Does Asacol do this to you?

[rclaire]

I posted a few weeks ago as a newbie. Hello again! I started talking asacol for crohn's 2 weeks ago and wowza did it give me diarrehea (sp)sorry! I am cutting back from 6 tabs (800mg) to 4 maybe 2 Don't make me call my doctor. He insists on remicade and I'm not ready for that yet. I feel ok otherwise. I watch my diet and have been pretty pain free. Any advice?

Thanks guys!

 

[TheWifeUC]

Hello! My husband hasn't had that problem with Asacol. He gets the big D for when he's having a flare, but his dosage of Asacol is the same whether he's flaring or not. Can't really attest to it's usage for Crohn's though. Also, he just started Remicade and it's not so bad. He did go through 3 bad flares before we were willing to try it though. I know you don't want to but you should talk to your doctor about it. They need to be aware of exactly what you're doing and you need to remember that you are in control of your own treatment, not them. You always have the choice. Good luck!

 

[AmyWooden]

Hi rclaire! I have had a similar reaction to 5-ASA agents such as Asacol. They always increase my diarrhea and double me over in pain. It took a while, trying different medications in that family of drugs (Pentasa, Lialda, Mesalamine etc...) before we realized that 5-asa drugs are counterproductive for me. You should let your doc know about your symptoms and that you plan on cutting back. As TheWifeUC mentioned, I will also state, that you are in control of your treatment. There are other options that you can discuss with your doctor.
On a side note, I have been on Remicade for years and it was a godsend. Unfortunately, it's lost its efficacy for me, but I got a good couple of years from it.
Thanks for sharing! Take care and keep us posted.
- Amy

 

[fadingsun430]

I take Asacol Hd which is pretty much the same as asacol but in higher doses. I take 2 pills *3 times daily which totals to 4800mg (800mg per pill). This medicine never gave me any massive D, but perhaps you are having an adverse reaction to the medicine this can sometimes happen if you look at the side effects. Other meds you can try before biologics like remicade are Pentasa which is still Mesalamine but more specific to the small intestine ( depending where your disease is located), or 6mp, Imuran which are both imuno-supressants. My disease is located in the ileum and first part of colon (ileo-colitis) and for some reason pentasa wasn't effective but Asacol was.

 

[Jennifer]

For Asacol to work properly you need to have it in your system constantly. Bringing your dose down on your own is not advisable and I'd suggest contacting your GI and letting them know what your symptoms are. As has been said, you're in control of your treatment so you can say yes or no to certain drugs but that doesn't include self medicating like you're suggesting.

 

[Inna]

Most Crohn's patients actually have less diarrhea and less pain on Asacol. Maybe you could just ask a doctor for different aminosalicylate like Pentasa.

 

[lynx]

I know this post is kind of old but take it from someone who played the move the dosage up and down game...DON'T! This drug actually works if you take it as prescribed and it does its job very well. Out of most of the drugs out there, this is one that has some of the least side effects. It also has very powerful antioxidant action too which some believe may decrease the odds of getting cancer (who knows?). As for D. Yep, it can cause that and it can actually cause a flare too...but most people do not have that reaction to it. The only difference between Asacol and other 5ASA drugs is the delivery system. The drug company wraps the mesalamine in different types of coatings to release the drug under different PH levels in the gut. The actual drug, Mesalamine, is the same in all 5ASA prescriptions.

 

[Nica]

Asacol made me worse as well. I never absorbed it well and when I did it still did not help with the many, many trips to the bathroom. I tried Pentasa as well but it did the same things. I do agree with not moving around your dosages without talking to your doctor.
Your doc can't help you if you don't follow his orders and at least discuss your treatments with him.

Have you tried prednisone and or Entocort to get the flare down? Have you adjusted your diet to see if you have trigger foods?

Talk to your GI, let them know how you feel about remicade and discuss other options with him. If you can't talk to your doc it may be time to get a new one.

 

[fadingsun430]

Lynx, I had never heard of the anti-oxidant beneficial effects before, do you have any additional info on the subject?? Just Curious

 

[Barn!e]

Asacol has given me Acne from about 3 weeks after taking 1600Mg 3 times daily. I then was told to take it twice a day. I reduced the dose to 1 x 400Mg a day and the Acne has reduced with no problems yet. When I stopped completely symptoms came back after 7-9 days. So it takes a while to start working and clear your system. I have UC but only in the lower left 25%.