ContinuumRx Gives Patients the Tools to be Warriors Against Their Afflictions
Having an inflammatory bowel disease affects more than just what you eat. Patients can feel isolated, overwhelmed, and nervous about public appearances due to their afflictions. When you have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, canceling plans and missing out on milestones with family and friends can feel like just another consequence of your disease. ContinuumRx will help you manage your symptoms and make your condition a part of your life, not the center of your life.
What are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis?
Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that explicitly affects the gastrointestinal tract (GI). In a Crohn’s patient, the GI becomes inflamed and causes chronic, extreme pain. While this disease mainly affects the small intestine, patients may also report discomfort in the eyes, skin, and joints.
The onset of Crohn’s can occur at any age, and it is still unclear why these symptoms present themselves in specific individuals. However, one hypothesis may point to it being a hereditary condition. According to CrohnsandColitis.com, up to 20% of all Crohn’s patients have a direct relative with an IBD.
Ulcerative colitis, also referred to as colitis, is similar because it is an IBD as well. While Crohn’s can affect the entire GI tract from mouth to anus, colitis is specific to the large intestine and rectum.
With colitis, patients will also experience pain-inducing inflammation. As opposed to Crohn’s, where the inflammation can appear in sporadic patches throughout the GI and can spread through the bowel wall, colitis patients usually have inflammation of the entire colon and intestine’s inner lining.
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation estimates that nearly 780,000 Americans currently live with Crohn’s disease, while another 907,000 have colitis. There is no cure for either condition, but patients can experience relief from the symptoms and even remission with certain drugs.
What infusion therapies can help patients with Crohn’s and colitis?
Infusion therapy has been shown to improve the symptoms of Crohn’s and colitis significantly. Two types of infusion therapies that ContinuumRx uses to treat our patients from home are Remicade and Entyvio.
Remicade, also known as infliximab, is an infusion drug formulated to treat not only Crohn’s and colitis but also rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and plaque psoriasis.
Infusion patients are given Remicade intravenously every eight weeks, and treatments usually last one to two hours. Remicade works by attacking a protein known as tumor necrosis factor, which medical professionals believe to be the element that triggers inflammation in Crohn’s disease. There’s no way to tell how long after treatment patients will see relief from their symptoms, but for many, it’s within the first six weeks after infusion therapy.
Entyvio, or vedolizumab, is an infusion medication used to treat Crohn’s and colitis exclusively. Treatment with Entyvio is similar, where patients are infused every eight weeks. However, the treatment duration is only about thirty minutes. Also with Entyvio, patients will see relief from symptoms in the first six weeks approximately.
Entyvio works differently than Remicade as well. Instead of attacking inflammation-causing factors within the body, Entyvio binds to specific molecules and blocks these inflammatory factors; this, in turn, motivates anti-inflammatory gut activity. This type of symptom relief is possible since Entyvio is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody, meaning it is a unique white blood cell clone.
What benefits does receiving these infusion treatments from home have?
As we know, infusion treatment can be life-changing, but having to undergo infusion therapy has the potential to severely disrupt life for not just the patient but their families as well. Infusion sites and hospitals can be hours from your home, and the cost for travel and time will add up significantly.
When compared to a hospital setting, home infusion is also the more cost-effective option. In a 2016 study published by the National Library of Public Medicine, it was found that home infusion could save patients between $1,928 and $2,974 per treatment course.
ContinuumRx offers our patients the chance to receive Remicade and Entyvio infusions from home, eliminating the need for excessive travel and costs. Our medical professionals coordinate with physicians to onboard your therapy and make sure you are set up with the right equipment, nurse, and anything else you need to receive Remicade and Entyvio from any room in your house.
Crohn’s and colitis can make you feel like life is centered around your disease as you may be forced to sacrifice time with your loved ones daily due to your symptoms. On the other hand, home infusion therapy with ContinuumRx is the most non-disruptive way to effectively treat your symptoms. Your medication provides comfort while ContinuumRx gives you back your freedom.
Are you battling Crohn’s or colitis and are interested in receiving Remicade or Entyvio infusion therapy from home? Our team at ContinuumRx can answer any questions you may have and guide you through the home infusion process. Contact us today!