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Do I Have to take prednisone?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/5/2011 1:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I have had UC for over ten years now. I can't remember what type it is but its all over the colon.   The last 4 years have been really good with only occassional blips and maintained with melasalazine and occassional colifoam. 

Well, about 2 weeks ago I started flaring.  I managed to control it somewhat the first week but then last weekend I started with lots of waterly D and a fair bit of blood.  I have been going about 8 times a day since the weekend.  On Monday I took some colifoam that I had in  the cupboard (hydrocortisone acetate).  I am now on day 4 of taking Colifoam twice daily and I find that it reduces the amount of blood a little for the first part of the day and then I have a lot of blood with the D. I'm still running to the loo about 8 times a day though.   This morning I had quite a bit of blood in my stool and some dark blood.   Well the blood scares me and I went to my GP this morning.  It was an emergency appointment with a Dr I didn't know and she was nice but didnt  know a whole lot about UC.  Anyway she spoke to a GI nurse on  the phone and she told me to go on Prednisone 40mg daily and colifoam once daily with asacol. 

My questions are: 

1.  Is 4 days enough time for colifoam to work?  Should I be seeing better results by now?

2.  Is there another enema with Prednisone in it that I can use?  I recently read about something called Predfoam is that still around? 

If there are other options why did she reccommend prednisone? Is it a money thing?   I really dread taking pred but I also want to get the bleeding under control.  This flare up has the most amount of blood I have ever had so it scares me.  I also feel lightheaded and a bit out of it.  Any help appreciated the pred is in the cupboard waiting....

 

Posted 5/5/2011 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is extremely effective and will nip this flare in the bud fast. Have you ever taken it before? If you're not on it for more than a few weeks the potential side effects should not be that bad. I personally love me some pred, it makes me euphoric. ;-)

What maintenance meds have you been on?
Posted 5/5/2011 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have taken it before about 5 years ago and I remember the sleeplessness and weight gain...uck. However I also remember the boundless energy!! I will be on it for 8 weeks this time around which seems longer than I remember in the past.

I've added my signature with meds in it.
Posted 5/5/2011 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
You might want to talk to your GI about mesalamine enemas - they are very effective for me. Good luck getting through this flare!
Posted 5/5/2011 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
The mesalamine enemas are thought to be very effective and very safe - I'd ask for those.
There are also enemas with a steroid base - less is absorbed into the system than with Preddnisone.
Posted 5/5/2011 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
Puddle-duck

I have had prednisone waiting in my cupboard as well but even with my worst flair I just couldn't bring myself to take it so I tried everything else and things did clear up...

Ask for the hycort enema or cortenema they go further up than the colifoam.  The foam is great to use during the day and the enemas are best for the night.  Add vit e oil into your enemas it helps to stop the bleeding and heal the lining of the colon.

4 days really isn't enough to see much improvement.  Stick with an enema and hopefully you wont need to go on Prednisone. 

You should add a good probiotic in as well to put the good bacteria back into your colon.

Posted 5/7/2011 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
Puffed rice,

What probiotic would you suggest and can you take them while flaring?

The prednisone is still in the cubboard....
Posted 5/7/2011 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
Puddle-duck,

There are two that I take one is the Renew Life Ultimate FLora Critical Care (Capsules)50billion live bacteria and the other is called Bio-K PLus(it comes in a yogurt container Boxes of 6 or 15)50 billion live bacteria. 

I  alternate between the two of them but take it two times a day on an empty stomach, but when I'm flaring I have gone up to three capsules a day.  Many of us here are on the renew Life and do well on it. Probiotics should be taken flaring or in remission to keep the good bacteria in the colon.

Do you take Metamucil to bulk up your stool?  Very important to take start with a small amout and gradually increase.  Dont use the one with aspartame

Posted 5/9/2011 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks puffed rice.   I will look into ordering some online.  I am in the UK so hopefully I can find some. 

REgarding the metamucil, they don't sell it in this country I don't think.  I did find something called Lepicol which has psyllium husks, inulin(prebiotic) and some probiotics.  The lady at the shop gave me a couple samples so I thought I might try it. 

Anyone from the Uk who has tried Lepicol out there??

Posted 5/10/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Puddle-duck:
I'm with puffed rice on this one.

Prednisone isn't the miracle drug it's promised to be for everyone: wasn't in my case. I started at 30mg, went up to 40mg, and never achieved remission. I'm still tapering 7 months later, with a moon face, bone loss, acne, etc.

I think you're wise to give other medicines a try before going on it.

Hope you can find the probiotics in the UK.
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