idk what to do.

i was diagnosed with crohn's in december of 2008 i was put on asacol right away and later sulfasalazine.  lately i have found my asacol in my stools and it doesnt seem to be working (probably because its going right through me ha ha ha) the problem is i dont have insurance anymore and wont have it until october 1st through work.  i dont know if i can handle this until october i am consantly in the bathroom and i cant eat because when i eat i feel sick.  i dont know what to do just was wondering if anyone else had this problem with pills in stool? any advice?

I know with Pentasa it's normal to see it in your stool if I remember correctly, should be the same with Asacol since it's the same drug. Asacol/Pentasa don't do anything at all in a lot of people (including me), so it really doesn't surprise me. I've never tried sulfasalazine, but it seems to take a lot of experimentation to find the right medication(s), and if you're still having problems, you should really discuss your options about finding something else to try with your doctor. I know that personally I wouldn't be able to stand a couple more months of it, so maybe your doctor could help you out with samples and stuff in the meantime. I'm on Entocort right now and it has helped me a lot (been on it since March), still having some minor problems but they're mostly related to a stomach ulcer I have. Entocort is really expensive though, without insurance for me it would be $200/month (and I just fell off my parents' insurance 2 days ago, so that'll be fun to pay for!), but have you considered trying Prednisone or anything like that? I think Pred is quite a bit cheaper than Entocort, and works pretty quickly at getting your symptoms under control.

Nitat is correct, it is the shell you are seeing in your stool, not the actually medication. I have been on Asacol for years and I see the shells all the time. Sometimes, I will see them sooner when I have increased frequency. What happens is the medication does not start leeching out until its in your intestines. The medication inside leeches out into your system then you pass the shell. To me it sounds like you need a stronger medication. Maybe you need to go back on Predisone to help quiet things down. This is an inexpensive med and may help to get you feeling better sooner.

Good luck!