side effects from the 6MP.  The prednisone, however, is another story but we are hoping to wean it soon.  

It is scary to give your child medication but with your doctor helping you, you'll be able to keep an eye on him and know if it is or isn't going to work for him. 

There's also a web presentation on this website about medication risks & benefits that you might find helpful.

I hope he does well!

 Reply posted for Safire9.

My son is 10 now and was diagnosed with UC back when he was around 2. He's been on Pentasa primarily the whole time, currently at 500mg 4x/day. We also use suppositories for flare ups. This regimen has been helpful in keeping down his SED rate but the symptoms of the disease still remain. Our GI has told us it's the meds with the least long term side effects. I've checked and that seems to be the agreement. I'm happy with keeping the inflammation down, even if it means the "poops" don't go away. We do get pretty bad nose bleeds during the winter months. Good luck to you all.

 Reply posted for Safire9.

I am 39 and was just diagnosed with Crohn's this year Feb. and very very sick just up until July and I have now been pain free since July.  I too had the biopsy from the colonoscopy and was started on Pentasa, I have taken Cipro several times (not fun at all).  I have been on 6MP for almost 6 months now. I was started on 50mg and was very scared to take it at first as well because of what I read on it.  However, I have not had any problems with it.  But remember, everyone is different.  This disease is very individualized but it helps to find out what other people's experiences are.  Others may have side effects and others not.  Pentasa, I was on that 4 times a day @ 500mg but it is very very mild and I stopped taking Pentasa, I didn't think it really did anything.  It starts working once it reaches the intestines and then breaks down to help keep it under control.  But I didn't feel that it had any effect on me at all, and discontinued using it.  Of course I let my Dr. know as well.  But the medications have worked for me and I have not had any bad side effects.  At first, it was hard to acclamate to all the medications I had to take, but I have not experienced any bad side effects as a result of taking the 6mp and definitely not the Pentasa.  But since you have a child, the Pentasa would probably be good for him/her to take.

Good luck to you, things do get better and if anything this makes us stronger.  Crohn's does not define who we are.  I hope your little one is feeling better.