First time using Rowasa... What can I expect?

Finally got my doc to prescribe the enemas and DH will be bringing them home to me tonight. This will be my first time using a retention enema.

My flare is fairly minor right now but not getting better.
No D. Mornings are not too bad with some gas, formed bm and a small amount of blood. I know I've got hemmies going on too. Day time is usually fine, maybe one bm. After dinner and then right before bed I'm on the toilet passing that fabulous messy gas several times. Urgency with all of this. Also have had to wake up around 2a.m. For more toilet gas a couple of times.

My plan is to lie down in bed and wait for the inevitable one last messy fart I have to get up for and then do the enema.

can I even expect to hold it in for more than an hour at this point?

Is my morning (or middle of the night) rush to the toilet going to be even more urgent?

Should I wear a pad or something just in case?

The hemmies are not sore but I know they're still really sensitive and likely bleeding. Is there anything that will help to carefully ease past these things?

Sleeping on the bathroom floor is not an option at all. I'm pregnant and my hips are killing me as it is.

Any other enema newbie advice?

I'm currently taking it. The first time I could not hold in that long, but with time you will be able to sleep without releasing it.

It all depends on the state of your symptoms. I have done enemas for seventeen years now, and for the vast majority of that time I had no problem retaining. Had to learn a few tricks over the years to make it more comfortable, but other than that I was fine with them and never leaked. Once you get used to it you can do it pretty quickly/easily and then fall right to sleep.

But if you're experiencing a lot of urgency and getting up several times a night, then in might be impossible to retain. For me right now, I have stopped using them because I know I can't retain it for long enough to do any good, and I am just miserable/in pain the whole time experiencing that awful urgency & discomfort. If this is the case then you should try using suppositories or cortifoam instead, as they are easier to retain.

Tips for Using Enemas:

1) In the beginning especially, while you're still getting used to the feel of them, and especially if you're in a cold climate, try to warm the bottle up by putting it in your armpit or between your legs for ten minutes or so first. Inserting a cold enema can be a bit painful and can trigger cramping.

2) After you shake it and remove the cap, hold the bottle up to the light (straight up) and expel all the air out of the bottle first. (When held up to the light you can see exactly the level of the liquid.) If you leave the air in, then it goes into your rectum with the enema and immediately wants to come out.... along with all the medicine, LOL.

3) If the tip is not pre-lubed, make sure to use some... or you can add more lube if it doesn't seem like enough.

4) Relax your whole body, especially your abdomen and rectal/anal muscles as much as possible and take slow deep breaths as you insert it. Some people find it easier to insert if they push a little as if having a BM, although I've never used this method. Remember to insert pointing towards the navel and then once all the way in, change the angle so it is pointed more towards the back when you squeeze. Squeeze at a moderately slow pace... if you squeeze too fast it can be uncomfortable and/or trigger cramping.

5) Remain still while laying on your side and keep your body and abdomen muscles as relaxed as possible while you wait for it to absorb. This will reduce urgency and potential cramping - the more you move around the more you're going to feel like it needs to come out. This usually takes 20-30 minutes, with the urgency leaving within the first five or ten minutes... but I've learned over the years that if I still feel the need to go after 30 or 40 minutes, then that feeling is not ever going to go away and will just disrupt my sleep all night long, so I go ahead and go to the bathroom at that point and let it out. The times when I have tried to retain an enema during nights like that, they never absorb anyway and in the morning come out straight liquid the same way they went in, so I might as well cut my losses.

6) If it absorbs properly, expect to see white solid or semi-solid bowel movements in the morning, meaning the liquid has absorbed into your colon lining, just leaving the leftover white-colored solids behind. This is normal. If you are not having diarrhea, then usually the stool will be often be white on the front end and brown on the back end.

Good luck!!

I think they are probably fine as long as they were stored in a cool/room temperature area and you use them right away. Usually expiration dates just ensure the effectiveness of the drug, so worst case is it might be just a smidge less effective than a fresh one.

Thanks for the tips, all.
Will let you know how it goes.

DH just got home and I was surprised that it's only a one week supply. Is this normal?
Doc gave me 11 refills but I was thinking it would be more like a month supply so I'm not having to go to the pharmacy every week! Plus, the pharmacy had to order it anyway so I'll basically be calling them tomorrow for a refill to make sure it comes in again before I run out. Seems like a big waste of time.

Because they expire more quickly than other drugs and are less popular, most pharmacies only keep a one-week supply at a time, and then you have to go in a few days later to pick up the rest of the month's supply. If you want to avoid this in the future, call ahead a few days before you are due to refill so they can order it ahead of time and have it ready for you. I pick up a month's worth at a time: four big boxes. If they won't let you get that much then it must be due to your individual insurance plan or pharmacy.

Kept it in all night! Admittedly, I didn't use the entire bottle because I thought I'd be more likely to keep a slightly smaller amount in. Will use the whole bottle of the one I do tonight.

Had a small amount of pink blood from hemmies after insertion last night.

This morning only a little pink blood, messy gas and then a good sized formed bm. It's been a few weeks with smaller BMs, so that (and no red blood) was an improvement. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Thanks again for all the tips, especially warming the bottle which I would have forgotten to do. I just kept it in my clothing last night while I watched a show before bed and the temperature was perfect.

no posts from the enema queen on this thread? :)

Yesterday was a fairly good day, but no real improvement yet. The evening was not great, several trips to the toilet with gas and blood. Had to wait until about 11:30 for all that to be over with so I could do the enema, so I'm tired today!

Did the whole bottle and it stayed put all night. This morning was good, similar to yesterday.

Won't be posting daily updates any more, but will post when things improve.

Thanks again for all your tips.

Well the blood has been gone for 3 whole days.

I had a couple of really good days but still having some days where I'm dealing with the messy gas.

Trying to be patient with the rest of the healing and very glad to not be seeing blood any more.

Been using the enemas for 3 months. No blood , but still have gas and urgency. Can"t seem to wean off. Sounds like your doing well hekela!