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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/27/2012 7:48 PM (GMT -5)
Whats the longest someone has been on cortifoam?  Been on it on and off since May.  The dr upped my asacol to 12 and weaning me off the cortifoam to every other night.  I am still bleeding but I do have to push to go so not sure if its the uc or hemmrhoids.  I just had a scope in may and at that time had a flare which is at the rectum only.  I have tried rowasa and canasa but cannot hold them in they cause worse problems.  I really dont want to have to go to imuran or remicade so I am hoping the cortifoam works.  i dont have diahherea my issues are just hard to go and bleeding.
Posted 8/27/2012 7:57 PM (GMT -5)
Has the cortifoam helped you? I'm thinking about asking for it as the Rowasa doesn't seem to be helping me get out of my flare this time. I've never tried anything but mesalamines so far.
Posted 8/27/2012 8:26 PM (GMT -5)
At first it was great, but now I am seeing blood again, but I do have to push alot so not sure what its from.
Posted 8/27/2012 9:04 PM (GMT -5)
Cortifoam is great but you need to remember that it only reaches the very lower part.  Enemas go higher in the colon so if your still having symptoms  i SUGGEST you use a enema like hycort, cortenema or mesalamine at night and cortifoam during the day.
Posted 8/27/2012 9:07 PM (GMT -5)
I wasn't on Cortifoam but I was on the steroid enemas, off and on for a year. What is the extent of your Uc?
Posted 8/27/2012 9:10 PM (GMT -5)
I agree with Puffed Rice. I don't think it would be bad to use semi-long term since it is not systemic and would have very little-to-no side-effects. It really depends on how high up your UC reaches, though. It could be treating the lowest part of your rectum and colon, but if your UC goes any higher than that, then you will continue to have symptoms.
Posted 8/27/2012 10:04 PM (GMT -5)
I must have been using it for about 6 months when I was in an awful flare that wouldn't susbside. I was on oral prednisone at the same time, taking mesalamine orally and using Canasa as well and I wasn't able to taper off prednisone. Finally, I had to start 6mp and i've been doing much better. Did you doctor try to put you on oral prednisone?
Posted 8/28/2012 12:42 AM (GMT -5)
Cortifoam is only 10% steroid so it's less likely to cause systemic side effects with nightly use for a few months. The liquid steroid retention enemas contain 40-50% steroid med, and are therefore stronger than Cortifoam and reach the sigmoid colon as well as the rectum. It sounds like you need some diet modification and possibly a fiber supplement if your major issue, though, is straining to pass bms rather than urgency. / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 8/28/2012 6:02 AM (GMT -5)
My uc only goes up to i think to the sig. Its not very far.
Posted 8/28/2012 8:18 AM (GMT -5)
Is it hard to get off the cortifoam after getting your symptoms under control? I mean, do symptoms come back when tapering off usually?
Posted 8/28/2012 8:22 AM (GMT -5)
Cortifoam is pretty good for treating hemorrhoids, but doesn't really get high enough to treat the full rectum or sigmoid. If you have proctitis, you may do better with suppositories or enemas.
Posted 8/28/2012 8:54 AM (GMT -5)
Those dont work as i mentioned above. I really need to know how long people stayed on cortifoam for? Please help.
Posted 8/28/2012 10:00 AM (GMT -5)
I've been on cortifoam for 5 weeks and there are still 5 boxes left with 15 applications each. Specialist didn't say anything about stopping them before they run out or tapering. At least 10 more weeks worth of cortifoam plus the five I've used it for, makes it at least 4 months.
Posted 8/28/2012 12:46 PM (GMT -5)
The longest I've been on cortifoam (and have never had a single side effect from it) is one full year before tapering off of it slowly, so in essence about a year and 4 months...with no issues....the worse the proctitis is, the longer you have to use rectal meds, from my experiance I learned never to let it linger on, get on meds within a short period of time as soon as you start to have proctitis issues, then the cortifoam kicks in faster and better...my experiance.
Posted 8/28/2012 1:05 PM (GMT -5)
I agree with pb4 RE Cortifoam use to heal rectum. It is safe to use longterm. However, if you have sigmoid colon inflammation, too, you likely need to switch to liquid steroid enemas for a while. It does not sound to me like you need oral steroid (Prednisone), which is really for treating severe inflammation with multiple bms daily & lots of bleeding. / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 8/28/2012 4:02 PM (GMT -5)
I've been using cortifoam on and off for a few years now.  This latest run has lasted more than a year. It's a breeze to use and easy to retain without gnawing on your pillow for 10 mins.  Like most UC/UP treatments though, it's started to lose it's efficacy.   I just had a flex-sig this morning and my GI said I have "moderately active UP" extending about 20cm up.

He said since my 5th remi infusion has yielded no joy, and having tapered off pred a month ago I might want to consider surgery.

I asked him for a script for entocort enemas (which I've never tried), he duly obliged but said they weren't covered, cost about $70 a week and "is just another steroid".    I don't care anymore.

And I'll do what it takes to avoid surgery. 

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