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How dangerous is long term cortenema use?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/9/2013 2:28 PM (GMT -8)
I have been on every drug imaginable for proctitis/lower left side colitis and the only thing that works is 100 mg cortenema….I have been on sulfasalizine, lialda, colazol, imuran, remicade, humira, prednisone, rowasa, canasa, probiotics, etc….how bad is nightly cortenema use when the absorption rate is like 30%? Right when i go off of it, it comes right back, and I have been fighting this for 4 years on and off…Thanks for the insight
Posted 12/9/2013 3:46 PM (GMT -8)
Absorption of the steroid is like taking 10mg of pred daily. When you stop using them are you tapering? I finally stopped using them almost 3 weeks ago after being on them 4.5 months and I had all kinds if side effects from them. Tissue thinning is a real problem with them, especially with long term use. My hair was falling out, hormones were all out of whack, I had a lot of mood swings and my PCP was very worried about my bone density from being on them for so long.
Some people don't get all the side effects I did. Like everything else with this disease, I think everyone responds differently.
Posted 12/9/2013 4:00 PM (GMT -8)
I was told that taking 10 mg of pred daily is fairly safe? I am tapering when I go off them, but in terms of side effects I typically get non…I guess it's a toss up
Posted 12/9/2013 5:20 PM (GMT -8)
I was on Cortenemas for about a year. I ended up getting the typical side effects as seen with prednisone (moon face, insomnia etc). I had a hard time getting off them too but I started on 6mp and I was finally able to taper off (too bad 6mp stopped working for me). But long term use of Corts can cause thinning of the rectum walls. Just like if you use any topical steroid on the skin, it thins the skin over time.
Posted 12/10/2013 5:44 AM (GMT -8)
Long-term cortenema use is no different than long-term, low dosage of prednisone. Corticosteroids carry risks of such nasty things as osteoporosis, glaucoma, type II diabetes, etc. I don't know, is it really worth getting one of those just to save your colon?

I've been on pred for nearly a year. I'm trying like hell to get off it for the 3rd time, this time with Remicade too. My doc says if I cannot get off of pred this time than the surgeon wants to keep my colon shocked
Posted 12/10/2013 2:13 PM (GMT -8)
Cortenema use also weakens and thins the rectal tissue. I'm not sure if that causes any long-term issues, but I know my surgeon wouldn't operate unless I had been off of them for six weeks.
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