Pentasa

[spcwife23]

I'm wondering if pentasa is working for me.. I've been taking it for a week but I'm having pain and when I eat I'm having pain in my tummy.. It's hard to describe but I'll try. I eat and maybe 3 mins after I'm have really painfully noisy movement in my tummy.. But after my tummy gurgle it stop till the next one.. And when I take the pentasa maybe 10 mins after taking it I have bad cramping.. Has anyone else been dealing with this? I'm worried if I say anything to the doctor he will put me on a medication that has really bad side effect.

 

[np4175]

I was on Pentas for 6 weeks and learned over time the side effects were really bad - diarrehea, no appetite. Not sure if my body had had enough of it and was expelling the medicine or if I am one of the few patients that cannot take it. My pharmasist said it is like asprin for the bowel. Suggest you tell your doctor your side effects to see if he/she would switch you to something else.

Good luck!

 

[spcwife23]

Thank you np, I went to the doctor today because yesterday I was in pain.. Well he showed me the pictures of my colonoscopy and he pretty much told me what he see is so very mild and that he's putting me on prednisone for 2 weeks and keeping me on pentasa for good.. I told him my concerns about the other drugs and he pretty much told me that I shouldn't worry much about that unless after the two weeks and I don't feel any better.. He also told me it takes a while for pentasa to work so he will be seeing me often till I get this flare in check.. So all in all I'm happy but still in pain..

 

[np4175]

What strength of Prednizone will you be on for 2 weeks? Surprised that he's keeping you on Pentasa? I felt very sick while on it and little appetite. I noticed a difference the day after I stopped.

Good luck!

 

[spcwife23]

heya, he has my on 20 mg and i take that once a day.. he said pentasa takes a bit to start working but since i flared he put me on prednisone which he said will bring down the inflamation and the pentasa will keep it from flaming again.. for some wierd reason im feeling alot better.. my tummy isnt making any noise, and im even eating so im happy..

 

[amw165]

Both pred and pentasa did not work for me. I was on pred for 8 weeks and pentasa for 3 months. When I went to my gastro he told me that he hates pentasa and thinks that it doesnt work and is not a good drug. He started me on Entocort and then I am starting a drug which is a shot that I inject, not sure of the name of it yet. Hopefully it starts working for you though and you begin to feel better.

 

[arun bahl]

i have been on pentasa 500 for almost 3 years now...but now looks like the effects are fading away. can't really believe that there is no cure for crohn's. More funnier part is that even with so much of advancement no body knows the cause for this disease.

 

[lordnate]

My son was just put on Pentesa - 3 x 500mg / 2x a day. His appetite has been suppressed and he vomits in the morning. He is starting to feel a lot better; however, he is still having diahrrea throughout the day. His stools are greenish in color and sometimes have form to them. The good thing is his pain is gone. He was born with mild cataracts and was put on a large dose of prednisone in February. However, we just found out as a result his cataracts have progressed significantly from the prednisone. So we do not want him on a steroid if we can help it. His diagnosis at this point is illieutis because there are no other indicators in any of his blood or stool tests that indicate Crohn's. The doctor has cautioned us that this could be the very beggining stages of Crohns though.

Should I be concerned about the nausea and lack of appetitie on this drug. He does eat at night and seems to make up for lack of appetite in morning.

 

[prettykitty]

Hi spcwife23,

I've been taking pentasa for about 4 years now. It did take a couple of weeks for my body to adjust when I started taking it. It gave me a lot of of indigestion at first, but it went away after a few weeks.

Definitely let your doctor know if you continue to have problems. As you can see, we all have dofferent experiences with medications. I hope you find the right combination that works for you!