Ulcerative proctitis

I was just diagnosed after a colonoscopy. Been passing mucus and blood for 2.5 months. All started while on doxycycline. Went to pharmacy to pick up suppository and they wanted $535. I cannot afford it. Doctor's office was closed. I had told them I could not afford expensive drugs. I do not have good insurance being self employed. I do not know the name of drug prescribed. I'm hoping there is a cheaper alternative available. Please tell me I'm not going to go bankrupt with this condition. How long will it take for remission? Thank you.

If it is the Canasa suppository your doctor may be able to give you some samples. Also, go to Canasa.com and look into the assistance plans they offer. Unfortunately there is no generic for it which is the problem.

You could also ask you GI to prescribe Rowasa enemas which do come generic. The hurdrocort enemas would be good too but you can't use those long term.

Like the others said there are many affordable options and also possibly free samples or medicine assistance from the company of the drug. Good luck. Proctitis sucks.

OP said...
Is it all your opinion that diet has nothing to do with this disease? Could three weeks of doxycycline have caused it in my case?

No, most people around will tell you that diet is a factor, and many will tell you that it is a huge factor. I think diet helps some people more than others. It's helped me a lot. There are a lot of diet modifications you could try if you want. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet and the Paleo Diet get some pretty good press. Looks like doxycycline is an antibiotic and antibiotics are indeed a trigger for UC. Plenty of people get UC after or during a course of antibiotics.

Others have answered your original question well. Hydrocortisone suppositories or enemas (these are steroids to get the disease under control fast but cannot be used long-term) and Rowasa enemas (not as powerful as steroids but safe for long-term use) are available as generic so aren't too expensive. There's also sulfasalazine but does that come in suppository-form? I think that's only oral and thus not as useful for proctitis. But it's also pretty inexpensive.

You need to read up on this disease yourself and look at all the options and then look at the cost of the various treatments and then tell your doctor which options you want to do. You can't rely on your doctor to know what the cheapest route is as everyone's insurance is different and many doctors leave a lot of that stuff up to their office staff. No one is guaranteed to go in remission. Please start the process by reading the resources tab at the top of the page and then investigating the costs of the various treatments.

I can relate because my adventures with UC and proctitis began after a large dose of anti-biotics. It hasn't been fun, but I've learned a lot along the way.

(1) Get tested for C. diff, other damaging bacteria, and bacterial imbalances. After anti-biotic use your entire system is reset and all manner of infections can cause bleeding and inflammation. Just because you don't have chronic diarrhoea doesn't mean you aren't infected. As I learned the hard way, even medical 'experts' miss this reality.

(2) Diet can make a difference as you heal or flare, but unless you habitually ate rubbish or had food allergy issues before acquiring UC or proctitis, it's doubtful you will be healed by diet alone. By all means get tested for Celiac disease and food allergies, but you may not learn anything new unless you had prior issues or concerns.

(3) Mesalamine enemas and suppositories don't help everyone. Rectal steroids may not help either. Some people get great relief from them, but your mileage may vary depending on the root cause of your problem. In my case, they didn't help.

(4) An inexpensive medication (herb) for UC and proctitis that has been discussed on this forum is Qing Dai. It's a 'cooling' (anti-inflammatory) herb. I've used it for 12 days to help with my proctitis. This hardly makes me an expert, but I've had a bona-fide improvement in mucus and bleeding symptoms following oral and rectal use of the herb. I only use a gram a day. Even at the rip-off price I paid of $10 a tael (about 31 grams) it hardly breaks the bank. While there's no guarantee it will help you, what have you got to lose? If you use the loose powder from a Chinese herbalist, just make sure you sterilize it first. I boil it for two minutes and drink it down. I no longer use the enema approach because I do just as well taking it orally.

(5) How long does it take for remission? That's hard to answer because we're all different. I wasted over two years working with three reputable specialists who 'helped' me. All I got was maintenance meds and their recommendation that I ride the Remicade tiger. If you can identify the root cause of your problem and treat it early, you may get into remission within weeks or a few months. It isn't fun, but you have to be your own advocate and reject the establishment's mantra that your problem is 'genetic' or 'something you'll have to live with'.

Good luck. I you are doing well very soon.

@Moxie17 I am 28 but my symptoms and situation mimic yours. In April when I was on antibiotics for a tooth problem I started having blood and mucus on my stools. July had my colonoscopy and they found proctitits. Tested negative for c diff, tested negative for stds, and my biopsies game back negative for colitis. The person who did the testing marked me down as proctitis, but when I asked my doctor if it was ulcerative he said maybe.

I am taking Canasa or a need to basis. It really does help. It is expensive. Asked your doctor for lots of samples he gave be 12 for free and asked for the Canasa discount coupon which for my first prescription was $80 for 12 but there after was $25 for 12.

did you ever find out if your proctittis was antibiotic related or if you have ulcerative?