Mesalamine for Ulcerative Colitis, Active User Reviews (Page 3)

• Bus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2014

Mesalamine "Pentasa has changed my life totally. Was going to the toilet up to 10 times a day until I was prescribed this. Now I've got my freedom back. Brilliant! No side effects worth worrying about. Take 2 x 500 mg slow-release tablets twice a day."

• Anonymous
• June 13, 2010

Mesalamine "I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis a year ago after suffering for months. Lialda worked to stop my diarrhea practically overnight. I have not had a flare or really any symptoms since starting this medication nearly a year ago. I highly recommend it. Much better than taking Asacol four times a day. Once a day, Lialda is much better."

• Anonymous
• November 3, 2009

Mesalamine "Lialda works great. No rectal bleeding. No side effects. I started taking it for 4 months and decided to quit taking it after 4 months to see what happens. Never had problems. Haven't gone back to the doctor since."

• bmr...
• October 10, 2011

Mesalamine "I've been on Lialda for about 3 weeks, and it's not working at all for me. I feel like I have the flu every day, and the severe headache is unreal. I am still bloated and still not going to the bathroom."

• txl...
• September 4, 2010

Mesalamine "I have very mild left-sided ulcerative colitis, diagnosed in 1998. I have been taking Lialda for a little over 2 years. I was really bad about taking my previous medicines due to the high number of pills and frequency that I had to take them. I've found that Lialda works TOO well for me. I cannot take the 2 pills 1x daily. With my doctor's blessing, I take 1 pill every 3 days, and my ulcerative colitis stays under control with no side effects that others have spoken of (and this is from a migraine and seasonal allergy patient). This medicine is the BEST."

• Anonymous
• July 6, 2011

Mesalamine "I have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis for nearly 3 years. I take 3 pills a day. Initially, I was prescribed 4 pills, but did have an increase in headaches. But, just dropping to 3 pills alleviated the headaches, and my proctitis is well managed. I have needed to do bouts of prednisone 2 times, but overall, Lialda has worked for me."

• Unc...
• March 13, 2017

Mesalamine "I have mild UC, and I was prescribed both Pentasa and Salofalk enema. I found that those two taken together work really great, and my symptoms disappeared after 5 days. Taking Pentasa (pill form) by itself did not help at all until I started the enema after a week."

• Das...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 13, 2018

"I had my first flare and diagnosis of ulcerative colitis 3 years ago at 41 years of age. I was put on mesalamine, and it immediately worked great. Within days, the symptoms had receded, but in place of those, I am one of the few to get the dreaded headaches. I have never had a headache in my life until then. I tried to hang in there until finally having to throw in the towel. It was so bad I couldn’t sleep. At all. I went days without sleeping. I took the max amount of aspirin I could, but it didn’t matter. Once I started actually hallucinating, my wife said no more. I stopped taking it. The headaches stopped immediately, and fortunately, the flare was also ending at that point. Mesalamine really is a wonder drug if the side effects don’t overshadow the original problem for the individual."

• Tir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 8, 2020

Mesalamine "I was on Salofalk enema for two weeks and didn't see improvement in my ulcerative colitis until day 13. By then, I was done dosing. After a few days, bleeding again. Doctor put me back on for another 14 days, same thing happened. Improvement on day 13 and then was done dosing. After 8 days, symptoms came back with a vengeance. I'm now on my third week to see if I'm responding to treatment but just need more than two weeks on it. I'm tired of it all. Been suffering since March. Doc doesn't think I need a colonoscopy. Symptoms are identical to colon cancer, yet he is so sure without any diagnostic testing that it's not cancer."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2013

Mesalamine "Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 10 days ago. Started 800 mg, 2 tablets, 3 times/day, plus suppository at night. Diarrhea quickly went down to once a day instead of eight times. Experiencing fatigue, slight nausea, and seem to be developing acne."

• Anonymous
• April 2, 2008

Mesalamine "Effective in gaining control of a moderate UC flare, but awful to use. This is an enema that should be retained - 'held in' all night. This is especially difficult for me during a flare. Don't fart! Stains. Tip: squeeze all the air out before administering."

• cha...
• November 14, 2010

Mesalamine "I am a male, age 30, and I was diagnosed with pan colitis 3 years ago. Once I changed my diet (no lactose, less fast food, no sodas), it has seemed to be only confined to my left side. I have had a few flare-ups each year but have always used prednisone each time. This works great for my UC but makes me a grump, I gain weight, get acne, etc. Each time (3-4 times) I have tried Asacol or Lialda, it flushes out my colon with severe diarrhea to the point it is fluid only, and each time I have stopped taking it because of the adverse reactions. Currently, I am in a flare to the point of seeing blood, and I do not want to have to start on prednisone again. So now I am on day 5 of taking Lialda, and the diarrhea has been less each day. Hopefully, I will stop seeing blood soon."

• Anonymous
• December 17, 2010

Mesalamine "Only been on it for a week, but my fairly severe ulcerative colitis symptoms have fully subsided. I am taking 1.2g 2 x day. I also started 1200mg of slippery elm and turmeric 2 days after starting the Lialda."

• Anonymous
• November 21, 2008

Mesalamine "I've been on Asacol 12 pills/day (4 pills, 3x/day), and I've been experiencing headaches at least 2x/week. Also, I've had side effects of fatigue & acne. Whether or not these side effects can be completely blamed on the last 4-5 months of Asacol use, who really knows. But Asacol has helped control my symptoms almost completely."

• Anonymous
• December 13, 2010

Mesalamine "I was only able to take Lialda for one week and had severe headaches causing tenderness in the lower bottom of my head, blurred vision, and vomiting when the headache worsened. It worked, and I was feeling almost 90% back to normal, however, the headaches worsened, and I had to discontinue."

• Jos...
• December 29, 2018

Mesalamine "It seems that Asacol is not effective when colitis is active because the coating is too thick. I took 2 tablets, after 6 hours in my body, 2 tablets came out in my diaper and the coating is still intact. I hope the manufacturer will make a thinner coating because the mathematical computation of delayed release does not match reality."

• Anonymous
• November 8, 2008

Mesalamine "Lialda has given me a decent quality of life again. I've suffered relentlessly for 20 years and finally found a great doctor who gave me this medication. It's not an overnight fix. I've been taking it for 3 months, and it has fixed what I thought was permanently my lot in life. What a fantastic medication!"

• Anonymous
• October 3, 2008

Mesalamine "It has been very helpful in controlling my UC. I have been taking it since my last episode along with prednisone, and it has been a lifesaver. I have had no real side effects except extra secretion of saliva, but I am starting to feel much better since starting these medicines."

• Anonymous
• October 20, 2011

Mesalamine "I was worried to be on a medication such as Lialda on its strongest dosage (4 pills a day). My doctor told me to have all 4 in the morning with food. The combination of the Lialda and Canasa suppository at night helped my symptoms within days. I was blood-free for two weeks but now notice some blood again. I'm really frustrated and hope this is just going to take more time and not mean that I have to try something stronger."

• Sco...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2021

"After months of gut pain with bouts of severe watery diarrhea, then cramping, I was scoped and found to have widespread moderate UC. Had previous scopes over the years for removal of polyps but no signs of anything else in the past (family history of bowel cancer). Started on mesalamine 1.2 g daily September 2020. After the first month, symptoms and pain/frequency settled. Felt great apart from occasional bouts of nausea, retching, dizziness, and sweating lasting 15 minutes. Since January 2021, having solid motions two to three times daily-no blood but regular lower abdominal cramps and urgency feeling starting to inhibit my lifestyle again. Tried taking mebeverine but felt worse. Trying to control pain with codeine/paracetamol in order to go out to work, but I am semi-retired and can organize the hours I do work. Don't know that mesalamine 1.2 is working as well for me, but equally scared to stop taking the medicine and finding myself back at square one."

• Anonymous
• October 14, 2010

Mesalamine "I have microscopic colitis. Lialda works great, but the only major drawback is the expense. $191 every two weeks. My insurance dropped me, and that cost is with a local pharmacy prescription discount card. At this rate, I will be unable to keep up with it."

• Anonymous
• July 19, 2009

Mesalamine "I have found that it works great for my flare-ups. It is to be retained all night, which isn't difficult as long as you do a full tap water bag enema first, empty, wait an hour or so, and then inject the Rowasa enema. If you just simply use the Rowasa with a full colon, it becomes quite difficult to retain. If you do the Rowasa immediately after the big enema, you have absorbed too much water and not the medicine of the Rowasa. Bottom line is this: it's no fun, but clean yourself out with at least one full bag enema first, wait an hour, and then put it in. This always works for me. I hope it helps."

• Ric...
• July 31, 2011

Mesalamine "I used Canasa for 1 year, and it seemed to lessen my flare-ups. After one year, my prescription discount has run out and can't be renewed for 6 months. Since Canasa is VERY expensive, I'm not able to afford it. I've been off it for three weeks now and experiencing small flare-ups, severe fatigue, and cramping."

• Dan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 3, 2017

"In June 2017, I had a colonoscopy because I had had blood in my stool for 5 months, which started out with a small amount to a larger amount. I was diagnosed as having colitis in my sigmoid colon. The gastroenterologist prescribed a sulfa drug first, which did not help, then Flagyl, which did not help, then Cipro and prednisone, which did not help. He put me on mesalamine along with prednisone 4 days ago. I now see no blood at all in my stool. He also put me on a low-fiber diet as well. Right now, I am so happy that my bleeding is being resolved. It would be wonderful if I can stop taking it when I go back to see him in a week. Time will tell."

• fuf...
• March 8, 2010

Mesalamine "I am taking Asacol for the last 4 years, and I am still having problems with gas and a full stomach, with or without eating or drinking. I am having inflammation in the body, increasing weight, and increasing prolactin (milk), not focusing well, and discomfort."