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Posted 2/29/2008 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on 6mp for about 3 months now and I am still having the same symptoms I had when I originally went on it.

I take Pentasa 2 pills 4x a day for a total of 4g and I am on 100 mg of 6mp.

I feel as if my symptoms have gone down a little bit but I am still experiencing some urgency, blood, and mucus. I've been told that it takes about 3-6 months for the affects of 6mp to truly kick in and I am wondering if there are any other medicines that I could take that would help me with my problems. I had a colonoscopy in September and it showed that my rectum was a problem area. I've taken some cort enemas in the past and they've worked wonders but the longest I was on them was 2 weeks at a time. I just called my doctor with an update an I will hear something next week as the DR is out of town.

Does anyone have ideas that might help me out?
Posted 2/29/2008 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, it takes a while for the 6mp to work. Is there any way you can call a doctor that is on call to have him/her call in a script for Rowasa or Salofalk that you can use until your doc gets back?
Posted 2/29/2008 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
i have heard 3 months is common for the drug to kick in.
Posted 2/29/2008 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
It took me a little over 5 months for the 6-mp to kick in for me and then it was like a light switch was turned on and I was in Remission.

--Keith
Posted 2/29/2008 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
My docs had me on prednisone while i started taking my 6mp. And as i tapered down the pred. the 6mp would be taking effect was his logic. It seemed to be alright. Although i have abnormal liver test which he says kept me from being able to be on a tharaputic dose (he said this in jan. after a bad flare), althought i am still taking the 6mp. So if you want a "quick fix" ask your doc about pred. although the side effects are killer. I am always placed on pred. during a flare for the "quick fix", becuase i end up lossing so much blood and need transfusions or i end up fainting and sleeping all the time.
Posted 3/1/2008 9:59 AM (GMT 0)
It took nearly 8 months for the 6MP to kick in for me. I was very close to giving up in month 6 but decided to keep on it. I'm glad I did. I treated symptoms in the meantime with cortifoam and levsin (an antispasmodic). I had taken prednisone for the first 4 months but then tapered off it. I continued the taper and stopped taking the pred even though I was still flaring because I didn't want to be on pred for too long again. I was able to get some of my symptoms under control with the cortifoam and levsin. (Levsin is good for urgency, at least for me.)
Posted 3/1/2008 2:31 PM (GMT 0)
my daughters dr put her on rifaxamin antibiotic at the same time she began 6mp, that is about a month ago, and almost right away she began to feel better, she is taking the antibiotic 2pills 2x daily, and i don't know what the plan is for this, we will see the dr next week-but i know that 6mp takes a long time to work so it must have been the antibiotics - she is on a whole lot of other things, but she seemed to turn the corner when she started the antibiotics-i can't believe i'm saying this since i believe antibiotics may have started this nightmare-but rifaxamin is designed for travelers diareah - i believe also diligence with the enemas was very insrumental and i don't know if she'll ever be off them, but it would be great if she can cut back
Posted 3/2/2008 10:33 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Please,

Is you daughter going on her spring break trip? Just wondering what you decided :)  My son is going to try 6mp too.  We are waiting for a blood test to come back.  He is still on Prednisone, but it has been a miracle drug.  He does not seem to have any side effects at all.  He has been on it for a little over a month and is slowly tapering down.  I was so stressed about the Pred, but it is like I have my child back. Only more hungry, and he wants to put on weight, so that is fine too.

Posted 3/3/2008 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
Red,

What is Rowasa and Salofalk? I have actually calmed down a bit since I made this post but I still need to have some remedy in the mean time. I really don't like playing the guessing game of what my BM will look like.

I plan on sticking out this 6mp for the long haul, so I appreciate the feedback about how it just kicked in like turning on a light switch. I had been wondering if it would happen overnight or gradual. I know everyone is different but it makes me wonder how it will happen for me.

Thanks everyone, you make me feel better.
Posted 3/3/2008 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Rowasa or Salofalk (depending on what part of the country you're in) is a liquid 5-ASA (Asacol or Pentasa). It's an enema that reaches up to the sigmoid colon, maybe a bit beyond.

For me, 6mp started working about 7 weeks in but didn't truly work for 3 months. I had a gradual improvement of symptoms but then at 3 months it was like bam! No more symptoms literally overnight. So I had that switch thrown too! :)
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