Canasa Suppositories alternative?

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis concentrated in the rectum 2 years ago, and have been taking Canasa (mesalamine) suppositories ever since. They work perfectly but are very expensive ($620 a month before insurance) and I'm concerned about long term use. Have any of you found a similar medication for less? I haven't tried enemas, but other than the cost the suppositories have been perfect for me.
A second point I'm curious about: when I am on medication my symptoms (inflammation, bleeding, difficulty) completely go away. I've read that other people with UC only treat when they are 'flaring' and have been able to go into remission. If the medicine gets rid of my symptoms, how will I know if I have gone into remission or if a 'flare' has ended?

Thanks so much!

Hi there,

I'm a new member too. I was using canasa supp. until I learned through the ALCAT immune testing that I am severely allergic to one of the ingredients in them. It's a very helpful test as it looks only at what your white blood cells react to. Because this can change, it's a good idea to repeat the test each year to stay on top of what your white blood cells are "thinking" they need to go into auto-immune attack over.

My naturopathic doc gave me this "recipe" for DIY retention enemas in the standard enema bottle:

warm (not hot) water
5g L-glutamine powder
1000mg quercitin capsules emptied into bottle (or powder if you can find it)
2 VSL3 capsules emptied into bottle (or one sachet packet - more expensive)
shake well and administer at night; during a flare you may want to do one in the morning and one in the evening.

These ingredients are far more economical and you can just mix it up as needed. Works great. Much to the dismay of likely many of the members in this forum I do not take meds everyday. I used to and they really did not work for where my UC is located (0-25 cm). I've had 3 different docs tell me that oral meds are not the right solution for my UC. I only use enemas or supp. during a flare. My body seems to respond pretty quickly, but everyone is different.

I take the following daily -- perhaps this information can be helpful to you. To save lots of $$$ I order from VitaCost online. The only thing I have to get from my naturopath is the adrenal supplement.

VSL3 (6 capsules during flare, otherwise 3 daily)
Iron supplement (plant based) by Rainbow Light
Vit B complex by New Chapter Organics
Quercitin 1000mg by Solgar
Salmon Oil 4g by WholeMega New Chapter Organics
Multi-vitamin/mineral by Rainbow Light
Bone Strength Take Care - Calcium/Mag. w/Vit D3 and K (plant based) by New Chapter Organics
Adrenal support supplement by Vital Nutrients

As far as knowing when you're in remission that is best detected through colonoscopy. Just because there are no flare symptoms it doesn't mean there is not still UC "brewing" in the tissues. Endoscopic remission and symptom remission are two different things. This is why I believe it's so important to have the ALCAT results to work with along with regular colonoscopies too.

To your health!

wheew: UC is an autoimmune disease where your immune system attacks either your colon or something in your colon, causing inflammation. Unfortunately, that process never really stops, ever, except with some kind of therapy, whether it be meds, alternatives, or both. Very rarely does anyone have a long term therapy free remission. That's because the disease process never stops unless your particular therapy stops it. Therapies can cause the colon to heal to a great extent but if you stop the therapies the disease will come back. The length of time until it comes back depends on how well your colon was healed in the first place. Many have made the mistake of stopping their therapies because remission was attained, only to find out that they relapse and each subsequent flare can often be harder and harder to treat. Many times you can't just do what you did before, you have to keep on going up the ladder to worse and worse treatments. Therefore, the best strategy is to go into remission and continue therapies forever so that you don't ever get another flare. I don't know how much Canasa you are doing but if you do one a day and attain remission I would make sure that you continue doing them to some degree to stay in remission. It doesn't have to be one a day to stay in remission, you may be able to get by with one a week.

i made the mistake recently of stopping Canasa cold turkey. thought the flare was over, and actually i have no idea what i was thinking because usually i taper them one every other night etc..two three weeks go by and im fine then all of a sudden some light bleeding and mucus, still only going once a day. But back to square one. live and learn.

I know that's the scary part! Who pulls our strings :( I was thinking the other day about "cures" how many have there been for anything? More treatments than cures. I don't mind that, as long as its a safe one

Great advice bauerSoCal,

I'd also like to offer a suggestion wheew. When you get your flare under control with meds, a good alternative may be Wise Woman Herbal Suppositories #2. They are cheap and are the only suppositories that have remained effective for me at stopping hemorrhoids, bleeding and less BM's.

www.rockwellnutrition.com/wise-woman-herbals-supplements-suppositories-2-12-count.html

Ask your doctor about them. :) Good luck to you.

Stereo, I have a question about the site you used for these. I tried to register and the verification word part of the registration does not seem to work. I also read that you need to purchase a 30 minute consultation with them to purchase their products. Is this what you had to do? I was going to call them but they are not open yet. I really want to get a 12 pack of these to try on order today.

Stece

You can order the mesalamine suppositories from Canada. I believe I was only paying about $100 for a months supply.

Notsosickygirl, how do you get them from Canada? Is it possible to get them safely from Canada to Tennessee from an online provider?

Hey steve, i didn't see your post until now, but thats great you were able to get them. Did you have to go through a consultation or anything?

Stereo, No I didn't have to go through consultation. It was easy after I called them as their online system was not working for registering. I got the suppositories yesterday and took one last night in place of my Canasa so we will see. I guess I am going out on a limb by not taking my Canasa but here it goes..I like how well they are packaged and how fast they came. I got a 12 pack to see how they work. I will let everyone konw how they do in place of my Canasa. Keeping fingers crossed. All I take now is Canasa 2 times a week so I hope this puts me over the top and not have to take prescriptions anymore. I am soo close.

Steve

I live in the US, I get my Canasa from a Canadian pharmacy called PharmaPassport. The Canadian version is called Salofalk 1000mg It cost around 68.00 per 30 in a box.

You don't usually need a doctor to call but you can have them call your doctor or pharmacy. I usually just send them my prescription and they fill it.