Percocets and UC

Hello & Welcome,

I wouldn't be surprised if Accutane caused your UC but at the same time, I was diagnosed at 27, I was perfectly healthy and no one in my family has this either and I never took Accutane. If I took Accutane, I would have definitely contacted a lawyer about the case.

As for percocets, I don't think they are good to take everyday of the month for anyone, nevermind someone with UC. It is a habit forming drug and the bottom line is that you need to get treatment for the inflammation, not mask symptoms with painkillers. My GI never gives me painkillers, I would have better luck going to a GP to get painkillers but I think you need to treat the root of the issue. What enemas are you using? Has your GI mentioned Imuran or 6mp as an option? Suppositories are easier to retain when you're unable to retain an enema. They aen't as effective for treating inflammation higher than the rectum but it's better to treat something than nothing.

Mhg26,

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I've taken both Oxycodon and Percocet during a bad, bad flare, in addition to post-surgery care. 30 mg Percocet a day is a lot; however, despite the obvious negative effects of potential dependency and slowing down the GI track, people who need it, take it. It's very individual how people react to the opiates. Some drop and constipate from one 5 mg pill and others take 50 mgs without any problems.

The usual post-surgery care, for example in knee or hip replacements require 1 to 3 month percocet/oxycodon regimen that is tapered off slowly. The first week or two you could take 20 mg Oxy a day and a percocet every two hours.

I went thorough a similar situation without a hitch a couple of times, although some people quit taking any pain meds after the discharge from the hospital.

The GI docs really hate to give UC'ers percocets for the potential negative effects and push tylenol instead. Well, they have not experienced the UC pain at its worst. I have. So, if I want oxy or percocet, they will write me a script.

It is naturally of utmost importance that the reason for your pain is diagnosed. It is as important to get you the relief you need. I don't think you'll become an addict in 3 months - I did not - but those are tough medicines.

As to the triggers of UC - everybody appears to have their own culprit. One more thing, I was also abroad when I was diagnosed with the UC.

Good luck to you. Do not give up. You will get better.

Thank you all for your quick answers and advice, I really appreciate it! As far as my current situation goes, I'm doing maybe a tiny bit better since I last posted on here. I started taking my Rowassa Mesalamine Suspension enemas for the past 4 nights and I think they've helped slow down my frequency of bowel movements and also have helped with my bleeding. I'm still taking 20mg of Prednisone a day along with 4800mg of Lialda, and the occasional percocet 10 1 or 2 times a day for my pain. Honestly, the percocets for me do not give me any kind of constipation whatsoever. In the past I had a surgery on my right leg to remove a chunk of extra bone, and I was on more than twice the dosage of percocets that I'm on now and that did however give me constipation-But from that experience I can definitely tell if have opioid induced constipation or not, and I know that I do not. Also, I know that the narcotics are addictive, but I am definitely safe with them and I do not have an addicting personality. I really don't like having to take them but they really are the only way to quickly give me relieve for several hours.

I had an appointment with my relatively new GI earlier today, and he told me that we need to start aggressively treating my UC. I was a bit nervous what that meant and what the next steps were, considering I've only been diagnosed about 3 and a half months ago. My GI told me about 6MP and Azathioprine as potential next level medications to address my symptoms. He also informed me that it could take up to 3 months to even kick in which is a huge negative for me since I have to go back to school at the end of August. I was also wondering if anyone else currently takes or has ever taken either drug and how they feel about it? I've heard some of the side effects including the lowered immunity is not very good. The next thing my GI and talked about was Remicade. This drug really scares me. My other GI at school in DC told me about several of severe side effects including rare types of Lymphoma, especially in young adult males. I've also heard it is the best drug in terms of inducing and sustaining remission for patients with Crohns and UC. I'm curious as to how others on here feel about it? Has anyone on here had very bad side effects from it or know of friends or relatives that have had adverse reactions to it?

So although my GI and I talked about the other types of treatments, I am not starting any of them as of right now. Currently I am prepping for my 2nd colonoscopy which my GI believes I need. The reason being that my first doctor didn't take samples from entire colon, which makes both me and my new GI very frustrated. This prep is truly a pain! Luckily the procedure is tomorrow just before noon, so it's only a day of prep, and I plan to just wake up immediately before it. I really wish these things weren't happening to me. I'm 20, closer to 21 yet my body feels as though I'm in my 60's or 70's ...I feel for each and every person on this earth that has to go through IBD, and I hope you all are doing well and feeling healthy- or at least will be healthy soon.

Hi, and welcome.
MyUC is a member who has had a wonderful experience with Imuran/6MP - maybe you could do a search for a few of his threads.
According to any GIs I've used, they had wonderful track records - but my guess is that folks on this board are here because meds are not working as well as they might, so this is a skewed cross-section.

I'm glad you're on the mesalamine enemas - they do very well for many people, and are safer than a lot of other options!