Budesonide and Lialda...?

[PatrickC]

Hi Everyone,

Diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 1989. Suffered for years. Surgical resection in 1995 and have been med free since. Just went for my colonoscopy and my doc noticed some swelling. I had been feeling kind of crappy (no pun intended) lately and was not surprised to hear about that.

Anyway, he is putting me on Budesonide and Lialda for a few months. I was on prednisone back in the day and was curious if anyone has experience with either of these drugs? My doc told me their side effects are no where near that of prednisone, but I wanted to hear from some of my fellow Crohnies.

Thanks

 

[FrozenGirl]

I have been on Lialda for over a year now. The worst part is its 4 pills a day most times, not that bad. I have had no real side effects I can see. No experience with Budesonide but I believe it is less systematic so there is less side effects.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I've been on both recently. I was on budesonide for most of 2014, and I'm currently on Lialda. Budesonide is a corticosteroid similar to prednisone - the big difference is, pred is systemic (it goes into your bloodstream and basically goes anywhere in your body where there's inflammation) and budesonide is not systemic. Budesonide has a special coating on it so it mainly releases in the terminal ileum and colon. My GI told me that a little bit of budesonide will still get into the bloodstream, so it is slightly systemic, but it's mainly topical for the TI and colon. Because pred is systemic, it has a strong effect and blitzes inflammation quickly, but also a lot of potential side effects. Budesonide takes a bit longer to kick in and has a milder effect, but should give you fewer and much milder side effects than pred. You may have things like some insomnia, some weight gain and increased appetite, etc. But these should be fairly mild - I was on budesonide for quite awhile recently, 8 or 9 months, and I gained I think 2 lbs when I was on it. Full disclosure, it does give me migraines, but my understanding is that most people don't get headaches/migraines from budesonide (something like less than 5% of people get headaches from budesonide so I'm in that unlucky group).

Lialda is a mesalamine formulation so it's extremely similar to other medications such as Pentasa, Asacol, etc. It's a pretty mild med and is mainly used to maintain remission. I think/hope I'm currently in remission, and Lialda seems to be helping me stay reasonably well. But if you're flaring, Lialda by itself probably wouldn't do a whole lot to get you out of the flare. The combo of budesonide and Lialda should help though - presuming both meds work for you, the budesonide should get the flare under control and the Lialda should keep you feeling well. That's been my experience so I hope it's yours as well!

 

[PatrickC]

Cat-a-Tonic and Frozen Girl: Thanks! I appreciate your insight. You guys rock and I hope you're well!

 

[Gail Jothen]

I took Budesonide 8 months and it took a while to help but it really did. I was taking 3 a day. Now I have to be weaned off it, and don't know what my IBD will do next. Each day is a blessing so far.

 

[Gail Jothen]

Oh, what is Lialda? I googled it but it was not very clear.

 

[PatrickC]

From what I can tell, Lialda is a distant cousin of Sulfasalazine, which I took years ago before I started prednisone.

I appreciate your insight and am relived to know that the side effects from these drugs aren't anything near to prednisone. I hope you're feeling well! Positive energy your way!!!

 

[free_spirit24]

I'm currently on Lialda, and I take only 2 pills a day- but you have to take it every 24 hours apart from last intake. The Lialda seems to be working for me, other than trigger foods making some BM's a little harder/worse. The Lialda also helps with how many BM's you have a day- I went from over 15X a day down to 4-5x a day. Only huge issue with Lialda is most insurances won't cover the prescription cost- my prescription for 60 pills, 1 month worth cost $436.04... Thankfully there is a prescription card out there for Lialda- my nurse at the gastro doctor gave it to me, I find out next week how much my medicine will cost going forward.

 

[Justanothercp]

I have been on both for years with no problems.