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Should I try Rowasa again?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/25/2012 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

My recovery from my most recent flare seems to be going pretty well so far - I had my first infusion of Remicade a little over a week ago and have tapered down to 25mg of Prednisone. I haven't seen blood in 3 days and my stools are partially formed, and I'm only going 2 or 3 times per day now with minimal urgency. I also have not needed any pain killers since last Thursday.

I tried using Rowasa when my flare was full blown a few weeks ago and had really bad nausea, pain, and diarrhea that night and the next day. My doc took me off of it saying my colon was probably still too sensitive to tolerate it. But now that I'm feeling better do you all think I should give it another try? I've been using Canasa, which has helped, but they only cover a small area. I've used Rowasa in the past when my gut was in decent shape, and never had a terrible reaction like the one I had a few weeks ago. I guess I'm just a little scared about it and wanted to check in with the group. Advice?

Thanks,

Laura
Posted 6/25/2012 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
It's always worth to try them again....some symptoms you had were most possibly flare related and not the Rowasa.

Give it a fair go and try for at least 2 or 3 nights in a row.

Good to hear you're feeling somewhat better!
q
Posted 6/25/2012 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Haha, I had a feeling you'd be the first to respond :-) I think I'll give it a try tonight and see how it goes.
Posted 6/26/2012 5:19 AM (GMT 0)
Hope it goes sell for you...
q
Posted 6/27/2012 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
Well it's official - my body hates Rowasa no matter what! I tried it again last night and had another repeat of what happened a few weeks ago (although not nearly as severe). Looks like I'm Canasa-bound. I'm glad I tried it again though, just to be extra sure. Thanks, Quincy, for the support.
Posted 6/27/2012 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
it could be the sulfate in the generic Rowasa. The 5-asa in the suppository and the enema is the same - but the enema also has sulfate.
Posted 6/27/2012 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I'm guessing I'm sensitive to the sulfate. At least now I know.
Posted 6/27/2012 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I'd say that if you are still struggling a bit with symptoms to try the sulfate-free rowasa. If you're doing ok on the remicade, I'd just use it, as it might be hard to get your insurance to cover the sulfate-free, and I've heard it's crazy expensive. Bummer that you can't use it! You could also see if your GI will write your Canasa RX for 2 at a time.
Posted 6/28/2012 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
If your gastro took you off Rowasa, you probably need to stay off it to subdue this flare. I used brandname & then generic Rowasa successfully for 14 yrs; then during my last flare it quickly made me feel worse! In fact, I felt like a spot in my sigmoid colon tore open after using it. UC meds can stop working for us so I guess making us feel worse is a variation on that theme, alas. My very experienced IBD gastro also told me to quit Rowasa after that happened. / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
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