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Sulfasalazine, your dose

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/23/2013 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am just curious, if you are taking sulfasalazine, what was your initial/starting dose and what is your current dose?

My starting and current dose is 3gm/day (delayed release sulfasalazine) and I am getting such bad headache and nausea that I am sick of it in just 12 days. The current headache is going on for 23 hours now. I get nausea EVERY DAY within 30 minutes of morning dose. I am planning to ask for a lower dose for a while and then upping the dose.

Thanks in advance.

Post Edited (deltaforce) : 4/24/2013 6:25:57 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/23/2013 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
I take 4gm/day. I do not know if it is delayed release or not. I am taking it for last 1.5yrs on the same dosage.

I used to have frequent headaches when I was on Asacol. But with Sulfasalazine headaches are LOT less.
Posted 4/23/2013 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I take 1.5 grams per day and my doctor had me build up to that. I started with 500 mg, once a day for a couple of weeks, then added another 500 and so on. It took a month or so to get up to 1.5 g/day.

I can't believe your DR put on you 3g to start.
Posted 4/23/2013 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
i had to take 4 tablets twice a day so 2 grams twice a day of a total of 4 grams per day. I had very bad nausea, headaches and vomiting from it.
Posted 4/24/2013 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
I forgot which dose I was on but I couldn't do it anymore. I was depressed, didn't recognize myself in the mirror anymore and it didn't help my UC. So I stopped it.
Posted 4/24/2013 12:28 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks folks.

Kazbern,
I think you replied my another post on it. I asked her if I need to ramp up the dose but she didn't think it was necessary. Now, after having 3 headaches lasting >20 hours, I am done with it. Finally wrote her mail today asking if I can go down to 2gm or something. If she refuses, I will just do it myself as you did.
Posted 4/24/2013 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
From WebMD:

Take this medication by mouth after meals with a full glass of water (8 ounces or 240 milliliters) or as directed by your doctor. To prevent stomach upset, your doctor may recommend a slow increase in your dosage when starting treatment. Dosage is based on your medical condition and response to therapy.

Here's another suggestion my GI made - since I take 3 tablets of sulfazine every day, he encouraged me to split it into one in the morning and two at night. That way, he said, if I got a headache I'd sleep through most of it. I have found this to be mostly true - I wake up with a headache more times than I'd like, but it responds to tylenol and I get on with my day.
Posted 4/24/2013 5:29 PM (GMT 0)

This is what my dr suggested when I was on it in the past:

Week of Treatment                                 Number of sulfasalazine tablets

                                                             Morning                             Evening

           1                                                   -                                       One

           2                                                   One                                   One

           3                                                    One                                  Two

           4                                                    Two                                  Two

I had no issues when I followed this.  I worked up to 3g/day.

Posted 4/25/2013 12:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you folks.

GI suggested to take 1 tablet 3X/day. SO will stick to it for a while before ramping it up.
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