Sulfasalazine anyone??

KAnn,

This was one of the first meds I was put on for my Crohn's way back when I was diagnosed (about 11 years ago). My Crohn's is severe, and this drug is only a mild anti-inflammatory agent, so I was on it for about a year before we realized it wasn't helping at all. If your arthritis is not too bad, sulfasalazine (aka azulfidine) may help.

What I recall: the pills were round, pretty big and not coated. That made them hard to swallow. Also, you usually have to take a lot of them (between 4-10) each day. Lastly, since they are yellow, they can turn your urine very bright yellow. I have also heard that it can cause your sweat to turn a bit yellow, staining your clothes (just areas of heavy sweating, like pits), and even stain soft contact lenses after awhile...! For me, the urine was the only thing I noticed (not a big deal). I had no other side effects at all.

One last thing, my doctor mentioned that this drug can (but does not always) cause temporary infertility in women (I was 16 at the time and that really didn't matter to me), but your fertility returns to normal shortly after stopping the drug. Just wanted to let you know in case that would matter for you.

Hope it works for you!!

I'm from the UC board, but took sufasalazine nonetheless for that condition.  Personally, it tore me up.  Made the restroom visits dramatically more frequent at the time I was taking them (from an already high 20 a day to 30..40?).  I was even unable to make it to the restroom in time, even though I was never more then 20 feet from it.  I obviously quit the drug after a couple days and everthing went back to 'normal'...or the way it was before I started it.  Now on Asacol, never going back to Sulfa again.

I'm currently on this med as it's the only one that is really affective for me. I was on it first in 1982 after my initial diagnosis. I've never had any side effects other than it turns my urine a darker yellow.

As with any med, there are those people who don't tolerate it well. You do need to remember to drink the recommended amount of water per day.

Consideringabag --- you just taught me something! I was never told about the possibility of this med causing infertility. Makes sense now why I had such a hard time getting pregnant all those years ago.

Lorraine

I used this med successfully when first diagnosed back some 32 years ago. I can't use it now because 1) I am allergic to sulfa drugs now, and 2) It gives me bad headaches now. My Rheumy wanted me to try it for my inflammatory arthritis but told her nope, I'm allergic.

I have been on Sulfasalazine 500mgs qid for years now. It does give me bad headaches if I don't take it with food and drink enough fluids in the day. I have found that the side effects were only mild, turns my urine darker yellow, and some overall itching, but again that all depends on how much water I drink. I find that this med helps both with the CD and the arthritis. It hasn't made me completely symptom free but I am maintained adequately enough.
The other thing to remember about sulfasalazine is that it is broken down or excreted through the liver....all the more reason to drink enough water....it therefore makes taking over the counter pain meds like tylenol more of a risk. Tylenol can "build up " in your liver if taken too frequently and combined with the sulfasalazine can lead to toxicity.
My tablets are big and yellow, enteric coated so are easy to swallow. If I do forget to take a bit of food with it, then I do get a headache and a tummy ache.
I have tried going without the medication from time to time but can't seem to last more than a 3-4 days before I end up in another flare.
Hope this info helps a little....everyone is different and not all meds work for everyone...it is a trial and error kind of thing....I've opted to stay with this med altho I'm not all that crazy about it and althoug I still get bad abd. pains if I eat the wrong thing...but I don't want to go on the "bigger guns" if I can help it.
Good luck
Mary

I don't know about the rapid heart beat side affect...?  Like others who have posted here, I was given Sulfasalazine about 20 years ago and got extremely nauseous, threw up, abdominal pain, burning, etc....felt horrible.  Gave up on it after 2 days.  A few months later, another doctor gave me Dipentum and it worked fine.   I've also been on Asacol, and now Colozal.  I will never take the old sulfa drug again....uugghhh.