Rowasa's Revenge?

Hi All,

I saw my GI doc yesterday for the first time since getting out of the hospital, and he put me on nightly Rowasa enemas as I'm tapering off Pred and adding 6MP. I've taken the enemas before, but never on a regular basis. I used one last night before bed, and woke up about 2 hours later with the most excruciating stomach pain I've ever felt. I barely made it to the bathroom and proceeded to have horrible, bloody diarrhea all night. This morning I am feeling really weird and nauseous, and barely made the commute without having an accident. What is going on? Is anyone else sensitive to Rowasa like this? It feels like a major setback and I'm really frustrated.

I also considered that this might be Pred tapering side effects, but I've only come down to 35mg (from 40mg) and don't remember having such a severe reaction at high doses like this in the past. And these symptoms seem really sudden in their onset. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Laura

You are right to consider many alternatives, but some people are sensitive to the sulfate in the Rowasa suspension. It can be harsh on sore tissue. One way to tease apart Rowasa form enema would be to try a few hydrocortisone enema. If you tolerate these, possibly you would need the expensive sulfate-free name brand Rowasa. (Or maybe the hydrocortisone would do short term until 6mp kicks in. It does have some small amount of steroid absorption however.