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asacol/pentasa side effects

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Posted 3/20/2009 10:12 AM (GMT -5)
Hey, I was wondering if anyone besides me had to quit taking asacol because of side effects??

I had fatigue, crazy itching, muscle pains, insomnia, tachycardia and exacerbation of some perianal stuff. I went off it and literally the next day I felt like a new person. tons of energy!

On the one hand I'm bummed I can't take it, but on the other hand I'm thrilled with how much better I feel and with actually sleeping at night.

anyone else? thanks!
Posted 3/20/2009 10:29 AM (GMT -5)
I have been taking Asacol for about 4 years now and never had any side effects. But that is not to say that it couldn't cause any. Hope you find something else to help you.

Good luck,
Gail *Nanners*
Posted 3/20/2009 11:15 AM (GMT -5)
I did not have the side effects you have, but Asacol actually irritated my stomach more. I felt so much better once I stopped taking it. My GI said it is fairly common for people to have reactions from it.
Posted 3/20/2009 11:25 AM (GMT -5)
my husband's been on Asacol for 18 months with no side effects.  - but everyone is different.
Posted 3/20/2009 11:36 AM (GMT -5)
Yes, everyone is different. I have been on Asacol for 10 years with no side effects. yeah
Posted 3/20/2009 1:32 PM (GMT -5)
We have had other members that have had a much worsening of CD symptoms, especially diarrhea, when they took mesalamine products [Pentasa or Asacol]. So you are not alone in noticing this. They too reported feeling almost immediate improvement when they stopped the med.
Posted 3/20/2009 1:36 PM (GMT -5)
You know after reading Ides post, I do remember that when I took Pentasa I did have an increase in D. And when I stopped taking it it went away. But I have no problems at all with the Asacol. Go figure!! :)
Posted 3/20/2009 1:37 PM (GMT -5)
well, I guess I'm in the super duper minority!! But it's so true -- within a day, I felt like a new person. Because I had a hyper thyroid diagnosis a month ago, I was thinking that the symptoms were from that!! But the itching/perianal symptoms became really bad -- so I figured what the heck. And what a difference it made. Again, I wish I could take it, but I'm so thankful to feel better that I'm just rolling with that for now.

thanks for all your input!! have a great weekend everyone!
Posted 3/20/2009 4:37 PM (GMT -5)

janicea said...
Hey, I was wondering if anyone besides me had to quit taking asacol because of side effects??

I had fatigue, crazy itching, muscle pains, insomnia, tachycardia and exacerbation of some perianal stuff. I went off it and literally the next day I felt like a new person. tons of energy!

On the one hand I'm bummed I can't take it, but on the other hand I'm thrilled with how much better I feel and with actually sleeping at night.

anyone else? thanks!

Almost the same thing happened to me on Pentasa. My heart rate wouldn't go under 130, I was tired, I had muscle pains, muscle cramps, I couldn't move 2 of my toes. I had a colonoscopy done while I was on it and my side effects really worried my doctor, so she took me off of it. Same thing as you, the next day everything went back to normal. She ran some blood tests for heart/kidney stuff though. I get the results on Monday. Interesting to see that you had similar side effects!
Posted 3/20/2009 10:31 PM (GMT -5)
wow val, stay in touch.... I'm going to the doc on monday. I'll let you know anything interesting I'm sure I'll get the same bloodwork.... One thing I noticed is the half life of the drug is 10 hours, so it takes a few days to totally get out of your system. did you have calf cramps? i literally felt like I'd done a stairmaster for 4 hours a day!!!

the worst for me was internal itching near where I'd had an incision from surgery in july. I was at the point of literally waiting for a fistula or something to open up. I'd had staph there from the hospital so i was starting to flip out -- but by 12 hours after the last dose the sensation was almost done -- and on day 2 (today) i haven't felt it at all in the last 10 hours.

also, did you get a super slight rash when you first started it? I did and ignored it, and it went away. i wish I'd payed more attention to it, it would have saved me a totally de-energised 8 weeks!!

thanks for writing!!
-janice
Posted 3/21/2009 3:32 AM (GMT -5)
i got foot cramps. you know the ones on the inside of your foot? i was getting those so badly on almost a daily basis. so annoying! they would take foreve to go away, too. i didn't have any itching or a rash though, or at least that i noticed, but then again i tend to not really look for them either, so it's very possible that i missed it. how long were you taking it before the symptoms started? my foot cramps started right away, but it seemed like my other symptoms (especially not being able to move my toes, shoulder pain, etc) started after about 2 weeks. i noticed the tachycardia after about a week, but i hadn't been checking it earlier than that. it's crazy to know that you had a similar experience though, i thought it must be so rare how badly i reacted since it's the mildest drug.
Posted 3/21/2009 5:29 AM (GMT -5)
I've been on Asacol for 8 years and I have no side effects.
Posted 3/21/2009 9:05 PM (GMT -5)
Val:
I made it only about 5 weeks, and the fatigue and the itching and the palpitations started right away.... but since the day I started I also got a hyperthyroid diagnosis, I mis-attributed the symptoms to the wrong issue LOL. I just stayed on it and felt worse and worse... and I kept thinking if I'm hyperthyroid why am I so beat!!? I think the hyperthyroid thing came from CT contrast so I'm hoping that's going to go away but I won;t know for a few weeks....

anway, since I stopped 2.5 days ago I have really bad gas pains for a few hours a day. And the gas is kinda stuck, so I'm hopeing it didn't also make my strictures worse. kind of not fun -- but it could be worse!!! :)

the itching was insane. it was not on my skin, it was inside. I don't know how else to describe it. the irritation of the perianal stuff (swelled up) didn't happen till the end, and that was what made me quit it. I'm so glad i did, I have gas and it hurts but so much more energy and good sleep. I'm happy to know i'm not alone in this, and actually it's made me much more secure in my thinking of cause an effect -- even though it's all pretty obvious.

tomorrow I'm just going to go on my happy-dappy liquid diet for a few days and hopefully between the doc monday and the easy food this will all ease up!!

hugs to all!
Posted 3/21/2009 9:06 PM (GMT -5)
also VAL earlier i wrote it was 8 weeks, it's only been 5 weeks for the whole thing start to finish.....
Posted 3/23/2009 3:31 PM (GMT -5)
I had a terrible reaction to Pentasa and could not get past my second dose.   I had stomach cramps, dizziness and diahrea so bad that I dehydrated by morning. I was disappointed as I had just come off of Prednisone and hoped that Pentasa would be my course of treatment.  
Posted 3/23/2009 4:48 PM (GMT -5)
vinca:
so what did you end up doing after that?
Posted 3/24/2009 11:28 AM (GMT -5)

I am now on 6-MP.  The side effects aren't bad-- I did experience a bit of shedding but I increased my folic acid intake and the shedding is even.  No one noticed but me. I just noticed a bit more of my hair in the drain of the tub and a bit more on the floor of my bathroom. It does take 6-MP a few months to be effective.

I should note that I was first diagnosed with UC in the early '90's. I had surgery --complete removal of my colon and rectum and have a J pouch. My Crohn's is in my pouch. At first, doctors thought it was just chronic pouchitis but ruled that out as I have strictures, ulcerations, etc.

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