Sounds like you were unlucky with the adverse reaction. It does happen; for years I was intolerant to any 5-ASA class of medication I tried (that would include Asacol, Pentasa, etc. - anything with mesalazine in it). Usually, though, the 5-ASAs are well-tolerated and I was just unlucky.
Pentasa is formulated to start dissolving in the small bowel, whereas Apriso is used by Ulcerative Colitis sufferers, that is to say, for disease in the colon. Pred I understand: it's a steroid which gives short-term relief of flare-ups. But if you had a clear colonoscopy, I don't get why you were prescribed Apriso, to be honest.
The second GI appears to be more on the right track, in other words.
Edit: Just noticed the length of time you were put on steroids for. A 5-day burst is very short indeed; so short it probably wouldn't do a lot. It's not a good idea to be on steroids for longer than necessary, but still, you need to give them enough time to bring a flare-up under control, which is normally a few weeks for most people. The usual thing is to start at a high dose (40mg is standard), then taper by reducing the dose each week. Whether you are put on steroids at all also depends on how bad the Crohn's is: for mild Crohn's the GI may well decide to skip the steroids.
Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 2/22/2012 7:59:16 PM (GMT-7)