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Am i starting to flare?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/31/2012 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
So I've been tapering off prednisone from 40 mg. Every week i take off 5 mg and now i am at 20 mg. Not only am i on prednisone but i am also on 50 mg of Imuran. My GI's plan was to give me 50 mg of Imuran when i hit 30 mg of prednisone so i would not flare when coming of prednisone. I didn't get the bloodwork done to see if my body can handle Imuran which is why I am on such a low dose. The next step was to go get bloodwork done in 2.5 weeks which ended up being today. Anyways.. the main deal is im not sure if im starting to flare.... I have been having maybe 3-4 BM's a day rather than 1-2 when i was on 25+ mg of prednisone. Also, i am getting more cramping and also i can feel irritation in my rectum area with a little bit of pain. When i do have a BM there is no blood but i notice its either clumpy or some formed pieces and some watery, kind of mixed. Usually i only get blood in my stool if i have tenesmus.
Im starting to worry that im dependent on prednisone and i am praying that my WBC is normal when i get my results back so i can up my dose of Imuran.

Anyone experienced with going from remission to flaring and can give some input on what they think?
Posted 1/31/2012 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
I have to say, the symptoms you describe sound like they could be the start of some inflammation. I am always worried when I am going more than 2x a day. Even 2x is a lot for me, I never went more than once until I started dealing with UC.

Are you using rectal meds? I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be.

50mg of Imuran is such a low dose, I wouldn't expect to be able to taper off prednisone on that dose. I would think after you get the blood results, you can increase the dose. You will have to give youself some time to respond but I am thinking you better stay on your current dose of pred until things stabilize. Did your GI say to continue decreasing the dose? You should have the results of the CBC tomorrow & maybe you can increase the Imuran.

If you're unstable, wait to decrease the prednisone. In my opinion, it's better to be on pred a week longer than it is to have to start your taper over at 40mg because you kept decreasing prematurely and end up in a horrible relapse. That happened to me and my 3 month course turned into TOO LONG. Call your GI and let him know you think you may be dealing with symptoms.
Posted 1/31/2012 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
How about trying some rectal meds? Rowasa enemas are great. I have left sided colitis also and use Lialda and Rowada enemas. Enemas nightly really help when trying to get off the dreaded pred.
Posted 2/1/2012 12:53 AM (GMT 0)

notsosicklygirl said...
I have to say, the symptoms you describe sound like they could be the start of some inflammation. I am always worried when I am going more than 2x a day. Even 2x is a lot for me, I never went more than once until I started dealing with UC.

Are you using rectal meds? I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be.

50mg of Imuran is such a low dose, I wouldn't expect to be able to taper off prednisone on that dose. I would think after you get the blood results, you can increase the dose. You will have to give youself some time to respond but I am thinking you better stay on your current dose of pred until things stabilize. Did your GI say to continue decreasing the dose? You should have the results of the CBC tomorrow & maybe you can increase the Imuran.

If you're unstable, wait to decrease the prednisone. In my opinion, it's better to be on pred a week longer than it is to have to start your taper over at 40mg because you kept decreasing prematurely and end up in a horrible relapse. That happened to me and my 3 month course turned into TOO LONG. Call your GI and let him know you think you may be dealing with symptoms.

No im not using rectal meds. ive tried them once when i was at the hospital but have never been prescribed to take them. When i talked to him last he told me to decrease the dose until i got the bloodwork done then he would talk to me.
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