1st Rowasa experience

My suggestion is to try to eat dinner early so your food is digested. It's always uncomfortable for me to retain an enema when I feel like I am full of food. This may be obvious but don't pass wind while retaining an enema or you may pass more than air. Some people find it helpful to lay on their left side after using the enema. If you feel cramping, try to breathe deeply and give it a few minutes, it will pass! Goodluck!!

One more thing that has been extremely helpful to me is to squeeze the air out of the bottle before inserting. If it has air in it, it can give you gas.

Be sure the Rowasa bottle is not cold when you insert the contents-- because cold liquid going in will jar your colon. You can run the bottle under hot water for a few minutes to bring it closer to body temperature. Then, after inserting the fluid, do all you can to retain it! Even if you have to roll over flat on your back, or onto your right side to avoid expelling it, that is still better to do-- because it should slowly start reducing your inflammation. When that happens, you'll likely be able to stay lying on your left side for a good while to optimize the flow of medication up to your sigmoid colon. The ultimate goal is to retain the enema overnight = 7 to 8 hours. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

What seem to help me to retain it is to warm the bottle in a water bath for 10 minutes and using KY jelly to help insert it without irritation.
I squirt it in real fast so it sure to shoot up as far as it can go. Then I use a 1/4 of a paper towel and put it between my cheeks and flex my butt muscles a couple times to make sure it stays in while lying on my Lt side. It also help to grab the covers as the cooler air tend to make you wanna go!

I throw out the paper towel once I feel comfortable and then turn off the light and call it a night. Try having a light in reaching distance from your bed while lying down on your side. It beats trying to stand up and run over to the light switch right afterwards! If I did that I may lose it!

fyi...I read it takes at least 6 weeks for the med to work so don't get discourage if you don't see results right away!

use it before you go to bed...just use it. I wouldn't worry too much about eating. I have no idea what time you go to bed, but it'll be fine. If you didn't do it tonight, do it at bedtime.

Read the instructions. You could lubricate the tip of the nozzle with KY or whatever...but not vaseline.

The way that the nozzle is to be pointed should be heeded at least to start...that in itself may help to aleviate the trigger for the urge.

If you do get the urge, squeeze the sphincter and butt cheeks and wait it out. Grunt, groan, whatever it takes...it will pass after a minute.

Lie quietly for a half hour. I used to read while on my left side...

The next morning, you will have urgency...and many mornings afterward...hang tough, as the rectal inflammation heals, the urgency will as well.

Let us know how it goes.

q

when I first used them and had sigmoid inflammation...yes...it's recommended and I did.

My flares are now limited to the rectum, and no I don't.   I lay on my right side becasue I can see the TV better..lol.

Some. with regarding low in the rectum inflammation, sit up or propped up or on their backs.

Laying on the left side may lessen the urgency...
q

HI Deacon,
Great advice here. I love the enemas (doesn't that sound funny?) At first, I was not happy about having to do them but soon realized that they helped me more than anything. It is not glamorous but after a while you get used to it....I make it part of my routine, brush, floss, enema. I say I love them b/c w/out them I would probably be flaring. I am so happy not to be bleeding and I credit rectal meds for this. So....take all of the good advice here about administering them and hoping that you will see some improvement very soon. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
B