Quincy

Hi Quincy,

bump

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Beth, 31

Hi Beth...I wouldn't take any 5ASA if I were in your situation given the information you've found. Is prednisone the only thing that you could take or would other immunosuppressants be an option...?

What about long-term meds or care? What did your doc say about that? Was it a kidney specialist you saw?

Have you checked out any other kidney disease sites? I know the healthboards has a kidney disease forum...there would for sure be others where you can pose your queries.

Worth the research considering you're in early stages with the opportunity to possibly reverse or stop the progression...pred may only be the way to go...but do know all the possible treatments so that you can make a good judgement on your care.

As for the UC...there is always Entocort and steroid foam/liquid enemas that you could consider .. not systemic with much less side effects than pred.

The more research you do....especially considering you have more than one disease to care for...the better it is to make the decisions.

Regarding prednisone...does it have to be a high dosage or can it be a low dosage for longer?

You've already found valuable information which has now altered a choice med for UC.

What do you think?
quincy

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yeah, I did not take my lialda this am, I just started prednisone today, I figure if the lialda is used for mild colitis and the prednisone is used for really bad colitis then I really don't need the lialda right now anyway. I left a message for my GI this am. The sulfasalazine, asacol and lialda all have the mesalamine, which I think I have the hypersensitivity to.

I am taking 60mg of prednisone for 1 month possibly 2, then will begin to taper down over the next 4-5 months. After that I could be in remission forever or could need another (shorter) round of prednisone. Will likely need to be on ACE inhibitors the rest of my life, except during pregnancy.

Everything I have looked at so far says to take prednisone for the MCD and I did see a Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist) who said that is the right course of action, so I am going to take the prednisone, plus since I don't want any 5ASA (right term?) and I need help w/my flare anyway.....kill two birds w/one stone, eh?

thanks so much for the kidney disease forum, I had tried to find one but could not. I have located it now = )

I really appreciate all your help!!

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Beth, 31

Hi Beth....5ASA (5-ASA, 5 ASA..I type it the easy way) or 5-aminosalicylic acid includes mesalamine, mesalazine, ozalazine, sulfasalazine..etc..the whole grouping of that type of medication.

I hope the pred works for you...I think it's worth taking it since the possibility of it to reverse the MCD is high. That's not so with UC...but you shouldn't risk using the 5ASA with it.

Type in kidney message boards or kidney forums or MCD message boards or MCD forums to search for others that might be more specific or with more information that would be beneficial to you.

Keep me posted as to how it's working. I hope the side effects won't bother you too much...but it's good you'll be taking something to protect your bones.

quincy xx

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