Budesonide for Autoimmune Hepatitis User Reviews

• Des...
• July 24, 2011

"I have been taking budesonide Entocort since Feb 1, 2011. It was prescribed by my hepatologist for the treatment of my autoimmune hepatitis. Nothing else I have taken has worked effectively (prednisone gave me ocular migraines along with azathioprine (nausea). Cellcept was tolerated but wasn't effective. Prograf (for transplant patients) did not work either, and I had too many side effects (ended up getting shingles). I do have problems with dizziness, but this is the only medicine that has brought my liver values down. I have noticed red rashes that come and go. Medicine is very expensive, but fortunately, my insurance covers the majority of it."

• MJo...
• May 6, 2013

"I had been on prednisone for almost 10 years, with many of the common side effects: round face, always gaining weight, and others. I am now on budesonide tablets, 6 mg per day, with no side effects. It truly is a miracle. My only complaint about this medicine is its outrageous cost. I say this because the medicine has been around since the early nineties in inhalers. I know this because my wife did clinical trials with this. My last month's bill was $360 for a thirty-day script, I might add, with Humana insurance. Each month the cost has gone up. I am afraid to think of what next month's bill is going to be. The budesonide has given me known side effects."

• Num...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 21, 2016

"I was on prednisone, 60 mg for about 6 months after being diagnosed with AIH. During that time, I had many severe side effects, but my liver enzyme numbers were coming down. My physician switched me to 9 mg budesonide because of the side effects. I had no more side effects, and my liver enzymes continued to go down. Now, I am off all steroids, and my liver enzymes are in the low normal range using only azathioprine. I had one flare two years ago after surgery, and a few months of budesonide brought me right back where I needed to be. I agree that the cost is outrageous."

• AIH...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 21, 2020

"After 3 years on prednisone for autoimmune hepatitis, I have been switched to budesonide for another 3 years. I started at 9 mg and eventually tapered to 3 mg. I lost all of my prednisone weight (20 lbs) in about 3 months. My moon face went away. My hair started growing straight again. It has been amazing to get relief from these side effects. Even better, my liver enzymes are lower than ever!"

• Jag...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 6, 2018

"Changed to budesonide from prednisolone as I couldn't tolerate the side effects of the pred. I've been taking 3 mg of budesonide for autoimmune hepatitis for the past 5 weeks. I'm feeling very tired to the point of exhaustion, nauseous, bruising easily, moon face, and various other mild aches and pains and feeling very low-spirited. Some days worse than others. Hoping to come off this drug soon, but worried about feeling worse through the reduction phase."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 10, 2020

"I have been on this steroid, budesonide, for almost 6 months, taking 2 pills a day at 3 mg each. I have issues with red spotted dots under the skin, blurry vision that comes and goes, just started having my hair getting thin, a little swelling in the ankles, easy bruising, puffiness under the eyes, and I want to get off of them. I am gonna get to the bottom of why the REAL reason and cause of liver enzyme issues. A friend of mine had hormone issues, DHEA issues, and has Hashimoto's disease, all of this elevated her liver enzymes. I am planning to have the same tests she had done to see what and if there are any issues with me also."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 19, 2025

"I was on prednisone for 9 months. It was effective at keeping my liver enzymes normal, but had so many terrible side effects, the worst being extreme dizziness. I absolutely hated it! Now I'm on budesonide and what a difference! The dizziness went away, so I am walking normally again without requiring a walker, even running a little. I'm sleeping better. At first, I was on 6 mg capsules and it wasn't working as well. My dose was increased to 9 mg, but due to a high stress level, my enzymes increased a lot. I feel good on the budesonide, so I decreased my stress and my enzymes are normal again. I don't like or trust any pharmaceuticals, but I like budesonide because I feel more like my high-energy, healthy self, (even at 70), and it has less nasty side effects because it breaks down within the liver. The only side effect I have is a little acne on the bottom of my scalp. I have a little weight gain, but it fluctuates based on my diet and exercise. Overall - thumbs up!"