Lialda Reaction?

hello all,

I just started taking Lialda about three days ago and believe I am experiencing some sort of allergic reaction. I tried to take Asacol about 2 months ago and had a similar set back. I'm confused because I have taken mesalamine in the past and it's been effective. I'm seeing a allopathic doctor (one that uses both traditional and natural techniques). I believe he thought that I would be able to tolerate Lialda much better than Asacol.

My symptoms before were usually fairly formed stool with streaks of blood in it and on the toilet paper. Sometimes blood clots would pass along as well. Not too shabby considering I had to have 2 blood transfusions this summer due to severe anemia and blood loss. The Lialda was supposed to get rid of this nagging bleeding that I have had for about 6 months now. After taking it for about 3 days I have experienced the worst sore throat of my life, intense chills (I'm not running a temp though), and experiencing bloody diarrhea as well as normal diarrhea. I feel like this is setting me back quite a few months symptom wise. I've read some research on the drug and found out that only about 1% off people taking the pills experience these severe types of symptoms. Why does this continue to happen to me? Everything I take, natural or not backfires in some way.

I'm just wondering if this is enough reason to simply stop taking it or should I wait it out for a week or two to see if things clear up. I know sometimes things take a while to kick in but I feel like it shouldn't have to get this bad before getting better. I left a message with the doc and hope to hear back tomorrow. Also, have others experienced similar things right away after trying new drugs?

Thanks so much for reading this long message and responding to it. I hope you all are on your way toward better health. Much peace.

- P.S. - I haven't set up a signature yet. Here is what I am currently taking. S. Boulardis (2x a day), Probiotics, iron supplement. I just finished a course of pred about 2.5 weeks ago. These have kept me pretty stable for the past month or so but not good enough.

This doesn't really answer my question. I appreciate the advice but I will wait to hear from my doctor today. I don't believe it is a coincidence since the diarrhea and flu-like symptoms started right after taking Lialda. Also, not everyone wants to be on a ton of medication. I have no qualms about taking traditional but for you to say I am not on enough meds and no rectal meds is quite the assumption. What works for one person does not work for another in most cases with this disease. Thanks again but I think I'm done with this forums for a while.

Huckleberry, this is from the Lialda website (front page):

Mesalamine has been associated with a syndrome that may be difficult to distinguish from an ulcerative colitis flare-up. If you experience cramping, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, fever, headache or rash, talk to your doctor immediately.

On other mesalamine websites, I've seen fever, etc., listed as an allergic reaction, but I haven't seen sore throat listed. The 1% number I've seen in relation to side effects has to do with inflammation of the pancreas. The most common side effect, evidently, is headache. I feel like you've got a whole array of issues, some of which may be related to meds and others may be separate from them.

Of course, prednisone increases our susceptibility to infections. I know you're no longer on prednisone, but it's still something to consider. I'm glad you'll be seeing your doctor, because untreated strep can be very serious, so you want to rule that out. The side effects of prednisone (the increased susceptibility to infection and the mood swings, in particular) are troubling enough to me that I'm continuing to do everything I can to get off them, but so far I haven't been able to wean completely off before the bleeding starts again :-(

I've told Quincy this before, but I'd like to mention to you as well that it is due to her signature that I requested corticosteroid enemas from my doc, and those made a really big difference for me. I'm about to start on Rowasa enemas, which I requested from my doc after Quincy recommended them to me. In all of this, my doctor has final say (after all, it's his hand writing the Rx), but if it weren't for Quincy & her theory of treating the disease "from both ends", I think I would still be resistant to the idea of enemas and my struggle with this bullcrap disease would be even worse than it is now.

Huckleberry,

I experienced a VERY, eerily similar thing two weeks ago, and I posted to this board, as well. However, my reaction was due to Imuran.

Is your sore throat more like knives/needles in your throat than regular sore throat? I also had the chills, increased bloody diarrhea, and intense intense body aches.

My blood tests in the midst of this were all fine (I was very sick for 1.5 weeks), so my GI was reluctant to take me off. I stopped taking it for 3 days, and when I took another dose, the same reactions occurred. After that day, I quit it for good, and once I saw my GI (today, actually) he agreed. So did my PCP and an ENT I saw about the throat.

While Lialda and Imuran are different classes of drugs, the similarity of our reactions makes me think you may have had a reaction. Depending on what your GI says, perhaps take a break from Lialda, recover and try once again, in case it was a coincidence. However, even if your GI disagrees that it's the meds, follow your gut (no pun intended, ha) and if you believe it's the medicine, stop the meds. I am SO glad I did.

Keep me updated! I hope you're feeling better.

I'm actually starting Lialda tomorrow, so fingers crossed...

I would strongly suspect that the asacol didn't work and you got worse because your rectum wasn't dealt with as well.

quincy

HuckleberryRaspscallion,
I had the exact same thing happen to me ! I have UC. And was having to run to the bathroom 10 to 15 times a day with small amounts of bloody mucus and/ or small amounts of formed and loose stool. My doctor DOUBLED my Lialda from 2 pills to 4 pills daily. The next couple of days I started getting a sore throat and very painful stiff neck. I felt flu - like all over. My left arm was stiff and as well. I also got erythema nodosum on my legs. I was in the ER twice because the throat was so sore I would scream in pain just swallowing my own saliva. I was admitted after the second Er visit. Had an ent consult and I'd consult. We went through diagnosis of meningitis, viral pharyngitis, they checked for strep , was neg, tested for mono, blood cultures done, I was treated with Rocephin, clindamycin , Diflucan in case it was fungal. This went on for a couple weeks. The antibiotics never worked and the symptoms would not go away ! No on could Sally tell me what was wrong. Had a routine follow up visit with my gi. When I told him what was happening , he immediately got the Lialda package insert out and found pharyngolaryngeal pain (sore throat ) as a side effect. I also did some research and found this side effect listed on pubmedhealth, web md and drugs.com. I stopped the Lialda and the symptoms subsided. So glad I saw your post , I know I'm not crazy now !