• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

How long does it take for Asacol to have an effect?

Hello
I have just started taking Asacol (3 tabs twice a day) and I wondered how long before I will notice it could be having a positive effect (or not)? I am currently suffering a mild flare up with a lot of pain and some diarrhoea. Any of you that have been taking it and it is working for you - was it days, weeks or months before you noticed a positive effect?
Thanks in anticipation. :ysmile:
 
HELP!
I have had a lot of BM's since 6pm today & I just noticed that 2 of the 3 Asacol tabs that I took earlier were sat in the bottom of my toilet - Undigested!
Has anyone else had problems with not being able to digest Asacol?
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
CeeCeeGo Asacol is a time release tablet so people often see the casing in the toilet. It's nothing to freak out over. ;)

As far as how long, for me it was about a month to a couple of months. It was so long ago I don't remember but I do know it doesn't work as quickly as steroids (usually notice a difference in a few days). Give it some time. :)
 
been taking Assocal since July
I now feel completly normal
It took about 2 weeks before I saw any results
Just hang in there this drug works great
just wish it was not so expensive
 
Just to let you know that I had another severe reaction last night to Asacol (similar to the one I had with Pentasa) so I have stopped it now.

Thanks for your suggestions. :lol2:
 
My reaction to 3 doses of Asacol was loads and loads of diarrhoea over the first 48 hours after taking the last dose, nausea, really bad joint pain esp. wrists, ankles & knees, headaches and sweats. 72 hours on from the last dose and I am hopefully starting to come out of it now, only one bad case of diarrhoea today (so far).

I think for me because mesalazine are similar to Aspirin, I get a severe gastric reaction as I cannot take Aspirin.
 
Last edited:
I have been on 2g / day Pentasa for over two weeks now and haven't see any improvement - in fact, the persistent nausea has got worse.

Was once on 800mg Mesalazine for a flare a few years ago and that didn't make any difference. God knows why they have put me on the same stuff again when it didn't work the first time…

Reading the comments on here, it look like I might have to give it another couple of weeks before I can dismiss it. Looks like another lousy Christmas for me! :p
 
I am on this. I know it isnt a steroid or a immune suppresent. So is it a anti inflammatory? My doc said it might make it worse before it was better. I have been on it since right after christmas. I decided not to take it around then just incase it did make it worse. Wish it would start working soon.
 
It's actually non-systemic. It's more like a condom for your guts, it protects them from the irritants (food) and gives your insides the chance to recover naturally rather than suppressing the inflammatory mechanism. That's what I love about it; pretty much zero drug interaction and chance of it really messing you up.

I didn't get worse before I got better myself. I just got better. I'd put good money on the reports of people getting worse first actually just being cases where the Asacol hadn't kicked in yet and their condition was worsening because that's just what Crohn's/UC does sometimes.
 
It's actually non-systemic. It's more like a condom for your guts, it protects them from the irritants (food) and gives your insides the chance to recover naturally rather than suppressing the inflammatory mechanism. That's what I love about it; pretty much zero drug interaction and chance of it really messing you up.

I didn't get worse before I got better myself. I just got better. I'd put good money on the reports of people getting worse first actually just being cases where the Asacol hadn't kicked in yet and their condition was worsening because that's just what Crohn's/UC does sometimes.

Thanks! i think it is slowly getting better. food change has def helped and i did eat some pizza last night with the help of a lactose aid. but i felt it a little in the morning.
 
No problem! :)

And sad to hear about the ill feeling. I became lactose intolerant when I had my first flare up too, but ever since I started taking Asacol my tolerance has slowly been coming back. At first I could just have a little bit of cheese, and now I can eat an entire large Dominoes pizza (yep, my appetite's slowly coming back too!).

I still can't drink normal milk without a little bloat, so I have to get the LactoFree stuff, but otherwise I'm pretty much good to go with dairy. Hopefully the same will happen to you!
 
That would be cool I love me some cheese. Luckily the commissary on post sells veggie cheese. And I hate milk so that's why I never knew I was lactose intolerant because I never consumed a lot of dairy. But after one wild weekend with a lot of ice cream I found out haha.
 
I started pentasa on december 18th of last year, my GP said that it usually takes 4-6 weeks before the body starts to adapt to it, weird coz I thought it was helping almost instantly but hey, theres evidence to show that placebo works at making one feel better... currently I'm still waiting for it to work, so far I'm on 30mg pred, tapering down 5mg a week, pentasa, and my 6th day of fortisip (doing a total liquid diet) for 6 weeks in an attempt to kick this thing into remission
 
Sorry to here your not feeling well. Ive been on Asacol for 18 moths or so . My experience was that at the start i did feel a bit of nausea and did have some D. I was unsure if it was doing anything or making me worse. After say 3 - 4 weeks I started to improve and noticed that my bowel movements slowed down and the pain reduced. Things were more predictable and bearable.
I believe that my GI tract was inflamed and that this took some time to calm down. Maybe the Asacol was to mild a dose so possibly just not effective enough so it took longer to take any effect. Possibly the inflammation was futher up and the effect of the Asacol way not directed at the effected area.
Asacol breaks down at a ph of 7. This is acidic value. This is found only at the terminal ileum( the joint where your small bowel meets the large bowel) and your anus. I have pasted whole capules before and not sure why but if may be something to do with this PH value being slightly different possibly due to what ever food may cause it to change.
Ok the joint pain and the rest . I have had this regularly , mainly ankles and wrists ,some headaches and some mild cramping. Not sure if this is the Asacol or just IBD symptoms but i believe its the Asacol. To be honest I can put up with this as the benifits outway the mild side effects. I have found the longer Im on it the less the side effects. And also the if i take regularly the pains are almost gone.
The Asacol works for me and I did start a food diary at the same time to sort out what was still causing problems. It feels like a lot of work sometimes but its worth the effort .
Hope this helps.

Peter
 
It's actually non-systemic. It's more like a condom for your guts, it protects them from the irritants (food) and gives your insides the chance to recover naturally rather than suppressing the inflammatory mechanism. That's what I love about it; pretty much zero drug interaction and chance of it really messing you up.

I didn't get worse before I got better myself. I just got better. I'd put good money on the reports of people getting worse first actually just being cases where the Asacol hadn't kicked in yet and their condition was worsening because that's just what Crohn's/UC does sometimes.
I got 100% better after taking Asacol for 6 weeks (and a low residue diet). I was pretty sick for several months prior.... very bad stomach aches almost every day, night sweats, intermitent nausea and vomiting, extreme fatigue, sore joints and back.......... no diarrheah though. I have crohn's, not UC so am wondering why my doctor recommended it.... but am *very* happy it's working!!

London, your analogy of a condom for the guts and how Asacol works is perfect... my question is, if you have inflammation deeper than just the surface of the intestines, will Asacol really heal you and put you in remission? Although I feel great, someone on here pointed out to me that Asacol is not even prescribed for Crohn's but my doctor prescribed it. I'm confused.
 
Top