Tapering off Entocort - Pain returns

I too received a recent Crohn's diagnosis, (December 2011). Entocort relieved my left side pain. I began to taper off of Entocort a few weeks ago and began Mesalamine 4 x day.

Unfortunately my left side pain has returned. I know I cannot stay on Entocort for long, but it seems as though the Mesalamine alone cannot control my inflammation and pain.

I have also begun eating a modified vegan diet and I am learning some relaxation techniques. Am I being too impatient with the pain relapse? Should I give the Mesalamine, diet, etc more time to work, or does recurring pain indicate another round of steroids is required?

I just saw my GI last Friday and of course my pain returned two days later.

Hi Stephen,

I have copied your post to the Your Story forum so it doesn't get lost in someone else's thread.

Welcome aboard!

Dusty. xxx

PS. Thanks Joan!

Welcome aboard! You noted that you are taking mesalamine 4x daily but how many grams? To me it does sound that maybe you are being a bit impatient, can your mesalamine dose be increased? Also, how bad would you classify the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, are you having loose stool or blood in stool? Also, you have not spent a lot of time practicing food avoidance (diagnosis in December) which is one of the most effective ways to manage Crohn's. You need to be keeping a food diary and avoiding foods that intensify your symptoms which takes time and practice to develop a good list of trouble foods. Some veggies and fruits may increase your Crohn's symptoms I see where you noted the vegan diet.

Hi Stephen, I agree that perhaps you need to look at the diet a bit more. From what I have just read about what can be part of a vegan diet nearly all of it is not really crohns friendly -above all else avoid nuts, pips and seeds, they can totally aggrivate the bowel. Too much fruit and veg is not really that great either. Check out our diet and supplements forum to get some further info on what you can try and definetly keep a food diary. I think relaxation exercises are a great idea though, stress can really aggrivate sysptoms so I hope these help. Not sure how long Mesalamine takes to kick in but perhaps check in with your IBD nurse/GI and see if perhaps the dosage needs to be ammended. Please let us know how you get on.

NB :welcome: to the forum

Hi Stephen,
I have been on entocort since October 2010. I have twice tried to come off it but failed as my symptoms returned. Currently I am on 6 mg which works well for me and my GI has said I can stay on this safely for another 6 months at least. So you can definitely stay on it longer if need be.
Hope that helps a little and hope you get relief from the pain soon

Thanks everyone for such thoughtful responses. The overall message received is wait, give the mesalamine, (Pentasa), more time to work and monitor my diet to learn which foods are aggravating and causing discomfort. I did leave off a few details which may be informative.

GERD diagnosed in 2002
Diverticulitis - diagnosed in 2005
Prostate Cancer - Prostatectomy 2007
Sigmoid resection - September 2010

Current meds & supplements:
Ranidadine - 150 mg, 1 x day
Mesalamine, (Pentasa) - 500 mg, 4 x day
CoQ10 - 100 mg 1 x day
Vitamin D - 1000 mg 1 x day
Omega-3 fish oil tabs - 2000 mg 1 x day
Claritan-D 24 hour allergy med

I believe that Mesalamine dosage can go as high as 4 grams a day and you are only taking 2 grams a day. Small seeds could definitely inflame your Diverticulitis, stay clear of those.