Posted 11/12/2018 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
Steroids can work within 24-48 hours, take a week, or take 2 weeks to show significant improvements. It really depends on whether the steroid dosage is enough (i,.e., properly matching disease severity to steroid dosage), and how much damage your flare has already done (i.e., a bad/severe flare doesn't vanish overnight, the raw and bleeding areas need ample time to heal). Mild and limited inflammation responds lightning fast to steroids. Moderate inflammation takes longer. Severe inflammation might take a week or multiple weeks. If the inflammation goes beyond the scope of this rectum-only foam, then you may never fully respond until you get a more potent steroid (i.e., a steroid enema or even oral prednisone). Hope for the best, but have a backup plan should you not feel better in 3 or so weeks.
Regardless of whether you respond immediately or take a week, you should take the full 28-day supply of your medicine. The goal is to beat the inflammation, and keep it away long enough for your immune system to turn-off the immune attack and go back into a quiet/quiescent state. Feeling better can be very fast, but shutting off the immune attack can take a quiet period of a month, two months or more. A bit of a disconnect, air on the side of caution and give the steroids longer than just feeling better.
Good luck!