Why so many?!?

[ugoins]

This question probably has already been asked and probably answered but Why do have to take so many pills for Mesalamine to work? I hate pills so it is really hard for me to take so many but I am trying to get pregnant so my doctor said Mesalamine is the best way to go. I miss my Azathioprine .

 

[David]

Welcome to the community Thanks for joining.

Mesalamine is thought to act topically. Another way of putting it is think of it as a lotion for your intestines. Have you ever tried to take a small dab of lotion and try to cover your whole arm with it? Well, you have around 20 feet of small intestine and 5 feet of large intestine so you need a lot of lotion Add to that fact around 28% of mesalamine is absorbed after ingestion so you only have 72% to act topically in your intestine.

Taking it a step further, the medications have gone through various clinical trials and studies where they determined what dose had the maximum benefit with the least amount of side effects.

Are you currently in remission? Which form of mesalamine did they give you?

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

I'd also like to say Welcome I too have always wondered about the reasoning behind so many pills. This does make more sense. Thanks David for explaining

 

[ugoins]

Thanks David that was a great explanation. And yes I'm currently in remission. And I'm not sure, didn't know there was a difference.