Question about Colazal

I have been on Asacol/Rowasa for 11 years. They are no longer working for me. At my last GI visit he felt I should go on Imuran. He asked me to go home and think about it. If I had any further questions I was to make another appointment with him. Well, I made another appointment today but can't get in until Dec. 19th. Some very helpful people on this forum have suggested I try Colazal and possibly the steroid enemas. It has been suggested that Colazal might be more effective than Asacol for my type of UC. I should also note that I tried Lialda for a month and got worse. I guess I am just trying to be thorough before moving on to the heavy drugs. Are there any specific questions I should ask my GI? Do any of you feel this is worth a try or should I cut my losses and move on? He told me that 85% of his UC patients respond well to the 5-ASA drugs. Makes ya feel like a loser.

You're not a loser Annie...and there are many who have made the switch to Colazal and did much better. If they work in conjunction with the steroid enemas...then that's worth it....you have nothing to lose by trying.

Just ask the doc how long you are to use them before considering the immuno-meds.

Keep us posted.
quincy

Sounds very reasonable to try another 5ASA drug first. You could ask your doctor to describe the other 5ASA drug choices and to choose the one that might be best for you. There are others besides Colazal and they are all slightly different from one another.

I was also on Asacol and then it stopped working. I think I had a few decent months with Colazal but then went on to Pentasa and DiPentum. (No one mentions those other two 5ASA drugs here... maybe they aren't used anymore?) By the time I got to making the choice for 6MP, it was an easy one. There was nothing left to try!

It's definitely worth a shot. If you can give Colazal or a different 5ASA a month or two as a test, that would be great.

By the way -- about the 85% of patients responding... I've read a study that said that most patients respond better to the 5ASA if used in conjunction with Rowasa or another rectal med. Kind of makes you wonder about that 85% comment. If patients are using both, who's to know which element is the most helpful? Hm...

I'd recommend trying Cortenemas for at least 3 weeks. However, it does take a longer period of use for them to be effective if one has inflammation in the descending colon-- where the systemic chemistry has to kick in. In my experience, one can use them for 3 months w/o major side effects cropping up, except for increased appetite & some thinning of scalp hair. That being said, let me move on to the 5-ASAs. Pentasa is mainly for patients with right-sided inflammation because it starts acting in the terminal ileum. Dipentum can reduce inflammation, but prolongs D-- my gastro admitted that after Colazal came on the market. I myself have done better on Colazal than with any of the other older 5-ASAs, including Rowasa! Therefore, I would recommend that you try Colazal before giving up on 5-ASAs entirely. Ask your doctor what he thinks about possibility of using Cortenemas alone for up to 4 weeks & then phasing in Colazal gradually. My feeling about drug combos is that they make it harder to tell where side effects are coming from-- so better to do one type of drug at a time (initially) to determine which are ineffective or cause major adverse reactions. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC; currently on 3 Colazal daily; seem to be back in remission)                                                P.S. Your doctor may want to avoid prescribing steroids if you are middle-aged, due to potential for bone loss.

Post Edited (Old Hat) : 11/30/2007 8:24:59 AM (GMT-7)

I had always used Sulphasalazine, it stopped working. I got a script for Lialda, I got consistently worse and ended up in the E.R. with dehydration from all the "D and blood loss. Fired the old G.I. (satan ) and the new one put me on a low dose of Pred and 9 Colazal, it started working within days. That was back in September. Best thing I have done

Colazal is a basalazide. It's still a 5-ASA but it breaks down differently in the colon and under different PH levels (I think). But the directions for 12 weeks don't apply to us, that is for other forms of colitis - not UC.

Is Colazal better for those of us with left-sided UC because it dissolves further down in the colon? Is that part of why the Asacol is no longer working for me? If so, why when I tried Lialda, I got worse?