UC Drugs
When I first got diagnosed with UC the doctor put me on Asacol. The first 3 weeks it made me really sick. Peppermint mentos seemed to take the nausea away the best. Now they have no negative affect on me what so ever. I can take them any time, with or without food.
I was taking Metamucil caps when I thought I had IBS because that will absorbe the water in the colon. But after I went on asacol I found that all it did was bulk up my stool and make it more painfull as it passed through the colon. If you are taking Metamucil for IBS or UC, save yourself some money and go to GNC and just get some psyllium husk caps. They do the same thing and cost much less. Psyllium Husk is the main ingrediant in Metamucil.
Before my diagnosis my family practice doctor gave me a prescription for belladonna to stop the cramps. This works great. It also help with the urgency caused by the cramps. I'm off them now since I don't have cramping anymore, but I still have urgency problems.
Just an FYI for those reading this that are new to UC. Cramping is when you are all done going, but you colon keeps pushing anyway like more is going to come. The cramping is also what will hit you when you eat ice cream if you became lactose intolerant when you got UC like I did. I can eat dairy, just not ice cream unless I take a lactate pill. The cream level in Dairy Queen ice cream is so high that even with a pill I can't eat it.
Right after my colonosopy I went into a severe flair because of what the prep did to my system. Nice! I should have gone on asacol for 3 months first!
It started with the usual cramping and blood. Then I got white sores in the mouth and throat. It felt like I had something stuck in the bottom of my throat. (It was an ulcer)
I guess the ulcers can go all the way up the GI to the mouth in a real bad flare. That is when they put me on 60mg of Prednisone. Avoid this drug at all costs! It's nasty stuff to get off and the side effects are BAD.
I got real bad acne from it and I wanted to eat all the time. I was on prednisone for over 6 months. I tried to taper off, but I didn't recognise the signs of a bad flare at the time and figured it was just withdrawl from the drug. I got swollen ankles, I was anemic and pale, my knees hurt, I could hardly walk, I missed work, I lost about 50lbs and then one night I was having problems breathing and went to the ER.
After I was admitted they told me all that was caused by a flare-up of my colitis because I tappered off prednisone too fast. They put me on a prednisone drip. (Works much faster than the pills) After a few days I was out of the hospital and back on 60mg of prednisone. This time I tappered much slower and started taking Imuran to replace the prednisone. Imuran and it's generic version that I take now are an immunosuppresent. They stop the colon from attacking itself. Immuran take be taken long term with no bad side effects other than the fact that they have to give me blood tests once and a while to make sure there is no liver toxicity. There is a special blood test that costs $500 (My insurance company complained, but paid for it after my doctor sent them a letter) that will tell them if you are one of the 3% that could have liver problems with Immuran. I was one of the 3%, so I had to go on it slowly with bi-weekly blood tests and I don't take the full dose for my weight now, but my blood tests say that the dose I have now is working.
I was taking Metamucil caps when I thought I had IBS because that will absorbe the water in the colon. But after I went on asacol I found that all it did was bulk up my stool and make it more painfull as it passed through the colon. If you are taking Metamucil for IBS or UC, save yourself some money and go to GNC and just get some psyllium husk caps. They do the same thing and cost much less. Psyllium Husk is the main ingrediant in Metamucil.
Before my diagnosis my family practice doctor gave me a prescription for belladonna to stop the cramps. This works great. It also help with the urgency caused by the cramps. I'm off them now since I don't have cramping anymore, but I still have urgency problems.
Just an FYI for those reading this that are new to UC. Cramping is when you are all done going, but you colon keeps pushing anyway like more is going to come. The cramping is also what will hit you when you eat ice cream if you became lactose intolerant when you got UC like I did. I can eat dairy, just not ice cream unless I take a lactate pill. The cream level in Dairy Queen ice cream is so high that even with a pill I can't eat it.
Right after my colonosopy I went into a severe flair because of what the prep did to my system. Nice! I should have gone on asacol for 3 months first!
It started with the usual cramping and blood. Then I got white sores in the mouth and throat. It felt like I had something stuck in the bottom of my throat. (It was an ulcer)
I guess the ulcers can go all the way up the GI to the mouth in a real bad flare. That is when they put me on 60mg of Prednisone. Avoid this drug at all costs! It's nasty stuff to get off and the side effects are BAD.
I got real bad acne from it and I wanted to eat all the time. I was on prednisone for over 6 months. I tried to taper off, but I didn't recognise the signs of a bad flare at the time and figured it was just withdrawl from the drug. I got swollen ankles, I was anemic and pale, my knees hurt, I could hardly walk, I missed work, I lost about 50lbs and then one night I was having problems breathing and went to the ER.
After I was admitted they told me all that was caused by a flare-up of my colitis because I tappered off prednisone too fast. They put me on a prednisone drip. (Works much faster than the pills) After a few days I was out of the hospital and back on 60mg of prednisone. This time I tappered much slower and started taking Imuran to replace the prednisone. Imuran and it's generic version that I take now are an immunosuppresent. They stop the colon from attacking itself. Immuran take be taken long term with no bad side effects other than the fact that they have to give me blood tests once and a while to make sure there is no liver toxicity. There is a special blood test that costs $500 (My insurance company complained, but paid for it after my doctor sent them a letter) that will tell them if you are one of the 3% that could have liver problems with Immuran. I was one of the 3%, so I had to go on it slowly with bi-weekly blood tests and I don't take the full dose for my weight now, but my blood tests say that the dose I have now is working.
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