Diary of a Crohn’s Flare: pre-Remicade CT Scan

While on vacation I was scheduled for my first Remicade infusion on Thursday 6/26.  However, before I got the infusion, I needed another CT scan to ensure that the abscess was healed.  So Tuesday morning, I went for the CT scan.

My doctor called me with the results on Wednesday evening.  The results: the abscess had gotten smaller but persisted.

1. Cancel Remicade
2. Figure out what to do next

My GI doctor consulted with my Colo-rectal surgeon.  They settled on two possible “best approaches” to resolving my abscess:

1. Surgery
2. IV antibiotics

Both doctors, my wife, and I all agreed we’d prefer to try the IV antibiotics first.  So the doctor prescribed a 2 week course of IV antibiotics at home and scheduled me to get a PICC (peripherally install central catheter) line installed on Friday 6/27 morning.

If the IV antibiotics don’t resolve the abscess, then I’ll go in for surgery :(