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Mesalamine enema bad reaction

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Posted 9/19/2012 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
Anyone get sick from enemas? I used one last night and it did not agree :(
Posted 9/19/2012 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
What do you mean by that? Were you not able to hold it, or did it actually make your symptoms worse?

It could be that you're sensitive to the sulfites, as some people are. If so, there are sulfate-free mesalamine enemas.
Posted 9/19/2012 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
Some people are sensitive to the sulfa used in the liquid retention. If you haven't had a problem taking pills with mesalamine then the sulfa could be a problem for you.

Rowasa is available in a sulfa-free version called "Rowasa sf" but not available generic as far as I know.

You'll have to determine whether it's the sulfa or mesalamine causing problems. I had no reactions to either mesalamine pills or to mesalamine enemas. Of course it took a few tries to be able to retain the enemas all night. When my rectum was very inflamed it wanted to expell the enema right away. It took about a week (every night) to be able to keep them in and be able to use a whole enema.

Good luck because the enemas can really be a great help to healing. Try to find one that works.
Posted 9/19/2012 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Oh no :( What reaction did you have?
Posted 9/19/2012 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
I couldn't retain at all and it made me immediately really sick :( still going through it now
Posted 9/19/2012 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
When I am flaring, I can't retain an enema at all!! I used cortifoam last time I was flaring, that's much easier to retain because it's foam and it dissolves. If you were sick, you may have a sensitivity to mesalamine but it's weird that you're able to tolerate Lialda and not Rowasa.
Posted 9/19/2012 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
It can be very hard to retain an enema when you're flaring. I only used half at first and was very, very careful to squeeze all of the air out before inserting it. I don't think you were reacting to the mesalamine, though.
Posted 9/19/2012 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
having bleeding and irritation form the sulfates is possible. getting "sick" (nauseous? can yo be more specific?) is more like an allergic reaction to 5-asa - or a complete coincidence. If yo are taking oral 5-asa and not having allergic reactions, than an allergic reaction to the 5-asa in the enema is unlikely (still possible because each pill or enema buffers the 5-asa a little differently)

the other possibility is you are sick in some way. this contributed to not being able to hold the enema, but otherwise is the enema is unrelated to the sickness.

I think any further input can nly be meaningful if you are more specific about "sick"
Posted 9/19/2012 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Is this after just one enema? Took me a long while before not having that reaction after inserting them.

q
Posted 9/19/2012 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
I had a bad reaction a few months ago to the Rowasa enemas - I'm certain it was the sulfa agent because I can tolerate Canasa suppositories very well. I got super sick every time I used them (cramps, terrible diarrhea, blood, severe nausea, etc.). The reaction usually subsided after about 24 hours.
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