Help:!!

I had posted on the IB board but after colonoscopy yesterday my son has UC.
Any help would be appreciated as to what he can eat. They gave him a prescription for
Lialda which is $1100.00 for 30 day supply "ouch"....whoa!!can't afford that no insurance.. So we still need to do
stool test to see if he needs steroids. Drs. office gave him and 8 day supply of samples of the meds .Can I go to the company to see if we can get them that way? anyone done that? thanks for your help.....this is all so overwhelming but just going to take one day at a time.....

oh how can we stop the diarrhea too?
thanks Rita

It sure did thanks so very much Rita

Lialda is a brand name and pricey. Instead ask for a prescription of sulfasalazine, it is generic and as such should be much more affordable. Good luck,

I second switching to Sulfazine. It is the med that was prescribed for this in the older days and is therefore much cheaper. Not really sure why they are waiting for the stool test regarding steroids, unless they are checking for C-Diff or other bacteria that might respond to antibiotics. If so you probably wouldn't want to be on steroids. Not sure how old your son is but steroids can stunt growth in children if taken too much and steroids usually only help while on them. Once removed, or tapered down to low doses, symptoms often return and you could be back to square one. Steroids are cheap but can come with some very nasty side effects. The game plan with steroids is usually to heal the colon and hopefully maintenance meds such as Lialda or Sulfazine will keep you in remission once the pred is removed.

Thank you so much everyone for all the great information.....Now if I can just get him to eat
*LOL*. He is 32 and also has anxiety and agoraphobia as well. They are checking for C-Diff and other things . This Mornings first BM was very bloody and of course he freaked out. Thanks again Rita

Mesalamine suspension enemas. Mesalamine is the active ingredient that's in Lialda (along with Asacol HD and Apriso, two other oral meds) and it's quite effective when used as a rectal med, especially in conjunction with oral meds.

However, I seem to remember that even the generic mesalamine enemas (Rowasa is name brand) are quite expensive. You could call the pharmacy just to inquire about the cost.

But really, take a look at the info in the thread I posted - he should be able to get assistance with meds as he doesn't have insurance.

My generic meslamine enemas are just north of $400.00 for a 28 pack. Not exactly cheap.

Sulfa is supposed to be around a hundred a month I think.

I highly recommend getting on insurance. Not sure where you live, but many us states have assistance programs to get children health insurance...worth checking into.

Ensure bothers some people because of the relatively high sugar content. Better choice would be meat broth, white rice, egg noodles, apple sauce (maybe too acidic), jello, yogurt.

Chicken broth, and bananas helped me when I was in my first severe flare (still flaring) diagnosed two months ago. Also noticed that Sugar and fruits high in sugar sent me running to the bathroom immediately.
There is something about the consistency in the bananas that helps with diarrhea.

Goodluck!

He use to eat tons of Banana's but now they make him gag for some reason
yes trying to keep him off the sugary drinks, and just on water....I think he may still have some of
the prep running thru him at this time too........Do you all cramp really really bad all the time??

For Lialda I use the Pharmacy Savings Card from the company Shire in addition to my insurance. you can get one by calling 1-877-994-001 to activate card - 1-866-250-8840 patients with questions about program - I believe the website is www.activatepharmacycard.com - not sure this is where you sign up though but maybe you can navigate to the sign up from here. The program can save you $1,440 annually or $120 a month. It might help

Oh, and my doctor had me on nothing but white rice, applesauce, bananas and dry white toast. That's still what I eat when I'm bad.
This part might be superstition: Don't drink much when you eat, so you don't dilute your stomach acid so you can get as much nutrition from your food as you can as it rushes through.
That might not be true. But, I still do it.

Wait an hour or so, then drink as much as you want, so you don't get dehydrated.

Bentyl (generic dicyclomine) is great for cramping! It's been around forever and generic only available now so should be fairly inexpensive. Make sure he's done with prep though! You don't wanna slow things down while on bowel cleanse/prep. If he can get cramping under control it will be a lot more pleasant and not so scary to eat. Liquid diet will really help give bowels a rest. I did Glucerna sometimes (not diabetic, but this has less sugar, made for diabetics), Orgain shakes (good but pricey) and smoothies with no sugar. Not fun, but at this point it's better than solid food. After liquid diet all I really ate was rice and fish. Start slowly and eat what everyone suggested. Hope he feels better soon!