How long did it take for Entocort to start working for you?

[bushydougie]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering, as the title suggests, how long it took for Entocort to kick in and start making you feel better?
I have been on it now for 5 weeks. My GI said it would take 1 week to start working and I know from reading on here that it can take a couple of weeks but it has only started working for me after a month.
Suddenly last Friday afternoon I started feeling 'normal' again. I've had a few blips but nothing major and have been feeling much better for the past week. :ysmile:

I suppose what I want to know is why it took such a long time to begin to work and if I will need to be on it longer if it's taken so long to get started?

Thanks for reading

Sam

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

It never started working for me. Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear.

 

[Jessica]

It took about a month or so to feel the difference. And that was once I was tapered off of the prednisone. I'd say you're right on track. <3 Hey, it's working now... right?

 

[Kathryn]

It never worked for me. I'm glad it has finally started working for you even if it did take awhile.

-Kathryn

 

[bushydougie]

Mapleleaf and Kathryn - how long were you on it for? I really didn't think it was going to work for me either as I felt so bad for the past month then Bam! it kicked in!
Jessica - Yes it is working at last! So you were on two lots of steroids at once? Ouch! I'm glad it's working for you. I thought I seemed to be the only one it took so long to kick in for. It's always good to know you're not alone

 

[Jessica]

Mapleleaf and Kathryn - how long were you on it for? I really didn't think it was going to work for me either as I felt so bad for the past month then Bam! it kicked in!
Jessica - Yes it is working at last! So you were on two lots of steroids at once? Ouch! I'm glad it's working for you. I thought I seemed to be the only one it took so long to kick in for. It's always good to know you're not alone

Yea. I was tapering off one as I was starting another. Kind of replacing them as I let it go.

Don't ever feel like you're alone, Bushy. I know I have to read that sometimes as a reminder to myself.

Always here <3

 

[Kathryn]

I've tried it two different times shortly after my diagnosis five years ago. I think the first time I tried it for 8 weeks. The second time, I tried it for four weeks.

It's crazy how certain drugs work for some people and not others and it seems like such a crapshoot. A crapshoot with your health?! Craziness! But it so is as far as what will and won't work it seems.

Again, I'm really glad it's working for you now. Have you told your doctor that it took your body so long for your body to respond? You should, just so he/or she knows for future reference.

-Kathryn

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hey Sam, glad to hear it's finally working for you! Boy, it sure took its sweet time, didn't it? As you know, it took 9 days (I counted) for Entocort to kick in for me. But then after 6 weeks of feeling relatively well, I tapered from 9 mg to 6, and I immediately flared. Fortunately, my GI said I can go back up to 9 mg for another 6 weeks, which is a relief. Now I am pretty confident that I'll be feeling well through the holidays, although I'm going to dread tapering again.

I agree with Kathryn, definitely let your doctor know that it took this long for Entocort to kick in. He might want to keep you at 9 mg for longer. Whenever you do taper, I hope it goes a lot more smoothly for you than it did for me! Fortunately I'm feeling a bit better today, I took my first dose of 9 mg this morning and I managed to make it in to work, and I even ate a little lunch and didn't feel horrible afterwards. If you do flare upon tapering, let your doc know ASAP - it seems like most docs will bump the dosage back up to 9 mg in the event of a flare. Good luck, and glad to hear you're finally feeling well again!

 

[bushydougie]

Thanks Katherine and Cat. I will definitely mention it to my GI when I see him in a couple of weeks. I mentioned it to my GP but he didn't know anything about the drug so couldnt really comment...
It is great to be feeling better at last. I'm glad I stuck with it to see if it worked. My GI says the next step will be aza and pred and I don't really want to do that if I can help it.
Cat I'm glad you are already feeling better and it's good to know that you'll be ok over Christmas too

 

[bushydougie]

Jessica- thanks for your support. It's always good to have people to chat things through with even if they are the other side of the world!!