colitis/pentasa!

[amg39]

hi there guys been diagnosed with colitis at beginning of november! been quite bad with a few painfull flareups lots of blood etc/ currently on pentasa and steriods at the moment/ started the pentasa last tuesday after a bad flareup/ just wonderd if any one could tell me there experiance on pentasa , and how long they took to work ? many thanks xx

[junglemom]

I was recently prescribed Pentasa and an hour after I took my first dose of two pills, I was doubled over in excruciating pain.  It took me two or three days to feel normal again.  I will not take it again.

[melissw]

hi there,

i have UC (diagnosed in 2001) and have been on asacol most of the time.  however, i had about a year of experience with pentasa...  the doctor at the time told me that it was the same thing as asacol, however, i found it to be less effective.  another doctor later told me that they have the same active ingredient mesalamine, but pentasa reaches a different part of your track... i think asacol stays intact longer, so it gets released lower down in your system.  

anyway, i think either of the 2 drugs are mainly for maintenance like the others said.  doctors have told me that it has hardly any side effects and it's the "safest" form of treatment (compared to the side effects of other medications)

good luck and welcome to the community!

[TrudieC]

My son was taking pentasa as a maintenance drug and prednisone for flare ups.  Just recently his doctor took him off the pentasa and started him on Imuran (an immune suppressant).  Since his disease gets quite severe this can possibly put him in remission for a number of years.  It takes about 4 months to kick in.  They have proven that taking Imuran early in your diagnosis can dramatically alter the progression of your disease.  Good luck!

[jenntanis]

My husband was diagnosed with Crohns when he was 18.  He was switched from Asacol to Pentasa when his liver enzymes were slightly elevated.  He was on a steroid for the first 2 years after he was diagnosed.  He hasn't been on a steroid since 2006, when he was diagnosed with Diabetes.  The Steroids are more for the flares, the Pentasa is used more as a maintenance drug.  He is also on Purinethol, which is chemotherapy agent, to help decrease abnormal growths.  Good luck.

[amg39]

thanks for your reply! hopefully this will settle things down? good luck to you to xx

[tundra0379]

i believe that pentasa is more for management of colitis once it's under control from steroids like once the steroids bring down your flare up u will continue to take pentasa to maintain your colitis control so you could be on it for quite sometime  i have never taken pentasa myself thought they have me on salofalk  which i believe is for the same thing, just to keep uc under control.  not sure if that helped at all but anyways    good luck    wishing you the best.