I have been on Pentasa now since the day I was diagnosed, I have lost count of the weeks now but the date is in my signature. I am on 4g per day, and I am taking it in 2 doses, I have also been off Prednisone completely for around 2 weeks now?
I have a couple different side effect possibilities that I want to check out, and I am seeing my surgeon on November 11th, but I thought I would ask here anyway!
I used to have a brilliant memory, I never used reminders or diaries or notepads or anything like that, but I noticed when I got down to my 20mg week of Prednisone (3rd week of taper) that my memory was starting to be less reliable, not too badly, but I forgot completely about simple things and needed constant reminders for them. I didn't think anything of it.
Now that I am completely off Pred and only relying on Pentasa (and Ondansetron and Tramadol most days) my memory is horrible. I'm forgetting appointments, I'm double booking myself with friends and activities etc, I'm needing to set reminders to feed my animals, I've had to start relying on not only a diary, but a wall calendar, a notepad, AND alarms on my phone, any one on their own just doesn't work, and even then I still forget things.
I'm not sure whether this is because of the general feel-crap type thing I have going on after being off pred, or if it's my anaemia, fatigue, or the Pentasa.
Second, I always have some form of loss of feeling, or pins and needles in my arms and legs. I used to get them now and again in my legs due to my sciatic nerve, or in my arms after sleeping funny, but now I get them all the time, just sitting on the couch, even sleeping normally, I can't have anything sit on my legs for longer than a few minutes. If I have my legs in the wrong position I get pins and needles painfully from knee down, if I stop moving my arms I have that cramping type pins and needles sensation in my hands and fingers.
Then there's the muscle cramps, oh boy they hurt like crazy if I can't get rid of them quick enough. I never used to get a lot of muscle cramps, but now in my feet/toes, and my hands and fingers I get severe cramps if I so much as position them wrong ever so slightly for a few seconds, then it's agony trying to get rid of the cramps!
And every time I scratch an itch, say on my arm, it hurts like I've just been punched in that spot, even if I scratch ever-so-lightly, as soon as I stop scratching I go through about 30 seconds of feeling as if I've been punched in that spot and it hurts quite badly. I never bruise or anything, but it really hurts!
I'm sure there are more and I'm forgetting them but I can't remember due to my crappy memory right now, and I'm absolutely shattered! Grrr :confused2:
I have a couple different side effect possibilities that I want to check out, and I am seeing my surgeon on November 11th, but I thought I would ask here anyway!
I used to have a brilliant memory, I never used reminders or diaries or notepads or anything like that, but I noticed when I got down to my 20mg week of Prednisone (3rd week of taper) that my memory was starting to be less reliable, not too badly, but I forgot completely about simple things and needed constant reminders for them. I didn't think anything of it.
Now that I am completely off Pred and only relying on Pentasa (and Ondansetron and Tramadol most days) my memory is horrible. I'm forgetting appointments, I'm double booking myself with friends and activities etc, I'm needing to set reminders to feed my animals, I've had to start relying on not only a diary, but a wall calendar, a notepad, AND alarms on my phone, any one on their own just doesn't work, and even then I still forget things.
I'm not sure whether this is because of the general feel-crap type thing I have going on after being off pred, or if it's my anaemia, fatigue, or the Pentasa.
Second, I always have some form of loss of feeling, or pins and needles in my arms and legs. I used to get them now and again in my legs due to my sciatic nerve, or in my arms after sleeping funny, but now I get them all the time, just sitting on the couch, even sleeping normally, I can't have anything sit on my legs for longer than a few minutes. If I have my legs in the wrong position I get pins and needles painfully from knee down, if I stop moving my arms I have that cramping type pins and needles sensation in my hands and fingers.
Then there's the muscle cramps, oh boy they hurt like crazy if I can't get rid of them quick enough. I never used to get a lot of muscle cramps, but now in my feet/toes, and my hands and fingers I get severe cramps if I so much as position them wrong ever so slightly for a few seconds, then it's agony trying to get rid of the cramps!
And every time I scratch an itch, say on my arm, it hurts like I've just been punched in that spot, even if I scratch ever-so-lightly, as soon as I stop scratching I go through about 30 seconds of feeling as if I've been punched in that spot and it hurts quite badly. I never bruise or anything, but it really hurts!
I'm sure there are more and I'm forgetting them but I can't remember due to my crappy memory right now, and I'm absolutely shattered! Grrr :confused2: