Asacol HD questions

Most of us stay on mesalamines forever. You can try to reduce dosage, but I wouldn't stray very far from the prescription. This is your maintenance medication.

Never heard there was a recommended 6 weeks.

I was on 4800 mg Asacol HD for about six months before switching to a greater than maximum dose of other 5ASAs. In other words, if you are in remission, do not change a thing. You're OK.

I've never heard of a recommended duration or treatment, and I haven't noticed any difference between Asacol and Asacol HD; they are identical besides the dosage. 4.8g/day is the maximum dosage of Asacol, but many of us are on that dosage. I got ear problems at that dosage (like, felt like fluid was stuck in my ear for days and days) and eventually reduced it to 3.2g/day. Otherwise, no side effects.

Do not go off 5asas if you're in remission! I made that mistake.

By my estimation it has been over 160 weeks for me so far.

Hello, I have been on Asacol HD 4800mg per day since 2011. That is 3 pills morning and night.
From what I understand, there is a low "side effects" profile for this medication and the benefits of keeping inflammation away is far greater than reducing the dose of Asacol. Because no inflammation means it reduces the risk of colon cancer (and obviously UC symptoms). As a side note, my new GI doctor that I switched to due to a move, told me to reduce my Asacol from 4800mg per day to 2400mg per day because I was in a 'remission'. Well, big mistake because a bad flare came back upon reducing it. (I should also say my prior GI doc in another state had told me to be on high dose Asacol HD for indefinite). Well, after that flare my new GI doc is fine with me staying on 4800mg for life. (Even though I would love to be "medicine free_"

Thanks for all the info, everyone...very much appreciated.

Quincy, I am on nightly rectal meds for left-sided colitis--have been for months now--and just starting the Asacol HD to sub for the discontinued Asacol. I always shoot for the lowest dosage because I wonder about toxicity with all this mesalamine running through me. I'm flaring slightly and accepting that I need to go to the max (4800g/day) to get things under control.

Funny story ... I picked up my Asacol HD last night from the pharmacy and instead of giving me the pills in a typical orange RX bottle, they gave them to me in the commercial bottle (I think it's because my original prescribed dosage was 7/day instead of 6/day, which meant I needed more than 1 commercial bottle per month).

And right there on the front, it says, "Not Bioequivalent to Asacol." Guess I was wrong!

I originally took Asacol but have been on Asacol HD since my second flare in '10. I actually had to up the dosage from 800 mg (which is what I took with Asacol) to 1600 mg after still experiencing mucous, but after that the results were very similar.

I really don't know where I'd be without this medication, and just hope that at least Asacol HD continues to be provided.

It doesn't work overnight.

After a few days-week you will start noticing that the stool is more formed, the urgency subsides for the most part and blood/mucous is at a minimum if present at all.

A rule of thumb for IBD, as far as I'm concerned: ALWAYS contact your GI doctor if blood is present. ESPECIALLY if you don't think it's going away.

Just give him/her a call. Better to get answers quick and learn if you need treatment than to draw this out.