Any Experience With ARTHROTEC?

Hey girlie.. I found this...

Arthrotec has the side effects of diclofenac and misoprostol. The most common side effects are stomach pain, diarrhea, dyspepsia, nausea and flatulence. Diarrhea and abdominal pain may resolve after 2-7 days. Magnesium containing antacids worsen diarrhea caused by misoprostol. Taking Arthrotec with food and avoiding antacids containing magnesium may reduce the occurrence of diarrhea. Serious side effects include gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding; liver dysfunction; severe skin reactions. Severe bronchospasms may occur in patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma. Like other NSAIDS Arthrotec may cause heart attacks and strokes; accumulation of fluid and worsen heart failure; cause or worsen hypertension and kidney failure.

Hopefully you're still in the 2 - 7 day mark?  Here's the website I got that info from... Medicine.Net

When do you go back to the doc?

 can't win , can't win , can't win...

my rheummy & GI doc have always nudged me in the direction of NOT TAKING ANY types of NSAID or COX2 ever since they found the Crohns & all of the bowel inflammation problems.

before that however, the rheummy DID want to perhaps try Arthrotec as an adjunct therapy.

my PCP RX'd the Arthrotec for me last wednesday.  aware that i DO suffer an IBD...he still said let's try it.

i was gung-ho for it as well...i mean?  what the heck!

the whole point being, i really REALLY do not want prednisone any longer...and my PCP is a little baffled as to what to RX next as a narcotic.  he seemed just a bit hesitant to RX 6mg of dilaudid nine times a day as needed. {6mg is the dose that helps now...i grew tolerant to the 2mg and 4mg doses}

so in a way, i'm kinda going behind my 2 other doctor's backs by taking the Arthrotec i know...bad! 

but i will fess up tomorrow when i see my GI @ the hospital and i will tell em'.  if he's says NO! i won't take em'.

i'm just so darn desperate for something to help you know?

when antiinflammatories work for my RA joint pain and i can't take em'....and left with just prednisone....and the pred is doing more damage than good now! just feeling stuck.

when i get the higher dose of dilaudid next month sure it'll help a little....but the only meds that actually help the RA pain is steroids and nsaids.  #6 on Remicade infusion tomorrow....since october i only got like 3 weeks of relief; and then everything got worse again.

of course this is all bothering more than usual because this has now screwed with my mobility and ability to walk. 

thanx El & Duck.

i shall report back as to what happens tomorrow.

 awe Martha thanks...that was kind of you to mosey on over here.

wow, that is fantastic about your experience w/ the Arthrotec.  i am soooo happy for you.  what a relief right?

i know whatcha' mean...i totally bypass many other issues i have just because the RA is just too extreme;  kinda like it's all you can handle at one given time.

i hope the med continues to help you without any ill effects.

visit again soon!!!!!!!!!

sincerely,

erin

  geezaloo!

alright, this is both SAD & FUNNY at the same time.

my very sweet GI dude said:

"Oh wow, this stuff is pretty good.  How are you doing on it?  I give this to some of my patients that have problems with bad constipation because Arthrotec causes massive amounts of diarrhea!"

 

dear Lord.  well, it's the prostaglandin component in he arthrotec that causes the diarrhea.

 

this stinks, literally...even though tied to the bowl, i didn't need to take prednisone while using this stuff.  he said to stop.

so, what we did today was double the dose of Remicade, doing the 6MP thing still and he added Entocort.

 

no fair!!!!! i thought this was going to be a good thing.

 

as is life.  here's to better days ahead.

Ugh!!! Yeah, GI exacerbations I can certaintly attest to that! It's the truth.

I told my GI..."You ain't kiddin'!"

Wow, oh my gosh you poor thing uterine bleeding???? Geesh.

 

You know, I really am pretty darn sad about this.  It's like...what do I choose?  Pain...or non-stop diarrhea?  All I know is that I have not had to use dilaudid on the days when I use Arthotec.

There hasn't been much of anything beside Prednisone & various steroids that help the RA joint pain; even with all of the dmards & TNFs for me all they did was pretty much "slow down" the progression a bit. So when something works a little??? I really don't wanna let it go.

It was my GP that prescribed Arthrotec for me...I guess he shoulda' done some reading before he wrote it. Oy!  But I can't blame em'....he's a teddy bear & really will do anything to try to give me a better quality of life.

 

I've been on Dilaudid for I think over a year now about.  But...grown tolerant to it @ the dose I take (2 to 4 mg three times a day). 

He's going to write me for 6mg PRN every 8 hours; see if it makes a difference

I actually brought up switching to Percocet or Vicoden and he said NO!  That I would be going in the opposite direction! He states that dilaudid is more potent & going "down a notch" to percocet or Vicoden wouldn't work.

We shall see what this week brings.  I'm pooped!

hey good thinking. i'm 25. but i really do not do well on BCPs. i reality...i'm not supposed to take ANY nsaid.
i totally know what ya mean...i too feel "depressed" by having to stop taking it. especially when so many things have failed and this provided SOME relief.
thanks for sharing Eve.

Hi ERin, I was wondering about the arthrotec with you. I know that it is considered one of the safer NSAIDS, but with your crohn's--I thought any NSAIDS were a big no-no? I'm sorry that the one thing you found relief with is causing horrible side effects. I know that you know this already, but NSAIDS are fairly toxic drugs. People find out the drugs I'm taking and they're like, why on earth are you doing that to your body. But then they don't think twice about taking an NSAID? My mother had an intestinal perforation that was attributed to NSAID use. My dad has IBD--need I say more? I cannot tolerate them either--and, yes, they did work for me. Relafen, in particular, was wonderful. So was voltaren. GI side effects were intolerable.

I know there is a drug, or drug combo that will work for you. Hang in there (you're probably sick of people telling you that); I can't know your personal experience, but I'm here for you in any way that I can be.

El

 

Sorry to bug you...but a quick question: With the uterine bleeding...did it stop after you stopped the med?  And also...did you get severe abdominal, groin & back pains with it?

Was there anything they had you do (like any CT scans and such) after the bleeding ceased to rule out internal bleeding?

When you get a chance...much appreciated.

Thanks.   Erin 

Erin, the uterine bleeding stopped immediately. I also got groin/abdominal pain and loose bowels or diarrhea. Hard to know if the bowel problems were from Arthrotec or from antibiotics, since I have been on abx for a year. I didn't have an CT scans to rule out internal bleeding. The signs of internal bleeding are bowel movements that look black and tarry, and I didn't have those. I don't think the Arthrotec caused any damage, but the uterine bleeding was too scary.