New to enemas

They don't tell you at all how to do them, and it's a shame because for 1.5 years into my diagnosis, I had no clue just how helpful they are.

Here's some tips:

1) There's a TON of air in those bottles... if you squeeze all that air in you, you're going to have urgency to squeeze it back out. Unscrew the cap a bit and bleed out all the air (the bottle will become about 2/3rds its original size).

2) Shake it to mix the medication (if you shake it with the air still inside, you get trapped air in the form of bubbles).

3) Depends on your flexibility, preference, colitis, but you can do it while lying down on your left side (easiest) to all fours, butt in the air (harder to reach back there and squeeze), to my preferred method-- lie down on your back on the floor, throw legs in the air, resting against the bed, and insert-- squeeze and let gravity do its job. This method seriously got me out of a nasty, persistent flare as the medication was otherwise not reaching far enough.

4) You need to let the medication pass the ennervated part of the rectum, and then you'll have no problem retaining it (since you can no longer feel it). Basically, stick your butt in the air as long as you can (or lie on your left side, slower but it works), until the meds have drifted in. If you figure out how to do this, you won't have to worry as much about urgency of expelling it.

good luck.

Hi,
I refused enemas for a long time and then got desperate enough to try them. I lay on my side and inject the meds. My doc told me that it's ok if you expel it, just try to keep it in as long as possible, try for at least 20 mins, she said. Anyway, it takes me about 10 minutes to feel ok (not queesy, like I gotta "go", dizzy, nauseus) after I do this and in the morning, it takes me some time to expel it.

It'll take practice and after you've tried it a few times, it'll get easier. Basically, the mental hurdle is the hardest to handle. Good luck! I hope you feel better!

I was diagnosed with UC about 7 months ago and have only been using enemas since day 1. I decided on this because it doesn't damage your liver and kidney as much as the pill. It really have become an easy routine for me, like brushing my teeth before I go to bed. The advice above is really good for administering it, so there is nothing for me to add there. Just know it's simple and nothing to worry about. Once it becomes habit, you won't even think about it as an annoyance, more of a routine.

I also find that laying in bed with a heating pad on my stomach afterward helps me not run back to the bathroom.

Also, I just posted this on another thread, but there's a new version of Rowasa without the preservative that a lot of people are sensitive too. Normally Rowasa made me just miserable and sent me back to the bathroom. Just started using the new one without the sulfa (or whatever) preservative and no problems.

One other thing--- I started using cortifoam first to get everything under control before going to the Rowasa. So it was easier to tolerate the liquid when everything was calmer. The cortifoam for 2 weeks worked great. (2 times a day). Now I'm doing cortifoam in the morning and Rowasa at night and it seems like a very good combo. Will stop the cortifoam in the morning eventually.

I would not worry about lieing around for an hour without going to the bathroom. As others have said -- if you get 20 minutes, then it's better than nothing. I used to lie on my right side afterward (not what it says to do) because that's all I could do. Better than nothing!

Wouldn't it be nice if the printed directions told you to take out the air and warm up the bottle? :)