Asacol making things worse?

[MissBG]

So I have been a very bad patient! Got crazy busy for a few days and forgot to take my pills... then got lazy and rebelious and refused to take my pills.

Here is the thing though, I have been sick ever since I finished my last taper off prednisone, bloody diarrhea pain, nausea, constantly running to the restroom. But while I was off of my meds things gradually started to improve... things have been fairly normal, minimal pain, what appeared to be normal BMs and no noticable blood.

I started taking it again yesterday morning and this morning woke up with pain and running to the restroom with diarrhea... so I am wondering if there is a connection. Could the Asacol be making things worse?

 

[David]

In around 3% of patients, it does exactly that. So yes, yes it could be. Where is your Crohn's disease located? Small intestine? Large intestine? Both? Or?

 

[MissBG]

In around 3% of patients, it does exactly that. So yes, yes it could be. Where is your Crohn's disease located? Small intestine? Large intestine? Both? Or?

Only the large intestine so far... I would be one of the weird ones lol.

 

[David]

I'd discuss it with your doctor. Say something along the lines of, "I went off the Asacol for [duration] and noticed my symptoms improved. Upon going back on it, my [specific symptoms] got bad again. I read some research and noticed that in about 3% of cases, Asacol and other forms of mesalamine make IBD worse or cause IBD-like symptoms. Do you think I might be in that 3%?"

 

[MissBG]

I'd discuss it with your doctor. Say something along the lines of, "I went off the Asacol for [duration] and noticed my symptoms improved. Upon going back on it, my [specific symptoms] got bad again. I read some research and noticed that in about 3% of cases, Asacol and other forms of mesalamine make IBD worse or cause IBD-like symptoms. Do you think I might be in that 3%?"

THANK YOU!!! That sounds so much better than "Hey this guy from an online forum told me..." lol

You guys really are such a huge help to me! You all are awesome!

 

[David]

If you want to get really fancy, print this out and highlight the part I'm talking about (It's under "precautions") and take it in to the doctor with you.

You can also look at the doctor with a blank face and ask, "I have Crohn's but this says it's for Ulcerative Colitis. Is Asacol approved for use in Crohn's Disease? If not, do you have any data showing that it's efficacious in Crohn's Disease?"

Then watch them squirm.

 

[MissBG]

Lol, if he was a jerk I might like to watch him squirm but he is pretty cool. He will probably look at me and say "You can't make anything easy can you?" He has a great ability to bring a bit of humor into a very serious situation.

I had a bad reaction to Imuran and my liver enzymes shot up past 600, when everything went back to normal he said "You know, sometimes you scare the hell out of me!". He also hugged me when I started to panic because of that... it was a little akward but the guy means well and knows his stuff.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Miss Underestimated]

I reacted the same way to Asacol. Got about $2k worth sitting on my kitchen counter that I can't take. I was so sick I was puking in public - while I was visiting family on the other side of the country! I will never go on a new medication again when I'm going out of town. Ugh.