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UCERIS - how long to work?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/2/2015 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
My son is having a flare - going to the toilet loads. Our GI has agreed to let him try uceris first before prednisolone as there are a few less side effects. But how long do we give it? Is there a time span it should help in before we move on to stronger steroids? Many thanks
Posted 3/2/2015 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
For me, after a week of not doing a darn thing, I was taken off of it.
Posted 3/2/2015 11:34 PM (GMT 0)
Disappointing then - I have read that some people do well on it but I wonder if not when it's severe.
Posted 3/2/2015 11:36 PM (GMT 0)
I would give it at least a few weeks, i not sure it working but i not sure its not. I have been on it since 7th
Posted 3/2/2015 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Franny - Yeah I think I was just too severe at that point for it to do anything for me. Uceris is typically only taken for up to 8 weeks so I'd say if he doesn't see a significant improvement by the end of the 2nd week, talk to his doctor about discontinuing. Especially since it's pretty expensive (especially if you don't have good insurance), you don't want to pay for another month if it's not working. I only paid $20 for mine I think, but retail value was over $1100. Even $20 for a 30 day supply is kinda expensive. If he feels like he's getting better, continue it, but I didn't feel any difference while I was on it and it actually made my abdominal cramping worse.
Posted 3/3/2015 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
Steroids work quick when given at the right dosage. Msybe the nect step is a high dose oral steroid, if thst don't kick in.
i💩
Posted 3/3/2015 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
What other meds is he on? Uceris is usually only given for two months and then stopped. It is not a cure so if your son is not taking effective maintenance meds then even if the Uceris works, your son will soon be back to square one. Was he taking maintenance meds before the flare?
Posted 3/3/2015 7:02 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the advice - don't think we will be able to give it too long to work as he will get iller without something stronger.
Posted 3/3/2015 7:50 AM (GMT 0)
At the moment he is not on any other meds - amazingly he has been doing brilliantly on chinese medecine for the last year but he is always vulnerable this time of year and he can get really ill - he was in hospital for a month at one point. He was on remicade but it stopped working - the chinese herbs were like a miracle but he started while on pred and they may need that again to give them a kick start. We are in the UK so luckily for us the uceris free but won't wait too long.
Posted 3/3/2015 8:55 AM (GMT 0)
I took Uceris for about 8 weeks along with Imuran. I started in March 2013 and I'm still in remission.
Posted 3/3/2015 11:51 AM (GMT 0)
Obviously the chinese meds were not enough to keep him in remission so if these and pred didn't work before then they're not going to work again. Using pred every few months every time he flares is not a good idea.
Posted 3/3/2015 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
I would encourage you to use traditional uc medication at the same time as your Chinese medicine.
Posted 3/3/2015 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Will add a medication to the chinese herbs too. I am so worried about him going on humira - that's the next move really as he has AS too - an inflammatory back problem - which always flares at the same time. The biologics worry me.......
Posted 3/3/2015 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I often see posts about people fearing biologics. I've been on remicade for 1.5 years now and it has worked wonders for me and I've had zero side effects. Prior to remi, I was having multiple accidents a month, battlung urgency issues, a year on prednisone and prednisone-dependent. Now I'm in symptomatic remission (1 bm a day with no uc symptoms).

It's a matter of risk versus benefit analysis with biologics. The odds are 60+ percent of patients have an improvement in their uc symptoms. Side effects are statistically rare. Lymphoma is the scariest side effect, the odds are 6 in 10,000 (or 0.06 percent) while on biologics and immunosuppressive medications concurrently. The odds of the average healthy person on the street of getting lymphoma are 2 in 10,000 (or 0.02 percent). These are really small odds. Some other examples, 1 in 5 die due to heart-related issues, 1 in 100 die in car crashes in the USA each year, etc.
Posted 3/3/2015 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks - I know you're right - actually he has been on remicade. He was on it for 5 months and it stopped working that's why humira is the next choice. Seeing our GI in London next week so can discuss it all then. Am thinking the uceris won't be strong enough though so pred next.
Posted 3/3/2015 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck,
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