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Rowasa "application" question

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/7/2009 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
My doctor prescribed Rowasa today to try to help get me into remission.  In reading the package instructions, I'm unsure as to where I want to be when I use it, as you're supposed to stay laying down for at least 30 minutes afterward.  I think it would be gross to do it in bed, but I don't want to lay on the bathroom floor for 30 minutes, either. 

So what do those of you who use it do?

Would it be ok to lay on the bathroom floor then move to bed right away?

Posted 2/7/2009 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Oh! I can answer this one.... what I do is I take it and then make a b-line for the bed where a heating pad or my bed buddy (its like a long bean bag that you heat up in the microwave) awaits me to help ease any discomfort. IF you do it in bed, have a towel that you don't mind ruining as the medicine WILL stain just about everything. I know some people here choose to do it in bed-- but for me, I like the bathroom floor due to ease of cleaning should anything happen-- and by that I mean I once had a rowasa bottle break on me!!!!! If that happened in bed my wife would have kicked my butt. :o)
Posted 2/7/2009 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
I use the bathroom floor... I lay a beach towel down and use a rolled up beach towel for a pillow. I lay there are read a book. kinda weird I know. But hey, its a weird sick disease. Makes us all do things we never would have done before.
Posted 2/7/2009 3:42 AM (GMT 0)
I do it in bed. It makes it a lot easier to hold it in if you're not getting up at all afterwards and can just lay there and fall asleep. For me, it's harder to hold it in if I get up and/or move around much after inserting the med. I guess it's up to you as to what you feel comfortable with. Hope the Rowasa helps you! It works great for me. Good luck.

Posted 2/7/2009 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
I just completed 14 nights straight of Rowasa, with 7 more to go.

I could not imagine doing this anywhere else but bed. I go up 10 minutes before
the wife, administer the enema and stay on my left side for 20-30 minutes.

It is my belief that the retention in a horizontal mode is imperative. I would think
that gravity when moving from one location to the other would not be prudent.

The first few times you do it may feel uncomfortable in bed - but I feel the retention is worth it.

Good luck.

~ TSM
Posted 2/7/2009 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I administered it on the bathroom floor then moved quickly to bed. We have an on-suite master bath, so it's like 5 steps to bed. I managed to hold it in all night, even though I had to get up twice to urinate! I didn't notice any discomfort or cramping. My GI told me to give Imodium another try (it didn't work a couple of weeks ago) since the Asacol is starting to work and I think it's helping. I took some before dinner yesterday and only had two BM's after dinner and before bed. I also took some at bedtime, then I didn't go all night...that's amazing for me!

I am going to contact my GI on Monday to see if he thinks it's ok for me to move. I have a feeling that as long as I lie back down on my left side, the medicine should go back up where it's supposed to.
Posted 2/7/2009 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, and thanks for the advice, everyone! :)
Posted 2/7/2009 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Your colon isn't like a big cavernous space where the meds will stay on the bottom due to gravity. Unless you have gas or stool in the colon at the time, the medicine will fill in up the left side colon. To be sure it gets the whole area, yes, you should stay on your side or on your back, but that is mostly to help aid you at keeping it in as any amount of liquid such as this will trigger your body to want to expel it. Trust me-- if you take this in the bathroom and move into the bed, its not going to help or hurt you in any way.
Posted 2/7/2009 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
One little trick I learned after many years of using an enema: my bedroom is in the basement which is finished so I would just do in the floor outside my bedroom instead of the bathroom because my bathroom is too small. I mainly did this because my hubby would go to bed before me and I didn't want to turn the light on to find the enemas or whatnot. So I would administer the enema and like Ryan said, it sort of gravitates to the bottom of the rectum area which sometimes makes me want to get rid of it. So after I administer it, I would lie on my back and just lift my legs in the air when I made it to the bed. I know it sounds funny but it really does help. The medicine then travels a bit up into the colon, where it coats better. I only hold my legs together straight up with my hands on my hips to raise myself for a minute before lying on my left side.
Posted 2/7/2009 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Once you get used to the enemas - and aren't in a severe flare, it's possible to even walk around the house after you have administered the enema. I know it seems impossible when you first start, but I did the enemas nightly for about three months on time and on occasion would have to get up to get meds I forgot, let out a dog that needed to pee, etc. It's all about finding a way that works for you!

Good luck.
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