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Colazal a maintenance drug??

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/1/2010 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
I was just checking out the Colazal website, and it said the administration is 3 pills X 3 times a day for 8 weeks, and sometimes 12 weeks? I thought this was a maintenance drug akin to asacol, lilada, sulfasalizine? that you can stay on for as long as it is working
Posted 10/1/2010 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
Yes. I remember reading something to that effect about Lialda some one or two years ago. Lialda was relatively new. It had been tested for use for only up to 12 weeks. Yet GIs were prescribing it as a maintenance drug. I don't know about now though.
Posted 10/1/2010 2:19 AM (GMT 0)
     Holy crap!  Two weeks????  My GI had me on that for ten years.  It didn't do squat!
Posted 10/1/2010 2:48 AM (GMT 0)
When I did I search on the WWW, I found that there have been studies of Lialda for up to 12 or 18 months.

However, on Lialda's website it says, "Lialda tablets are indicated for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. Safety and effectiveness of Lialda beyond 8 weeks have not been established."

Post Edited (subdued) : 9/30/2010 8:55:03 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/1/2010 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
Some of the drugs have the FDA required 12 month clinical trial to be labeled for maintenance and some don't. It is really sort of silly because they are all mesalamine once the reach the colon.

Asacol, sulfasalizine and apriso are the only labeled maintenance meds. Apriso for some reason had 6 month trial

Lialda, colazal, pentasa are only labeled for induction of remission but tons of doctors perscribe them as maintenance meds.

Something like a 1/3 of GIs use oral and rectal which is not a labeled use.

In Europe Colazal is approved for maintenance at 2 pills twice a day(3 grams) but from what I read they are working up to 6 grams/day.

Personally I am a lot more worried about getting colon cancer or ending up on some of the really nasty drugs because I didn't take a 5ASA.
Posted 10/1/2010 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on colazal since Oct 2008 and I was on asacol from the time I was diagnosed til I switched to colazal. My old GI had no intentions of stopping it and neither does my new GI.
Posted 10/1/2010 6:09 AM (GMT 0)
I am very worried about the long-term effects of 5ASAs. It's a fast death when the kidneys go, and I know my liver is not in the best condition due to all the antibiotics I've taken and all the HFCS I've consumed.

But I guess it doesn't matter, because the oral 5ASAs don't even work for me. If anything, they make my condition worse.

I do use Canasa suppositories. But they don't have to go through the kidneys and liver.
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