1. Community
  2. Gut, bowel and stomach
  3. Ulcerative Colitis

Pred not working : shall i change my dosage?

Posted , 5 users are following.

peter20400
peter20400

Hi,

I'm 21 years old and was diagnosed with UC in February. I'm currently in my second flare up this year and have been put back on an 8 week course of medicine including a tapering dose of prednisolone (40mg reducing bby 5mg a week). The first time this worked but i'm half way through the course and I'm not seeing any changes in my stool. sad any ideas anyone?

Should i keep the prednisolone dose higher for longer and taper off for longer? I'm down to 20mg a day now. Shall i stay at this level for another week or something? Don't know what to do.. sad Would really lke to come of the pred as it makes me feel awful but i need to get better!

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • elaine01002
    elaine01002 peter20400

    Posted

    Hi. I also suffer with UC and struggled keeping flares at bay to begin with. As you were only diagnosed in feb it's all a big learning curve with meds I'd say at the start much of it is trial and error as different things work for different people. As you're newly diagnosed I think you'd be best to discuss with you're gastro consultant or IBD nurses about medication changes. Pred is horrible but it really does do the job. Hope you get yousf sorted, don't worry it'll get easier.
  • gabe99
    gabe99 peter20400

    Posted

    I first came down with UC at 25.  Over the decades I'd get diarrhea and found that Prednisone didn't work.  It's possible to have UC and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) at the same time.  It's possible that IBS may be your problem this time around.  

    I've had a liver transplant and picked up C. difficile and CMV after as I was/am on immunosupressant drugs.  If you spent time in hospital you may have picked up C. diff as well.  See  if you can get tested for it. 

    Good luck Peter!

  • Maryjo
    Maryjo peter20400

    Posted

    Hi Peter, I have uc past 25 yrs....stay with the tapering. I would also watch diet and avoid all things that irritate colitis....sugar is probably bout the worst thing for it....which also means all things containing sugar. Fruit not good either, no alcohol or fruity yogurts or drinks of any kind. I found first thing which has got my colitis under control is lepicol with the probiotics and psyllium seeds together. Psyllium has butyric acid which feeds coloncytes in the bowel reducing inflammation. If you are interested I any further info on it or diet etc. private message me through the forum. I wish you well and hope it settles for you.

    Mary Jo

  • kris29
    kris29 peter20400

    Posted

    Hi Peter what is your diet like? that is key when it comes to this disease. Low to no sugar foods. No processed foods, greasy or fried foods. You will see a big improvement if you start taking a probiotic acidiphilus, with eating a low fiber diet with little to no sugar. good luck hope you feel better soon 
    • peter20400
      peter20400 kris29

      Posted

      This is great guys. Thanks so much for the advice/support. smile much appreciated. The pred is still not having any effect and i'm down to 20mg. 15mg on thursday. In  terms of diet Kris I try to just eat basic meat and veg. It's quite high in protien and i've recently cut out foods high in sugar as you said Maryjo. I've also started taking a vegan plant protien supplement. There's literally nothing in it apart from 30% of my protien intake. I take one of those each day. Do you think that might be worth cutting out? I take it because I do a lot of exercise but if I get any more anemic I'm worried I'll start getting weaker. I'm offshore at the moment but when I've got a new course of herbal medicine wating for me for when i get back. Probiotics (as you mentioned Kris), slippery elm (i think its called) and something called Robert's formula. Any thoughts?? rolleyes 
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.