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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/14/2014 11:35 AM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and need help.

My specialist didn't help me much, he just gave me mezavant. I've been taking it for almost a week now and have terrible cramps. II'm on the toilet all day, it's worse than aanything I've had before. I can'teven leave the house. I have decided to stop taking the mezavant but what can iI do in the meantime ? I've been taking nurofen just to try and ease the pain and cramps but it's not helping.
Posted 4/14/2014 11:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Knottygirl,

Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. My advice is keep taking the mezavant. It takes much longer than a week to work. The maximum dose is 4 tablets. Nurofen is the worse thing to take when you have UC as well as asprin, naproxen and other NSAI drugs.
Maybe buscopan can help with the cramps.
Posted 4/14/2014 12:22 PM (GMT 0)
But should mezavant make me lots worse though? Before I started it my uc wasn't all that bad, nothing like what I'm going through now. The Dr said it would take a while to work but he didn't say I would get dramatically worse in the meantime.

I have buscapan might try that tonight. I'm stuffed I'm up every hour through the night in addition to getting up to a baby and 2 toddlers. Even at my worst before my diagnosis I was only up two or 3 times at most.
Posted 4/14/2014 12:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

Why don't you phone him and have a word about your symptoms. There is a possibility that you are reacting to it.
Where are you?
Here in the UK I have a dedicated nurse that I can phone anytime about problems. I can also phone my GI secretary when I have a problem.
Posted 4/14/2014 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
I'm in Australia. I have a private gastroenterologist but I think when I phone it's only the reception, I don't think I can speak to him except for an appointment. I have one with him in 2 weeks time to see how the mezavant is going. It said on the info sheet that if you get cramps bloody diarrhoea ect to stop taking it straight away.

I feel at the moment that I wish I'd never been diagnosed. It wasn't that bad, I could live with it unlike the hell that I currently have.
Posted 4/14/2014 12:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

I would still phone, you have nothing to lose.
Posted 4/14/2014 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum Knottygirl. Follow the directions on the drug insert. If you have bloody diarrhea stop taking the mezavent.

A percentage of people cannot tolerate this medicine and it makes them worse. You should call your GI today and tell them that you stopped the meds. Hopefully they will call in a prescription for oral steroids and you will start feeling better quickly. You should also be taking rectal meds, and since the oral mezavent made you worse you should get rectal steroids.
Posted 4/14/2014 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
What do oral steroids do?
Posted 4/15/2014 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
Steroids will knock the flare out very quickly. They are not for long term or frequent use, but if you are intolerant of mesalamines they are your quickest and most effective answer at the moment. Did you call your GI?
Posted 4/15/2014 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
Yep I called this morning. He was in surgery, the secretary was going to speak with him and phone me back prob this arvo.

I've been ok today apart from this morning. But then I haven't eaten anything. I'm starving but scared to eat as I needed to go out to the shops to get some thing s.
Posted 4/15/2014 3:41 AM (GMT 0)
When I had my post op appointment he also said my lactose intolerance level was 17 which is high. I have stopped all milk products too to see if that helps.
Posted 4/15/2014 7:36 AM (GMT 0)
Hi knotty girl I am in australia. What part do you live in?
I'm from sa and my gastro dr is 400ks away so I have an agreement whenever I am not well I can call and he will call me back as he only comes down once a month.
I had the same sort of symptoms with one of the drugs so they had to change me to another drug.
Hope you are able to speak to them and sort something out fast.
Hope all goes well for you good luck :)
Posted 4/15/2014 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
She finally phoned back and said he's going to give me a script for something else sulphasalazine or something. No mention of oral steroids. I have to get the day number of my local chemist and she will fax the script over. Still not feeling right. I hope it's just the mezavant still working it's way out.
Posted 4/15/2014 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
ok. I take sulfasalazine and it works well for me. It breaks down into mesalamine in the bowel, though, so I'm puzzling over why he would choose this option. It's worth a shot, but proceed with caution. Hopefully the pharmacy will give you instructions about how to take this med. IMO you should start with a low dose and build up to the prescribed amount over several days if not weeks, depending of course on what the daily dose is that your GI recommended.
Posted 4/15/2014 6:25 PM (GMT 0)
I was suspected of having uc as a teenager and I think that's what I took for awhile. I saw a different doctor then and all I could remember about it was thatit made my urine go really bright yellow. He said it was sulpha salazine but wanted to try me on mezavant this time due to me breastfeeding my baby at the moment. Now I'm worried about taking it..
Posted 4/15/2014 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, sulfasalazine makes my pee yellow.

There seems to be a risk of bloody diarrhea in breastfeeding infants whose mothers are on high doses of sulfasalazine. See http://www.infantrisk.com/forum/showthread.php?895-Sulfasalazine-and-breastfeeding&highlight=sulfasalazine. But maybe the risk isn't high...see http://www.infantrisk.com/forum/showthread.php?569-Breastfeeding-on-Sulfasalazine&highlight=sulfasalazine.
Posted 4/15/2014 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
He said the same with the mezavant that I needed to keep an eye on her for diarrhoea while I'm taking it. Maybe I'll be on a low dose.

She is 8 months old so hopefully will be ok, it seems the risk was higher in smaller babies. I don't really want to have to stop bf her just yet.
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