drug intolerance

When does one start to suspect that they may be intolerant to 5ASA? I think I should consider it but I'd like to know what some of you experienced. My symptoms are getting worse now. I'm going to the toilet urgently 15 to 20 times these last few days. It's almost always just some blood and poop residual. The urgency is getting so bad that I've had about 7 'accidents'. I did have 1 BM yesterday with some stool that was fuzzy but formed, not pencil poops, but ribbons. Truly I can't often tell if there is stool in the toilet because of the blood. Some of the cramps I'm getting when I go to the bathroom are getting painful in that I really have to breath through them. My abdomen is feeling large and swollen. I'm forever aware of it but it's not really painful. Also new, is that I'm waking up early (4am) with the urge to go to the toilet, then it's like I go every 15 minutes for several hours.

Yesterday, after about 3 and a half hours of toilet visits, the symptoms stopped for quite a few hours and I felt good.

I've also been experiencing a non stop headache and my blurry vision seems worse.

I was getting so fatigued and a bit winded so I had bloodwork to check for anemia on Wednesday...no call, so I'm assuming it was OK. Not much of an appetite either.

Oh, I started with two pills twice a day back in Feb, they seemed to work for a bit, then when I kept starting to bleed with my period, the GI changed it to 4 pills twice a day. I've been bleeding now since my period in mid August. Somewhere in there I also did Salofalk enemas. It's so impossible to know what's working when I start to flare every time with my period.

I think my clue that I couldn't tolerate mesalamines is after my doc switched me from Asacol to Colazal. I was still flaring but it wasn't too bad so he added in Rowasa. I went downhill fast, so then he switched me to Colocort enemas. Things improved, I stopped the Colocorts, short after I started flaring again so once again he put me on Rowasa. I rapidly declined again while on Rowasa but this time I had horrible cramping and I felt like I had the flu. So I stopped the Rowasa on my own and almost immediately my cramping and flu feeling stopped. So as one last experiment, I did a Rowasa a few weeks later and sure enough, the cramping and flu like feeling came back.

Sometimes you just have to listen to your body. My GI seemed to believe that everyone should respond to the mesalamines and was a little shocked that I couldn't.

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't take my mesasal this morning after all just because I felt nauseated. I'm feeling like I can eat something tonight, so I'll decide later if I take them or not. You've certainly got a point there Suebear, they aren't working. It just feels like the doctor said take this, so,I take this. I can't tell you how grateful I am that those of you who have more experience help those of us who don't have a handle on things In my city we are short on all doctors and it's really hard to get time with a GI. I'm going to get in touch with him tomorrow I hope

quincy, I used the Salofalk for 6 weeks every night then I went to every other night. It was my doctor who suggested I try without. I take 400mg of magnesium. I had low Mg in my bloodwork in January. I haven't taken the fish/butter oil for a couple of months, or the kefir. I should remove them from my signature. It seems like a good idea to get off of the extras, thanks.