Nothing stays the same

There's always something new for me with this.

I'm at 20 mg pred... doing OK,. get bounced to 10 on the taper, ok for a week, then everything goes sideways.

I'm at 15 now, and the bowel movemtns, are not formed, very watery... fewer but still that kind of D. Should my GI have put me back on 20?

He's still baffled that I can't handle a quick taper. But that's another story. That's why I'm looking for you for advice.

One thing he does say is don't make quick judgements about things happening for a few days, just wait it out a little, but I get nervous about that.


Meanwhile, I am sooooooooo wasting away.

I hear you.... Meanwhile, I'm looking at an increase in fiber and water. ...

journey, please, please, please ask your doc about rectal meds. I honestly think they'd make a difference. This isn't the first time I've mentioned them. Are you for some reason hesitant to use them? We can answer questions and help ease fears about them if you have any.

Pred is only a temporary band-aid, a booster drug until maintenance meds kick in, so it's not uncommon for symptoms to reappear when you're at 20 mg, for some people once they hit 30 mg symptoms start to come back so it's not unheard of.

:)

Yeah, I would just do a 2.5 mg per week taper and add in the hydrocortisone enema. Once off the pred you could continue the enema until the adrenals catch back up. Hopefully whatever med you are trying to get by on will sustain you by then. On the other hand, if the pred is the only thing keeping the inflammation at bay right now, when you stop it, it will return. Still have the fire just not enough water to keep it from blazing....

They'll do a LOT better job at healing the part of the colon they reach than oral meds will. You're getting the mesalamine EXACTLY where it needs to go! The mesalamine enemas have exactly the same active ingredient as the Asacol...it's just forumulated to go up rather than down to reach your colon. :) I'd talk to your doctor about mesalamine vs. steroid enemas, but I'd personally lean towards giving the mesalamine ones a shot first.

Why are you hesitant about them?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will most certainly help with urgency. I think that the urgency is because of inflammation lower in the colon, which is the part that's treated so well by rectal meds. Some more tidbits about rectal meds: Studies also show that people who use the oral + rectal (specifically enemas) med combo get into remission faster than people who use oral meds only, and that people who use enemas twice weekly in addition to oral meds stay in remission for longer than people who only use oral meds.

Ask away on here about the different meds and supplements...also, if you go to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America website (www.ccfa.org) there's a lot of good info about the different meds. I encourage you to go there!

HAHAHA Dr-A.....That's a FANTASTIC explanation of why to use rectal meds!!!!!!!!!

If there were an enema that would treat the whole colon, you can believe I'd be one of the first in line to get it. 

My dad just had me and my sister, and wrestled with us like he would have sons....just warning you! ;)

Yes, they can be.
However, when I started them, I was still having 15 or so VERY urgent BM's a day. Before bed, I'd sit on the toilet and try to empty everything out that I could. I wouldn't strain too hard, because that can cause hemmies, but I did try to have a BM. Usually, I'd have one, I'm guessing because my BM's were just liquid at that point, and if I tried at all to poop, I would. My GI had me start by using half. I was able to retain that all night, no problem. I did that again the second night. By the third night, I used a whole one, and was fine. When I was still flaring (but getting better) I pretty much had a BM as soon as I got up in the morning. Now that I'm in a really good remission, I quite often don't have a BM until after dinner the next day.  So for me, it was pretty easy to retain them, even when I was in a pretty bad flare with BAD urgency.

There are also other tricks, like holding the bottle between your hands for a few minutes to warm it up, etc. And of course, you use it before bedtime, when you're least likely to have a BM.

The point is, even if you can't hold it for more than an hour, the time that you do hold it can do a LOT of good.

Also, the less you let yourself worry about it, the easier it'll be to insert and hold. I promise!

Tons of tricks, but we'll wait till you get there and see how you do. Wanna go natural you can use vitamin E in enema bottle too. Have had success with those. It's very small amount so retention isn't too hard.

Stopping the bleeding.

Actually lying in my bathroom floor atm, finishing up using a cortenema so I can be assured to have a good day tomorrow. Wanted to know that didn't ya? Just do what ya gotta do.

Called doc this a.m. because too much diarrhea for taking prednisone... He upped it to 20 mg... let's hope it alleviate some of the symptoms.

He said no on rectal meds. I see him next week...