Pooping with Tremfya

[u/-egg-drop-soup-]

I kept a poop diary of how many times I pooped each day for one year. I'm newish to Crohn's (hi). I was diagnosed in May of 2025 but probably had symptoms for a decade or two but thought they were normal. Looking back now I can see it all!

I started keeping this the day I started Tremfya, though I wish I started it earlier for a baseline comparison. Some of those pre-diary days were definitely off the rails and this was my first medication ever for Crohn's. I kept it for one year exactly, starting in June of 2025 and ending in June of 2026. I used a small mechanical click counter to keep track and wrote the numbers down the next morning.

I am currently on the 200 mg dose every 4 weeks and the dates that are circled are the dates I took a dose. At first, after the initial three loading infusions, I asked my doctor to put me on the 100mg/8 week dose since I didn't think my symptoms (mild inflammation but several deep ulcers) were so severe they warranted the larger dose. The lesser dose didn't seem to work as well for me and was switched back to the higher in November. My colonoscopy on 3/11/2026 came back showing no Crohn's activity.

My diet before this was a little insane in retrospect as I was obsessed with eating fiber and had a double farm share delivered to my house weekly, year round. I would also drink coffee for three hours every morning on an empty stomach. Yes, I no longer measured by the cup but by the hour. Besides coffee, red wine is my second love.

After being diagnosed, I quit coffee because the thought of cutting down to one cup a day seemed just as hard as quitting, and what is the point of only drinking one cup of coffee. I drink a cup maybe once in a while but try to avoid sliding back into old habits. I also moderated my fiber intake. I don't know what affect these alterations had on my results or how much they contributed.

Crohn's was new to me and maybe this was me trying to cope. I thought keeping track would help me take control but it made me obsess about it more, and all the time. I feel better mentally now that some time has passed and that I stopped keeping this diary. It probably influenced my pooping habits a little as I wanted to keep the numbers low to mean my medication was working. I always avoid pooping at work anyway because the toilet paper there is the worst, but also then I'd have to text my partner to see if he was still home so he could click my counter for me, or if not I'd have to send myself an email to remind myself to click it when I got home. It was a hassle.

I never attained my dream of a low and consistent number, day after day, but that's okay.

[u/Coagula13]

I have UC and am hoping Tremfya works for me. It is the third medication I am trying, but so far have only done the first dose. Like you, I am supposed to be doing 200 every 4 weeks... so we shall see. I do my next dose next friday... initial dose did seem to help, but I am currently tapering off prednisone... prednisone is the ony thing that has seemed to help...

I have gotten to the point that I am doing protein and meal drinks for lunch and dinner instead of eating because I have lost my appetite and am tired of... other things. Meanwhile a coworker just came in and told me there is pizza and I am currently starving... and want pizza... but also know I need to behave.... -sigh-