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First time using salofalk enema

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Posted 5/10/2014 11:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

Used an enema last night for the first time. All was good. No feelings or urgency of needing to go and it stayed there all night.

Just want to know peoples experiences of what happens in the morning when you go to the toilet.

First I passed what just looked like enema then I passed a big mussy mess which looked still like emema mixed with mushy poo. I then had two other bms of runny poo. Is this whats to be expected. Do you pass normal formed poos when using the enemas.

This is a new experience for me. Thanks for your help.

Have a good day
Martha
Posted 5/10/2014 11:36 AM (GMT 0)
in time you will... (pass mostly normal poo) if you are healing and the colon can absorb more of the enema.

It is very normal for the stool to be covered in a light beige-ish tone. And if you were bleeding or mucusy or having D. that it will take a while (weeks? months? ) to change - all depending on how bad you were flaring and how well you respond to mesalamine.

They (enema's) are a nuisance but once you are used to doing them they are fairly easy and can make a big in many flare ups!

good luck!
Posted 5/10/2014 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
hi Martha...
So you have the 2g or 4g dosage?

Like that proverbial box of chocolates...it'll vary depending on if you're flaring or what you ate the day/days before.

Great you held it in....yep..new experience. You'll get used to it. Welcome to your new best friend! Hope it's as faithful to you as it is to me.

As you heal, you will go through some constipation. Continue with the enemas until all is back to normal....

It's a process....and we'll be here to help you figure it out should symptoms change.

Stay on these nightly for at least 3 weeks....the longest I was on them nightly was 4 months.

Hang tough...keep us posted.

OH....and I sure hope your doc gave you lots of refills and will have no problem with you to remain on a maintenance of twice a week once you get there.

q
Posted 5/10/2014 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
I have another question about the Salofalk enemas while were on the topic. I've just started them as well, and can't hold them in at all. I've done Cortifoam enemas, and Slippery Elm enemas just fine, but I can't hold these in at all. I'm in a really bad flare right now, will it just take time/practice for me to be able to hold them in, or is my body just rejecting them? I've done 3 and the longest I've held one is for about a minute.
Posted 5/10/2014 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Quincy, How are you doing.
They are the 2g enemas. I am really hoping this will do the trick. The suppositories always did help but never got remission from them but wonder now if That was because I have always had higher inflammation and not been aware of it. How far up do these actually get. Got 56 bottles of the stuff lol.

I was worried about holding it but I laid on my left side in bed and put alittle in at a time slowly. My IBD nurse said when I spoke to her last night that some people put in a bit then if they can't keep it in they go to the toilet and then put the rest in after that when the urge has gone. Not sure whats going to happen tonight as I have felt that I have needed to go for most of the day.
Thank so much Quincy for your kind words . Much appreciated.
Posted 5/10/2014 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
churey, I think one of the most important things is to squeeze the bottle to get the air out before inserting the enema solution. If I don't do this, I get air in my rectum and I have to pass wind which makes it very difficult to retain. The other thing is that *usually* but not in all cases of course, the discomfort subsides after a minute of cramping. If you can get through that minute or two, you can keep it in. Sometimes I have the cramps, sometimes I do not. I think it's depends on whether you're empty at the time you use it. I understand there are times you simply can not hold it in no matter how hard you try and that's just life but try to breathe deep and see if it passes in a minute or two.

Martha, I do have some enema mixed with stool in the morning but it's not usually very much. My consistency is terrble lately so I don't know what's going on.
Posted 5/10/2014 11:27 PM (GMT 0)

churey360 said...
I have another question about the Salofalk enemas while were on the topic. I've just started them as well, and can't hold them in at all. I've done Cortifoam enemas, and Slippery Elm enemas just fine, but I can't hold these in at all. I'm in a really bad flare right now, will it just take time/practice for me to be able to hold them in, or is my body just rejecting them? I've done 3 and the longest I've held one is for about a minute.

I find that it is hard to hold them in for the first couple of minutes. I just clench as hard as I can and if I really, really can't hold it in past 5 minutes, then I just go to the bathroom. But there has only been about 3 times that has happened for me. So try really hard to keep it in that first couple minutes. When I take my enema, I like to get comfy and watch a show or movie on netflix for the first 30-45 minutes so I'm not thinking of it. I find that helps me the most for keeping them in. Once I make it past the 30-45 minutes I to go to sleep and can keep it in for a few hours.
Posted 5/11/2014 10:11 AM (GMT 0)
Well second night of using salofalk enema. Once again it stayed all night. However this morning I have had bad diahrea. Is this normal. I don't have formed stools normally they are usually like soft whippy icecream. Is the extra liquid causing this. I don't want to be on the phone again to the hospital if this is normal. I just think that its like when you have the enema before a scope and it clears you out. Is this right?

Maybe I am fussing too much but I really want these to work.
Posted 5/11/2014 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, you're fussing too much, lol.

Yes, you might might have stool changes in the morning after using them....remember that you are flaring at this time.

Give it at least a week or more to see hoe you're doing.

Have you added anything new regarding supplements?

Are you still on the Colazide?

Congrats on holding it in for another night. That's awesome!

q
Posted 5/11/2014 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Quincy, I have a tendancy to analyse things too much for my own good.

I am back on mezavant after big discussions. I felt like things were getting worse after being on colazide. If worse than they were before I had my colonoscopy and changed med. I have only been back on mezavant three days but things have improved slightly. I had bloody runny diahorea with th colozal which I never had with mezavant.

I have not added any new supplements. Infact I stopped taking everything but calcium/vit and multivitamins. Not sure what was helping and what wasn't to tell you the truth. Think maybe I should start the probiotics again.
Posted 5/11/2014 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
What probiotics?

When do you take the Mezavant?

Easy to overanalyse, one wants to feel better. More difficult to keep things in perspective, however. That's why hindsight is a great help..lol.

q
Posted 5/11/2014 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
I split my mezavant and take two in the morning and two at night. I shouldn't really be taking four but the gi nurse said it was okay for a couple of weeks. I was seeing whole tablets so was told to try splitting the dose.

The probiotics are called optibac. Would love to be able to take VSL3 but not sure you can get them here in the uk on prescription and I can't afford to buy them myself. I was taking a cheaper brand of probiotics before but thought that they were rubbish (100 capsules for ten pound).

Haven't had much blood today but with diahorea this morning couldn't really tell. I class this as an improvement from this time last week when all I was passing was blood.
Posted 5/11/2014 9:00 PM (GMT 0)

Mad Martha said...
Well second night of using salofalk enema. Once again it stayed all night. However this morning I have had bad diahrea. Is this normal. I don't have formed stools normally they are usually like soft whippy icecream. Is the extra liquid causing this. I don't want to be on the phone again to the hospital if this is normal. I just think that its like when you have the enema before a scope and it clears you out. Is this right?

Maybe I am fussing too much but I really want these to work.

I found that when I first started using the enema, the BM that comes first thing in the morning when expelling the enema is much less formed. I also find that the first BM gradually becomes more formed the longer length of time I use the enema. It took a week to start noticing a difference and after two weeks I noticed a significant difference.
Posted 5/12/2014 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Annadee, that's reassuring. I have never had really formed bms they have always been soft/mushy so it would make sense that they are going to be runny with the enema. Only been using the enemas 3 nights so it is early days.

Martha
Posted 5/12/2014 10:51 PM (GMT 0)
yes, early days for sure.....good to hear it's not a problem using them.

Good idea to split the mesavant.

When you start to decrease the dosage, don't drop quickly...taper down.

Just to let you know that some don't have success with s. boulardi, actually causing looser stool and diarrhea. I'd suggest that if it seems an issue with you, change to one that has NO s. boulardi...just to see if that's an issue.

q
Posted 5/13/2014 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Can't believe how easy they are. I don't feel any urgency to expel it and last night I even got up in the middle of the night, had a wee and kept it in. I am seeing some improvement after only four nights and a big improvement since stopping colazal and predfoam.

Will taper gradually like you say and also have checked my probiotics and there is no s boulardi in the one I've got.

Hope you are doing okay, It so good that you take time to help us all and yet don't seem to ask for it your self. I massive big thankyou.
Posted 5/13/2014 7:59 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hijack your thread but i have a question. Just got prescribed predfoam and i'm wondering if you have to leave it in over night, does in not "leak" out and does is stay in? Sorry if it's a stupid question, i'm just wondering if i'm going to ruin my bed haha
Posted 5/13/2014 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
I think that the predfoam is easier to retain than the liquid enemas. I used it twice a day (morning and night) I would need to go to the toilet in the afternoon and lost some of it then but other than that it stayed put. I had no leakage. Don't worry abut your bed. Unfortunately it never worked for me and unfortunately made my bleeding worse.
Posted 5/13/2014 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
So I finally managed to hold 2 enemas in for a few hours. Two things that I though helped me:

1. As recommended on this thread, to do it while watching TV and relaxing. I would normally do it on the bathroom floor since I always felt the urge to go. This time I did it in my bed with a towel with a movie playing and just relaxed. Helped me take my mind off it, and wasn't thinking about the toilet!

2. Something that hasn't been mentioned here, and may benefit some people who are having issues with the bottle it comes it. I just took the enema out of the normal bottle, and put it into a syringe. That way no air gets into you, its easier to push down, and control as well. Hopefully this last tip helps someone else because it really helped me :)

Thanks for everyones help. Hopefully this will settle things down a bit for me. Good luck to everyone else!
Posted 5/14/2014 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi
I do mine in bed and on my left side so that it supposedly runs into the sigmoid. I watch tv also.
Does your syringe have a long enough nozzle to be able to get the enema in properly? I do find getting a grip on these bottles little tricky. What are your enemas?
Posted 5/14/2014 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Ooh okay sounds reassuring thanks for the help, still not tried it yet may wait till the weekend because I have stuff to do in the morning for the next few day aha. Although, the first time I had one done was at the hospitable, before my sigmoidoscopy and I couldn't keep that in at all, had to run straight to the toilet, and twice more after about 2 hours, but suppose I had bad inflammation then?

Huh, churey360 that syringe idea does seem interesting, gotta remember that, thanks :)
Posted 5/14/2014 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
The stuff you use before a scope is designed to clear you out. The foam is so different. You get a weird sensation when it first goes in but its not like a liquid so I think sort of sticks to the sides.
Posted 5/15/2014 7:57 AM (GMT 0)
Ooh okay that makes sense :) Althoufgh I have yet another concern, so my dr prescribed me predfoam, however this is discontinued in the UK. So when I went to the pharmacy they gave me prednisolone enemas, so i thought it was rebranding or something. So anyway I got home and opened the box and it's definitely not a foam, just bottles of liquid. Thats when I googled it and found that you can no longer get predfoam. So just wondering, did the pharmacy just give me an alternative? Should I go back to the dr asking for an alternative foam? I'm not too sure how many other enemas we have in the UK, but I don't think I could retain the liquid...
Posted 5/15/2014 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
Predfoam is discontinued but you can get a generic called Prednisolone 20mg Rectal Foam. It is made by Essensial Generics. Your doctor has to put the right thing on the prescription. They are like mini aerosols. They propel the foam in so it reaches higher. You may be able to retain the foam better. Presume you are in the UK. Maybe go back to your doctor with this info. Worth a try.
Posted 5/15/2014 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
Ooh okay thats what I wanted to know, if there was another foam, so I will go back and ask.Thanks for all the help, i really do appreciate it, as I know I'm a pain bombarding everyone with so many questions :)
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