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Pentasa- ?

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plagueius

Guest
pentasa- ?

I've been taking 8 pills a day since december. Im not exactly sure this is doing anything. any thoughts?
 
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Kate

Guest
if its not causeing problem then ild stay with it cause it would surly be doing something
 
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DannyB

Guest
I hear over and over about peeps saying that they don't think the pentasa is having any effect with the relief of IBD and myself included in these thoughts. But..... since thinking about this one, I personally wouldn't know if has a negative/positive effect or not because I have never stopped taking this medication.
 
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Valentina

Guest
it didnt do a thing for me. I was on solofalk, which might be a bit different, 14 pills a day. are you still flaring really badly? and are your symptoms just getting worse even though your on it? if so, then I would bring it up to your DR, and see if he can up your dose, or add something else to the mix.
good luck!
 
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btcrv

Guest
Are you taking 8 pills that are 250 mg or 8 pills that are 500mg? I did 16 pills a day of the lower dose, then when the higher dose became available I took eight of them.

I took that for a while but I got off of it when they cut out half my stomach. I guess it helped hold off the surgery for a year and a half.
 
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Sparrow

Guest
i've been on pentasa since 2001, I havent' found that it really has done anything or helped me but i keep taking it just cause both docs ive seen say to keep taking it and well taking it with all the rest of my junk now is just a habit
 
I don't know about pentasa, but I know I'm supposed to be taking Asacol 400mg 3x a day, but stopped taking that 4 years ago.. My doctor will get mad at me if he knows I stopped taking it that long ago, but it never did anything for me, and I still don't notice anything different now then I did 4 years ago, so I think these medications are worthless if you ask me, unless your having flaires or something serious I don't think these medications do anything if you ask me..

I'm taking everything else my doctor says, but NOT the Asacol.. At first it was because that particular medication doesn't come in generic form, so I would have to pay $60 every 3 months for the stuff, which is too expensive for me, so it started out being I just didn't want to pay for medication I knew wasn't working worth a darn. My Blood pressure medication costs that much too, but that I know I need, if I was spending $60 every 3 months for all 8 scripts my doctor said I should be on, I'd be spending $500 a month just in scripts! and thats the copay amount I pay before insurance covers the rest, so I HAVE to be choosy like that because I can't afford all these scripts even with insurance, can't cover the copay cost even.

anyway, sticking to a diet that lacks complex sugars, wheats, and starches has helped me much more then those medications have.. My doctor says its for fnflammation, but i haven't noticed anything wrong in those areas, the only problem I have are Fistulas in my rectum, and from what I gather, Asacol isn't even for that to begin with, so I don't feel bad for lying to my doctor one bit about it, as alot of these doctors tend to give the same medication to everyone for the same disease, like they think medication for one person is supposed to help for everybody, or something, when we ALL know crohns affects all of us differently, but my doctors don't seem to know that anyway. its like they think what works on George should work for Tom too, and it just aint so, esp since a change of diet has helped more then even the immune suppressors have...and thats a BIG deal :) Its even safe for me to say that a change if diet has helped my condition more then remicade has, I've avoided surgery indefintely asside from minor fistula surgeries, for the last 9 years, have even reversed symtoms I once had in the beginning, so I'm very prowd at the decisions I've made, just wish they'd find a cure already so we can get off all these medications and side effects, and so I can buy chocolate ice cream from the store again :(
 
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and popcorn...man do I miss popcorn, a movie isn't the same without popcorn :( but I know if I eat even 1 kernel I'll be in the hospital for a week, so I don't give in to it, but maann do I miss it going to the theatre...
 
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andilynn09

Guest
i was diagnosed in early april of 06 and have been on 8 pills (500mg) per day since then. the pentasa helped some, but very little....so my doc has been adding and trying new meds in addition to pentasa since about mid-may because pentasa wasn't doing enough in her eyes. i have since been off and on budesonide (steroid for CD), off and on flagyl (antibiotic) - neither of which helped enough. i am now still taking pentasa, have just started stronger steroid of prednisone and will be adding imuran to the mix next week. if you're still having pain and more good days than bad, it's time to talk to your doc again about what the next move is. good luck. :eek:
 

mikeyarmo

Co-Founder
I believe that pentasa is rather week compared to some more aggressive treastments, but it is best to discuss your feelings with your doctor/GI. They can determine with you what is the best road to take with your treatment.
 
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btcrv

Guest
Rather week and super duper expensive if you have to pay out of pocket like I did for a while == about $300 per month
 
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Stuffette

Guest
my insurance won't cover the stuff

I was upset when my insurance company didn't cover Pentasa but I guess I don't feel so bad now that I hear it doesn't do much for so many of you.
 

Kev

Senior Member
Hey plagueius...

Dunno nuttin about pentasa personally, just that it's in the same class as asacol
(one's for the colon, other for the ileum - coatings are just slightly different).. I understand that it isn't so much a cure, more or less an anti-inflamatory... sort of like an aspirin salve for the lining of the colon. Been around for decades, yet doctors still don't know how it works exactly. So, if you were expecting a big "Eureka! I'm cured" from it, then you are in for disappointment

However, all literature I've seen say that as an anti-inflamatory it does work,
and that it's supposed to moderate the unseen effects of future flare-ups. So
not taking it or ceasing to take it probably won't show up immediately as any big deal, but continued use does seem to be very positive for your colon over time... Maybe something akin to those people with heart disease who take a low dose of aspirin on a daily basis... Stopping cold turkey doesn't give them an immediate heart attack, but those who keep taking it have better results when the big one strikes.. (hmmm, that sounds very fatalistic of me, sheesh)

As for me, due to liver complications, I can't take it... Instead I'm on salofalk.
16 pills a day... (16 X 500Mg) Basically same horse, just a different colour. I have achieved a significant reduction in the amount of bleeding, otherwise my symptoms are the same... i.e. still have the damned disease, just losing a lot less blood.. Meds work their best if taken as prescibed, and our body seems to work best with them if we keep to a schedule (I think body adapts to this scenario best).. Also, esp. with coated meds., you have to be conscious of how you take them... i.e. not with hot beverages, typcially accompanied by a light snack (if you experience side effects in your stomach taking them). If you're paying a doctor for advice, and they say take the pills, then take them. Otherwise, why are you wasting your money and both of your time???
 

mikeyarmo

Co-Founder
This is the drug I am actually on now. It is meant for mild-moderate sufferers, as it is an anti-inflammatory, but not as strong as something like imuran or prednisone. If you think it is not helping and your condition is worstening, than you may need to move to a more aggressive drug. I believe there is some evidence that maintaining a drug while in any sort of remission prolongs the remission though, so I would not move so fast to stop taking it becuase you don't feel it is doing nothing without first consulting a doc.
 
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Tia

Guest
Pentasa did nothing for me. I was also on mesasal (sp?) as well which I think is similar. I haven't found anything that works well.

Tia
 
Pentasa is a very low side affect free medcine used to help with mild ot moderate cases of cron's... If your having a flare up it probably will do nothing... If you are in remission then it may help to keeep you in remissiom...

Main things is kids can take this and it doesn't severaly altar them mental and physcially like steriods and other medications...

Last time I read soemthing on it it said it only seemed to help about 30% or lower of patients with crohn's... But hey you might be one of the lucky ones.. It is just the medcine is to expensive to buy unless you have good insurance...

Also it comes in 500mg pills now as well as 250mg... Standard dosage for an adult is 4 grams a day taken as either (4 250mg pills 4 times a day) or as (2 500mg pills taken 4 times a day)..

The 500 mg pills are huge and just blue... The 250mg pills are blue and green and are a lot smaller that the 500 mg pills... (granted the 250 mg pills are big pills to begin with)

I hope this helps.. Also you MUST make sure you are taking it 4 times a day or else it will do nothing for you... You MUST do this everyday... Some people have trouble taking just one medcine 4 times a day so if you are one of those people then don't bother getting the pentasa because it will not work if you do not take it as directed.. Plus you will be out 350+ dollars for a prescription you won't use...
them... So the bottom line is
(1) Do you have the money to pay for the meds?
(2) Will you take them as directed?
(3) Will you stay with the medcine for than 2+ months?
(4) Do not stop taking current medication
(5) Pentasa is a maitence medcine it will not put you in remission...
(6) Pentasa has virtually no side effects though.

Things to remember Pentasa is part of a classifaction of drugs called Aminosalicylates http://http://www.webmd.com/hw/inflammatory_bowel/hw40817.asp
But, for some even taking it as per the directions...it may still do nothing for you..
 
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