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Mesalamine enemas ? cause gas

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/6/2007 10:23 AM (GMT -8)

My 15 year old son has been bleeding with his BMs for a while. We tried Mesalmine enemas again and this time in 5 days, his bleeding stopped.  Now he has very foul smelling gas and stomach cramps.  Could it be the enemas? He has been on the enemas since 8/23.

Any recommendations as to what to do to reduce the gas/ cramps? One time he was on Asacol and it did not work and gave him gas-not as bad as this though.  It is at a point that he does not want to go to school.  Should I try Canasa suppositories every other day?   I hesitate to change his regimen since he stopped bleeding but these other symptoms are a concern as well.

He is also on:

Curcumin, Boswellia, Probiotics (Natren & culturelle-for a few months), Seacure, Acupuncture

Any advice/opinion would be appreciated.

thank you!

Sally

Posted 9/6/2007 10:29 AM (GMT -8)
Hi...yes, they can cause gas...but shouldn't throughout the day once it's out with a morning bm. Is he doing them at night or in the morning? They should be done at night.

I would suggest you stick with them..

Part of the situation could be what he's eating...what's he having during the day for food?

As well..when is he taking the other supplements? 

q

Posted 9/6/2007 10:44 AM (GMT -8)
Quincy~
He takes the enema at night. The other supplements are morning & late afternoon; probiotics at night though. this has not caused any problems in the past. He actually eats pretty healthily....little sugar or processed foods. what are you thinking re: diet?

~Sally
Posted 9/6/2007 11:26 AM (GMT -8)
Does he administer them or you? Be sure to expel all the air out of the bottles before inserting. He might be getting accidental air in the colon. I know when I was on them that would happen to me on occasion and I would get some bad cramping because I couldn't expel the air. I would take Gas-X to help relieve me, which worked for me. As for the smell, yes they can cause that. When I was on them and I would expel gas, even my dogs would give me a dirty look! I'm glad his bleeding has been controlled....good for him!
Posted 9/6/2007 10:09 PM (GMT -8)
I'm thinking some foods are more difficult to digest, and that could be part of the discomfort.

You could also ask the doctor for maybe 2gram dosage of Rowasa instead of 4...it might be that the 4 is too much?

How many times a day is he having bms?

q
Posted 9/6/2007 10:10 PM (GMT -8)
Sherry...that's bad when your dogs are giving you the look "that was YOU"??

LOL!!

q
Posted 9/7/2007 8:02 AM (GMT -8)
Quincy~
He has 1 BM per day and it is formed. The 2 years that he has had this disease, he usually has only 1 formed BM per day. It is the bleeding that is the culprit and has been difficult to get under control especially this past year. He can have a little blood on the TP to tomato soup in the toilet-freaks me out!!! I thought I would forego one night without an enema (which was last night) and I noticed a little red speck in the toilet, none on the tissue. His gas emissions seemed to decrease quite a bit through the night.
Thank you for the suggestion of the lower dose-I will talk with his GI. What do you think of alternating with Canasa supp?

~Sally
Posted 9/7/2007 2:41 PM (GMT -8)
Hi...do what can work. Alternating the Rowasa with the Canasa is a great idea. Mixing the options is at least not limiting it to all or nothing. Remember, he can use the Canasa up to 3 times a day, so that could be another option and taper the Rowasa to eventually once a week and use the Canasa in between.

Try not to freak out too much about the blood. You may be making too much importance where there needn't be. As well...it's stressful to feel things aren't "perfect" and not healing good enough, where in fact it is... considering that the bleeding isn't as consistent as it was. So, keep things in perspective...because from my experience, those symptoms aren't too bad. Not to say they don't warrant continued care, the experience with each flare gets one to know symptoms and how one heals.

Was your son on Canasa before he was on the Rowasa?

quincy
Posted 9/10/2007 3:15 PM (GMT -8)
Quincy~ thank you for putting me at ease...a little.

My son has never tried Canasa. The doctor had ordered it about a year ago and my son refused to take it. His GI told me today that Rowasa does not come in 2GM so "just use half of it". We may try half the dose for a while and see if that relieves some of the side effects. Hopefully he can get on Canasa ( w/ Rowasa 1x/week) in the future.

This disease is so hard because it is all experimental!

~Sally
Posted 9/10/2007 10:13 PM (GMT -8)
oh, interesting..I am almost sure they do because another member here is using the 2g. Maybe I'm thinking of Salofalk...
If you really want to know for future reference, you should call the pharmacy anyway just to check. The Pentasa comes in a 2g...so, that would be another option if it's available in the US.

Using half..I've never done so, but one forum member, gaff, does...hopefully she'll come on and share the experience.

Canasa is easy to use..but they can leak if one has gas..but many use the suppositories and have no problems. Personal preference..but if that's all that was available, I'd use them for sure.

One must experiment and use the meds available as effectively as possible. Nothing is really written in stone and there is flexibility. Some members come up with different ways of tapering that I've not thought of...could definitely work for someone, and if it works, it's a method worth trying....especially if nothing so far has worked.

I would suggest your son use the Canasa for when he starts tapering the Rowasa and use it for the nights not using the Rowasa..I can explain later.

Keep us posted.
quincy
Posted 9/11/2007 3:32 AM (GMT -8)
I can't take Rowasa anymore due to serious side effects but if I still had the choice between Rowasa and Canasa, I would definately chose Canasa. Canasa is so much more convenient, less time consuming and much more easier for me to handle gut wise. I have absolutely no mess whatsoever meaning no leakage and no gas that I would get occasionally with the Rowasa. The only drawback to Canasa is that if you travel anywhere overnight, you have to be sure that you keep it in a cool place until it can be used or it might melt.
Posted 9/11/2007 8:32 AM (GMT -8)
LOL Red...then you could put it in something and use it like an enema...oh it never ends at the possibilities..;-)
h
Posted 9/13/2007 7:21 PM (GMT -8)
I've had good luck taking Beano before meals to stop the gas. It's supposed to contain an enzyme that helps break down complex carbohydrates. I think it actually lessens my UC symptoms as well.....
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