Cortifoam Help

Thanks to some great advice and support from members I have been started on a course of Cortifoam (or Colifoam as it's called here in the UK) to try and help pull me out of a week log flare.

My question is, how long should I expect before I will see any results? My Doc has said that I need to see him by the end of the week and that if the foam isn't working, I'll need to do a course of Pred.

I'm currently going about 5-8 times a day but only really morning and evening. There has been a lot of blood in the morning and a little in the evening. I've been taking the Colifoam for 2 days and not much seems to have changed so far.

I really want to avoid pred because of the long term side effects but will have no choice if it seems the foam is futile.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated!

Q, Jerry's pooping 5-8 times a day, and hasn't specified how many times/day he's taking the coliform just that he's been taking it for 2 days :)

Jerry, 2 days isn't near long enough to see improvements but give it time and when you see your doc at the end of the week and the foam still hasn't kicked in just tell your doc you want some more time for it to starte working before you rush into taking pred...depending on the severety of the inflammation often depends on how long before the foam kicks in....hang in there.

:)

Ah, very reassuring to hear that, thanks :) Oh and I'm taking the foam twice a day at the moment.

I'll stick it out and tell my doc that I want to wait and see how things go before taking oral steroids.

Sorry I probably should have given my background... I was given a course of pred when first diagnosed, before 5-ASA meds or rectal meds were even mentioned. That was a 6 week tapering course (40mg down 5mg a day) which cleared everything up. I was then given some pentasa to try which was a no go (made me physically sick 24/7), same with asacol.

I spent the rest of the year med free bar some probiotics and mutaflor once a day. I was visiting to toilet from 1-5 times a day, never with pain and never with blood. Only time I would describe things as they were before UC was when I spent 2 weeks on a beach in September, that was total remission!

Anyway, I thought I was coming into a flare just after Christmas so went to my GP who suggested trying Colazide (Basalazide) 2 pills 3x a day. That seemed to do the trick for a few weeks until last friday when I saw blood in the bowl. It's been like that for week (lots of blood in the morning, less but still some in the evenings) with varying amounts of pain. I'm really hoping the steroid foam will help clear things up because I really don't want another course of pred (what with the worrying potential bone density issues).

Should I be worried about loosing the blood at all? Is there anything I should be eating/drinking to help the healing process or to replenish iron/blood)

Thanks

No, don't worry about the blood at this time...stay on the meds till you start to improve.

Make sure you have a good varied food intake that includes proteins with zinc and iron. You're female..correct? with periods? No problem to take supplements with some iron....as well, make sure you take multi B, calcium with mag and D.

The probiotics are a good idea.

I was going up to 20 times explosive bloody diarrhea, the doctor wasn't concerned because the meds, although slow, were helping.

You can have your iron levels taken....

Hang tough...you don't have to do the pred if you don't want to....

keep us posted.
quincy

Just another opinion on how long it can take for colifoam/cortifoam to work: I've had it take 2 weeks before I could really see a difference. After that, I felt that I was seeing some read and gradual improvement over the next week.

I wouldn't expect to see instant results and I would forget about the prednisone "option" for next the few weeks. If you assume that you'll be doing much better in two weeks, that's probably a good frame of mind to be in! :)

Cortifoam is great for fighting ulcerative proctitis, but if you have inflammation higher up, in the sigmoid &/or descending colon, you really need to take the liquid steroid enemas. In U.S. they are called Cortenema (hydrocortisone). There is also a budesonide enema available which is supposed to have fewer systemic side effects, but it may be less helpful. So-- no need to go right back to Pred if your UC is left-sided. However, if you say you are allergic to Pentasa & Asacol, I'm puzzled as to why the doctor put you on a 3rd oral 5-ASA drug. Balsalazide breaks down to mesalamine in the colon-- the same ingredient as what you wrote you (apparently) are allergic to. In any case, the Cortifoam takes a week to 10 days of use before improvement in symptoms starts making a difference-- so the doctor should not rush you off it. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC; currently on 3 Colazal daily for maintenance of remission)

Jerry,two days is not anywhere near long enough to know if the Colifoam will work for you.It will(in the long run)do a lot of good,regardless of how far your UC extends.It should always be looked at as part of a treatment regime,not "the answer".No offense to anyone here,but I find that too many people are somewhat dismissive of rectal meds.Your Colon is a very long part of the oesophageal tract.To get at all the inflammation,very often(most times probably)takes oral and rectal meds.

Have you seen a Gastroenterologist yet?It seems that you're only being treated by your GP?This is too specialist a case for a GP and you need to get an outpatient referral to a local Hospital.I don't think he has much experience of IBD,just by the fact he's suggesting the "sledge hammer"drugs,after two days on Colifoam!

Besides which,and I don't mean to belittle your plight here,but you're really not in a severe flare.I don't suffer greatly from Pred side effects,so I use it for expedience.However,if you don't wish to use it,you can still attain remission,just with a little more time involved.

Jerry,I've actually lost count on the Pred,but I'm definitely into double figures now.I had a bone density scan a couple of years ago,and everything was fine.

I'm not going to try and sell the Pred route to anyone,it's a matter of personal choice.All I will say,is that the longer a flare goes on,the harder it becomes to treat.Have you considered Azathioprine?I've had good success on it in the past and may go back on it.Admittedly I suffered a few more colds on it and sometimes felt a bit fatigued,but you may not get those problems.It's known as a "steroid sparing" drug,so may be the option if you wish to avoid the Pred.However,bear in mind that it takes 3 to six months to "kick in".