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How long to give Asercol tablets a go

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/24/2011 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Can anyone help please. I was diagnosed with proctitus 6 months ago and was prescribed 2 asercol suppositries a day. I am now having a problem keeping them in due to needing a BM soon after using them. I hav'nt really improved still having lots of revolting wind, bleeding, mucus and needing to go even if it's just to pass more wind. Went to a new GI this week who says I have been under medicated. He has prescribed 3 x800 mgs twice a day of asercol. Asercol supposity in the morning and an enema at night. (not been able to start the enema yet as no supply due to holidays).
Started the tablets yesterday and about an hour after using them I had explosive diarrehia (funnily enough with no blood). Today after teaking them this morning the same thing happened.Do you experts out there think my body/gut has to get use to them and I should persevere. I know diarrehia is a conta indication of asercol, but it just seems too soon to give up.
It is a vicious circle. Can't keep any medication in, due to the inflammation and need the medication to get rid of the inflammation. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
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Posted 12/24/2011 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
If you can't keep the enemas/supposotories in, you might want to consider oral tablets as well. Or, ask about steroid enemas, which will be more effective at controlling the inflammationg quickly.

You may also want to try probiotics: Lactobacilli and VSL3 have had good efficiency in laboratory studies. VSL3 requires a prescription and can be costly, though.
Posted 12/24/2011 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Give it a few days. I had the same thing happen too but after 3 days it got better. Now only mornings are bad in that I have to go after taking meds. No more crazy runs though more normal Bm's.

Good luck to you
Posted 12/24/2011 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
To get rid of extreme gas I eliminated dairy and other things like fruit and sugar because they seemed to cause it the most.

In addition I use mesalamine enemas which took some time to be able to keep in because my wounded colon hated everything.
The steroid foam enema might be the way to start off if you really can't keep the liquid mesalamine in, then you can move over to the mesalamine later because using steroid enemas for a long time wouldn't be the best.

Good luck. It's not easy in the beginning.
Posted 12/25/2011 9:25 AM (GMT 0)
Many thanks for the sugggestions and I will plod on with the 3x 800 mg tablets twice daily, plus the twice daily suppositorys. The bleeding has stopped with all the BM's and loose stools and (although it is only days 3 days of taking the extra tabs, and I won't be too excited as this has happened before, and then it has returned). I seem to bleed less when I have more BM's. However still that awful smell, with the wind, which I know is the result of all the muck down there, but I find that as distessing as the running to the loo all the time.  Does that stop when everything is under contol, and am I correct in thinking although the bleeding may have stopped with all the explosions that still happen there is a lot of healing still to go on?  Many thanks again to you all it is so helpful to feel someone is listening and knows from experience what one is suffering.
Posted 12/25/2011 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
What is asercol ? Never heard of it. Did you misspell asacol repeatedly ? If so I took that for years and it never helped me.
Posted 12/25/2011 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
i would give it at least 3 months if there's not allergic reaction to them.

it takes a lot of time for the healing process. the combination between oral 5'asa and rectal ones (suppositories or, better, enemas) is most effective.

the fact that the bleeding stopped is a good sign. the fact that you still have other kind of symptoms shows that you're still flaring.

i would also consider to alter my diet, but that's another discussion.
Posted 12/25/2011 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry my spelling is abysmal. The tablets are Mesalazine and the suppositories Asacol or is it a5acol. The Salofalk enemas are promised for after the holidays. I was under the impression that all of the above are Mesalazine, but of course I could be wrong.
Posted 12/25/2011 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
they are, but people react different to some of them.
Posted 12/26/2011 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
One day is not long enough to judge whether it is working for you. If you take it for a few days and you notice that you have increased symptoms or headaches, it is possible that you're intolerant to mesalamine. If that seems to be the case, consult with your GI and stop the medication. There are other options besides mesalamine but mesalamine is the safest solution and I believe the majority of people respond well to it. You could try using enemas instead of suppositories, they are 4g as opposed to 1g. 4800mg is the max dose of Asacol per day but i have seen a few people taking over the max dose with good results. I agree with imagardener, you could give the steroid foam enemas a try. Anything beats oral prednisone in my opinion but that's just because I had very bad side efffects from it and had a lot of trouble tapering off. I hope you start to feel better soon.
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