Too many meds?

I'm still waiting for a conclusive diagnosis of UC- biopsy results. In the meantime, GI prescribed Salofalk 1tab 3x/day. I saw pancolitis in the colonoscopy report but doc said my case looks new/mild. Besides, I don't have any other symptoms except occasional small amount of blood on stool after BM.

Reading your posts here, I'm overwhelmed with so many meds you have to take. You think someday I'll head to that direction? I don't even know how I can afford Salofalk alone for the rest of my life, if and when it's confirmed. Is anybody here just taking one medication? Can you stop once you've been given an all clear, say after a good colonoscopy? Can someone stay on the mild case of UC for a long period of time or does it always progress to severe eventually?

One last, you think I can put off taking Salofalk till I get the biopsy results and talk to my GI again?

Sorry, so many questions. Hope you can enlighten me. Thanks so much!

Reading your posts here, I'm overwhelmed with so many meds you have to take. You think someday I'll head to that direction?

Impossible to tell. Some do and some don't.

Is anybody here just taking one medication?

Some do, but most take more than one.

Can you stop once you've been given an all clear, say after a good colonoscopy?

There is no cure, so the answer is no. You may reach remission but remission is not a cure, meaning it can and will come back, particularly if you let it by not taking any meds. Usually when it comes back it comes back worse than before and the meds you took before often won't work again, forcing you to take harsher and harsher meds. The best way to avoid that is to stay on the non harsher meds forever, even if you have been in remission for 25 years.

Can someone stay on the mild case of UC for a long period of time or does it always progress to severe eventually?

Yes, some can consistently have a mild case that never progresses but I would say in most of those cases it is because they are being vigilant with treatments. You are really rolling the dice by quitting treatments at any time. It's like being in Vegas, some people are going to win but most are going to lose. It's a very big gamble to just assume or hope that your case will always be mild and get lax in your treatments.

One last, you think I can put off taking Salofalk till I get the biopsy results and talk to my GI again?

Salofalk is usually always a very mild treatment option, one that you can be on forever with usually no side effects, even long term. There is almost zero harm in taking it now. You're back in Vegas again if you want to wait. The more the disease gets out of control the harder it is to treat. You can always stop it if you wind up getting a different diagnosis. It sounds to me like the doctors are pretty sure they have already diagnosed it, just waiting for official confirmation. They may also be wanting to hear how the med worked for you at your appointment. Those results may play a small part in their diagnosis so if you don't do it they won't have that information.

What country are you in?

Yeah the initial uc diagnosis can be a head-trip. Become a spnge and learn everything you can about uc, ask lots of questions, and become your own best advocate for what you need to best live with uc. As uc never truly goes away. To that end: Take your meds for life, whether you're feeling good or bad, make it part of your morning routine like breakfast or brushing your teeth. You are quite lucky if you have a mild case and taking your meds daily is your insurance policy that it stays that way. Untreated uc (with no meds) causes uc flareups, not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And after that self-caused flareup, as your uc spread and got more severe, you wil need stronger and more meds to control your uc.

Patient assistance programs are available for medication cost, see the resources thread at the top of this forum. Ask for generic medications. There are ways of making it work.

It can be scary to see all of the meds some of us are on. Some have mild cases of uc and it stays that way. Others, like me, have aggressive cases of uc that are hard to control. So pilling on the meds is the answer.

When I was first diagnosed with Crohns I was taking 15 different meds which was a total of 32 pills a day plus a B12 injection. 4 of those are for different conditions. Now I take 7 different ones and only 11 pills a day. I have been doing Humira injections for a year and will never stop that unless it no longer works. My crohns is doing great. At the beginning I was overwhelmed with all the meds and didn't think.I would ever see the day I would be able to get off some.

Hi welcome to the forum

At last a filipino... I am from caloocan.. where are you being checked?

I was also diagnosed this year physically i am ok only affecting me right now is the anxiety from this disease.

But i guesse we are still lucky because what we have is only mild and we dont have the urgency to poop..

Anyway hope yo hear from you kabayaan.. and yes our meds is expensive i am taking pentasa

Thanks for your tips on the cheaper meds. I'll definitely bring this up in our next appointment.

Arbee_DC, are you in the States now or in the PI? How can I get in touch with you, if you don't mind? It's hard to find a support group or someone with the same disease in our country.

Yes, anxiety is killing me more. I know it may sound ridiculous to some, but I'm still hoping against all hopes that what I have is not UC. It's just really hard to accept at this point.

You mentioned a lot of food that's part of my diet so I'm thinking maybe this is one of the things that caused my UC? I didn't really eat healthy till I got pregnant last year. I rarely ate veggies before.

Our diet is a mix of tradition and western, but largely influenced by western. rice is our staple food. Never had a gut infection. In my whole life, only had about 3-4 bouts of diarrhea which cured itself in 1-2 days. Never had to medicate, I mean. Antibiotics yes, for UTI, especially when I got pregnant. City tap water, and distilled/purified (not sure if this is how you call this in the States too). I live in the city. And yes, fried food is very common.

Thanks!

Mla, i am in th PI. We can chat via FB if you want.

I am sure you have an FB account. Whats your email add if you dont mind.

Thanks

Old Mike: The ones I can remember are Cefalexin and Metronidazole.
Both of my pregnancies I had UTI and I had to take antibiotics.

Ahhh cephalexin. Yup, that's the one I took (keflex) right before I got this f*#%ing illness! Never had issues with antibiotics and then I took Keflex. I read years later that this one has a strong association with a higher incidence of c diff. Never had c diff, but still means it messes big time with the colon chemistry. I still believe this antibiotic is what set me off. Too late now though.