Medication for Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis

  I'm a 38 year-old male who has suffered from a rare form of allergy known as eosinophilic gastroenteritis. It was only about 6 six years ago that I switched to a new dr. who diagnosed me having this condition, and has been treating me with prednisone on the average of 2 times per year. Although this medication has been a life-saver, it is a bad drug for reasons I'm sure you know. I heard that there is a drug available in Canada that has not been approved yet in the U.S. because not enough people have this condition, and the cost to get it approved in the U.S. make it not worthwhile for the drug-makers to pursue its approval. So...I'm very interested in going to Canada to get this drug and see if it does work in preventing the outbreak of my internal allergic reactions caused by eosinophilic gastroenteritis. However, I forgot the name of the drug and what would I have to do (besides go to Canada) to get the drug? Please help!!!!!!
Dear John,
I believe you are referring to a steroid medication such as budesonide that is completely metabolized on first pass through the liver. This decreases the possibility of side effects. It has been shown that as the dose of budesonide is increased it has more of the effects of prednisone (adrenal suppression). This has been shown in clinical trials of patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were treated with oral budesonide. In the US,  budesonide is available as an inhaler and is used in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. A literature search on budesonide did not show a US center that is currently investigating the drug. Your best bet is to try to contact a university center in Canada for more information on how to obtain this drug. Good luck to you.
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*Keywords: budesonide