remicade and asacol

okay so i  go for my third infusion tomorrow. since the first infusion 6 weeks ago i have

I am on Remicade & Asacol. Asacol is a maintenance drug. I would not stop taking it. It helps you stay in remission. I will take Asacol even if I am taken off of Remicade.

TAMTAM....get back on the Asacol. Don't push your luck.

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UC since 1986.

Asacol - four a day
6 MP - one a day.
Remicade - every eight weeks.

I asked my GI about going off asacol when I started Remicade and he mentioned that it could help reduce my risk of Colon Cancer.
James

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Current Meds www.myspace.com/gardenerjames

Asacol 4 tabs 2x daily
Forvia once a day
Probiotic twice daily
Methotrexate 3 pills once a week
Actonel once a week
Calcium supp.
Omega-3 once daily
Eighth Remicade infusion End of August

Tam Tam....I guess everyone is different and every doctor's advice is different. I personally have never felt that the 5 ASA drugs have been beneficial to me and have been told that they dont work for everyone. I recently started remicade (1st tx was last week), so in addition to that I am currently taking Imuran 150 mg a day. My doc says once the remicade kicks in, he will completely take me off the Imuran, leaving me solely on the remicade. I was taking Pentasa until about 2 months ago. I thought my continual hair loss was from that drug ( i think differently now), so I insisted I come off it completely. I was also taking Imuran at the time, so I didnt notice any difference when I completely stopped the Pentasa. I have had two docs since being diagnosed in Feb 06 and my first doc couldnt tell me a good reason to keep me on the 5 ASA. She said "well its a maintainence drug and once it is started, docs typically dont take their patients off." I just couldnt see why I was paying/taking a drug that wasn't aiding in the remission process, or keeping me there when I wasnt taking prednisone. I guess it might be a good idea to stay on it if you hope to discontinue remicade one day and you need a drug to help in remission. But dont be afraid to talk to your doc. In order for them to help you, you need to be honest with them. Just remember that it is your body and your disease, so you need to dictate your tx plan based on info and advice given to you by the medical professional.

thank you all for your thoughts. iwent for my third infusion today. I had a cb test done and had them check my sed rate. this will at least let me know if there is still inflamation. I breifly spoke to the doc about it today. so we will see.

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TamTam10