HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Uceris has performed a miracle!

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 4/16/2014 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
It's been 5 days and I can't believe how much better I feel!
I hope it keeps!
Posted 4/16/2014 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
ditto!
Posted 4/17/2014 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
Congrats! I pair Uceris and mesalamine enemas to kick flares to the curb within 3 days!
Posted 4/17/2014 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
Me too but I am noticing some pred side effects.
Posted 4/17/2014 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
notsosicklygirl, you take 1 9mg pill a day right? I'm not trying to downplay your common sense or abilities to search but I'm just curious as my GI prescribed mine for 3x a day, which I know is wrong.

So far I haven't noticed any out of the ordinary symptoms.
Posted 4/17/2014 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
I recently tried Uceris, helped tremendously, but I ended up having terrible headaches and broke out in a rash.
Posted 4/17/2014 12:00 PM (GMT 0)
My GIs refuse....say it's for right sided colitis & mine is on the left. Is this true?
Posted 4/17/2014 12:57 PM (GMT 0)
rbartolo -

Your GI is dead wrong. Uceris is formulated to release in the large intestine, but it should cover the full length of it. I think absorption depends on many individual factors however, genetics included.

This is from the uceris site:

What happens after taking UCERIS? Unlike typical steroids, which act on the whole body, UCERIS is designed to target the area where the disease is located. The medicine travels through the digestive system and stays intact until it reaches the colon. Once it dissolves, UCERIS forms a type of gel and is designed to release medicine throughout the full length of the colon.

katarzyna-

Medical errors like that have the potential to be costly, especially if we are playing with steroids. Know some people who developed type-2 diabetes because their asswipe of doctors didn't bother to review the dosage guidelines. I think he confused uceris with entocort dosage, which is supposed to be 3x a day @ 3 mg.
Posted 4/17/2014 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
katarzyna: I think either you or your doctor (could very well be your doctor) or even possibly the pharmacy, are confused about Uceris/Budesonide/Entocort. Budesonide/Entocort comes in 3mg pills and is a very inexpensive drug and is usually prescribed at three 3mg pills per day for UC. Uceris is not the same as Budesonide/Entocort. Even though it has the same medicine inside it has a different coating on the outside which helps it dissolve at a different place in the colon, which usually helps in fighting UC much, much better than Budesonide/Entocort. It is extremely expensive at about $1300 per month and only comes in 9mg pills, which you take once per day. I'm betting you are actually taking either Budesonide or Entocort which many doctors, pharmacies, or insurance companies substitute for Uceris because many insurance companies won't pay for Uceris. Your doctor definitely made a mistake if he has prescribed real Uceris at 9mg pills, three times per day. Uceris is much more effective for UC than is Budesonide/Entocort but some of these places and people try claiming it is the same due to the cost factor, just because it does have the same medicine inside the coating.
Posted 4/17/2014 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
Gary: in hospital. Limited wifi...entocort only available in Canada. Is this the same pls?
Posted 4/17/2014 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry. Just read the above post:(. I need a maintenance drug desperately.
Posted 4/17/2014 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
gary and guardian, I think it's both my doc and the pharmacy. It must be new to them but I knew better than taking 3 of them a day! I researched it prior and knew that it is 1 9mg a day .. and in the first few days I took 2 just to kick the flare to the curb.

Guardian, yeah I think he did confuse it with Entocort as we were talking about that one and I told him it's similar to it but with a different coating.

Gary, no it's the real deal. He just didn't know the guidelines for the correct dosage. Although, I must say, because he prescribed it for 3x a day, I got a lot of pills. Also, Uceris for my insurance is $5000 per script but I only paid $10.
Posted 4/18/2014 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
I take one tablet a day katarzyna. I feel restless and my skin is bad. I have also been hungry. Maybe I am just thinking I have predish symptoms because i am paranoid.
Posted 4/18/2014 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
*Whispers* If my doctor wrote me the RX for 3 times more than I knew I needed, I'd probably keep my mouth shut and enjoy my triple quantity of meds for the one copay (assuming I have insurance that pays). Then I'd only take one, and save the others. I would continue to get my refills on schedule to get the max quantity of pills for the lowest out-of-pocket expense.

Wrong? Maybe. Would I do it anyway? Heck yes!

If you are paying full price out-of-pocket, then I might get the prescription corrected.
Posted 4/18/2014 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
notsosicklygirl, ouch that sounds like a pain in the butt. I so far have no symptoms; I never really got any on pred either except in the very beginning. Although, the hungry side effect, yes but I don't complain too much with that one as I lose 10lbs+ during major flares. ;)

geeker, you think I corrected him? Heck no! I'm just sharing it with you guys and gals. It is wrong to do it morally but does Big Pharma give a rat's arse about us enough to make us better without all the extra effects on the side? Exactly! 8)

Luckily I have insurance that covers it and I have a small copay. I'm still under 26 and can be on my father's insurance. Horizon Blue Cross is awesome when it needs to be.
Posted 4/21/2014 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
I still don't think it does very well for sigmoid/rectal area....having a hard time with it to get the very very end, may have to go back to a few months of Rowasa/Cortenema to get rid of that last few cm between Canasa and what Uceris will reach..that in between point.

Personally I say it's good for everything except the very end proctitis and sigmoid area, and not for a very bad flare.....but that's my own experience.
Posted 4/22/2014 12:26 AM (GMT 0)
I loved Uceris..it kicked my UC into remission at day 5..but my insurance won't cover it..it's ridiculously expensive. So I can't take it. My GI gave me samples, and doesn't have anymore. it sucks. but thankfully, I haven't flared yet.
Posted 4/24/2014 11:48 PM (GMT 0)
Not happly yet.....
I have been taking UCERIS for almost eight weeks....along with mesalamine enemas and APRISO.
Present dosage 9 mg of time released Uceris every 3rd day,
Mesalamine enema every forth day, Apriso 6 capsules 4 in morning, 2 in evening.
Eight weeks ago I was taking all above, each and every day. That's what it took to control my flare.
I'm just praying that the Uceris puts me in remission without the UC coming back with a vengeance.
That being said, what a difference it made in the quality of my present life! I can go everywhere without an adult diaper! Swim, visit out of town, meet up with friends for lunch.
I do have some weird side effects but nothing that's not doable!
I will enjoy the ride while it lasts! Hope you do as well!
Posted 9/10/2014 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Just thought I'd update.

Uceris was like a miracle. They had prescribed only one month. As soon as the prescription ran out, the symptoms all came back. I had a REALLY bad week.

We started Uceris again, but it didn’t seem to work the next time, so we started the Prednisone.

Tapering from that now, the symptoms are all back and they want to try Imuran next.
Posted 9/10/2014 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Same thing happened to me. It was a nice bandaid but the remission didn't last :(
Posted 9/10/2014 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
Update
The last time I posted in April about my Uceris.
I eventually stopped Uceris, tapered my enemas, reduced my Apriso.....and I started getting a flare again after 2 weeks.
I begin the regiment all over again rather than step up to stronger drugs.
Been doing this again for about 3 weeks. I realize the party may be over eventually, but for right now I am glued together.
Since you don't have to taper off Uceris, one of our own UC'ers on this site wondered why the GI's dont suggest taking it 3 times a week along with some antiinflamatories and mesalamine enemas.
Its working out for me now. Why worry about taking it for longer than 8 weeks when prednisone ( much stronger side effects) is being prescribed for years!
You bet UCERIS is expensive! But there is a prescription card for those with insurance, and discounts for financial distress .
When it stops working all together in conjunction with my other meds I will have to move along.
For now, it's the glue I need that's less invasive.
I will let you all know when I start becoming immune.
I'd say that I have taken the Uceris for approx 6 months off and on
Don't know where I am going from here, but I know this may
Be my best option for the present
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply