Posts In: Patients & Families

Ustekinumab STELARA® WILL I HAVE ONGOING CHECKS WHILE I AM ON IT? Once your treatment has started you will continue to need regular checks and may need additional blood tests, and useful stool tests such as Fecal calprotectin. This can help monitor if the medication is working,…

Azathioprine and Mercaptopurine WILL I HAVE ONGOING CHECKS WHILE I AM ON IT? You should have regular blood tests for the whole time you are taking azathioprine or mercaptopurine. You will need full blood count (FBC), and liver function tests (LFT), measuring levels of liver enzymes. Both tests…

Vedolizumab ENTYVIO® WILL I HAVE ONGOING CHECKS WHILE I AM ON IT? Once your treatment has started you will continue to need regular checks and may need additional blood tests. This can help to make sure that any complications are prevented or caught at an early stage. It is also…

Adalimumab HUMIRA® WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? Your doctors will advise you on this as they plan your treatment. Adalimumab is sometimes given in combination with steroids to help bring on remission and allow the steroid treatment to be reduced. Adalimumab may also be given…

Infliximab REMICADE® WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? There is some evidence that combining infliximab with an immunosuppressant drug such as Azathioprine or Methotrexate may also be helpful for some people with IBD. The evidence is less for Methotrexate, but Azathioprine is thought to reduce the formation of antibodies…

Methotrexate WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? Some medicines interact with methotrexate and could cause unexpected side effects. Always tell your doctor that you are on methotrexate when they are planning to give you any other medication. It is particularly important that you avoid a group of antibiotics called…

Ustekinumab STELARA® WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? Combining ustekinumab with an immunosuppressant drug such as Azathioprine or Methotrexate may be helpful for some people with IBD. Some evidence for older biologic medications such as infliximab does show that combotherapy can reduce the formation of antibodies…

Steroids CAN I TAKE OTHER MEDICATIONS ALONG WITH STEROIDS? Before you take any new medicines, check with your IBD team or pharmacist whether there could be an interaction with steroids. This also applies to any over-the-counter medicines and any herbal, complementary or alternative medicines and treatments. You should…

Azathioprine and Mercaptopurine WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? Azathioprine is sometimes given in combination with biological drugs such as infliximab and adalimumab – this is called ‘combination therapy’. Studies in people with CD and UC have found taking combination therapy with infliximab and azathioprine can be more effective…

Vedolizumab ENTYVIO® WILL I USE ANY OTHER DRUGS ALONGSIDE IT? Combining vedolizumab with an immunosuppressant drug such as Azathioprine or Methotrexate may be helpful for some people with IBD. It is important to talk to your IBD specialist to discuss a combination therapy.