Pentasa User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)

• JMa...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 5, 2017

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I take Pentasa much in the way people take Rolaids. As soon as I feel like my intestines are reacting poorly, I will take 2 Pentasa 500 mg, and my stomach calms down within 10 minutes. I have no idea why it works for me, a Crohn's patient for 10 years, in this way. I do not ever take it as a preventative medicine. As a topical way to calm intestine discomfort, it just seems to be miraculous."

• Vit...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 23, 2016

For Ulcerative Colitis "Age 37, diagnosed with bad UC at 12, recent years only flares up 2-3 times/year. Currently fighting the first bout of the year with Pentasa suppositories, taking 1-2/day. Has stopped the bleeding and going less frequently BUT awful headaches (as with Asacol/Salofalk foam enemas). Note to self/others who are sick of drugs: I have found (25 yrs in) that it IS possible to be symptom-free if you properly and consistently take care of yourself. This means plenty of rest/sleep, chamomile tea/water, gentle exercise, meditation (mindfulness is a cliché/buzzword but there's a lot to it), steamed veggies/rice, avoiding sugar/alcohol/dairy/caffeine (going gluten-free can help some people too)... I intend to cure myself completely one of these days!!"

• rem...
• February 17, 2009

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "My Crohn's disease diagnosis followed a routine colonoscopy at age 54. I had unexplained bouts with diarrhea but never thought much of it. Pentasa reduced the frequency from about every three weeks to about every six to eight weeks and appears to have reduced the inflammation. No obvious side effects, seems to be helping."

• Anonymous
• January 30, 2012

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I was diagnosed in 1990, and for most of the time since, I have been on Pentasa. The only side effects I have had are: 1) slight increase in hair loss - I added extra folic acid to my vitamins, and the hair loss greatly reduced. 2) I do not have confirmation, but I believe I react to the salicylates - I get a rush of burning red face after I take the medicines and after certain foods. All in all, these are pretty innocuous side effects compared to other options I was given. Thankfully, I can stay well maintained on the Pentasa. Just wish it helped with fistulas too!"

• Juv...
• November 20, 2017

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I'm a Filipina, 44 years old, and was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2014. I've been taking Pentasa tabs and suppositories as well. My first 6 months were four Pentasa 500 mg tablets twice a day and 1 suppository before bedtime. There was an improvement, I had less diarrhea and cramping of the stomach. I maintained taking Pentasa for 2 years and reduced the dosage until I took two 500 mg Pentasa a day and 1 suppository. Since I feel better, I decided to stop taking the medicine. Now I'm 3 years without taking any medicine and starting again with diarrhea and bloody stools. Maybe I need to start back on Pentasa again."

• wal...
• October 27, 2015

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I have started the Pentasa. It has given me diarrhea and some stomach cramps when taking it. I have to see if after taking it for a week how it will do with the Crohn's or see about getting off of it. I am also getting cramps in the stomach area when taking this medication."

• Ste...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 30, 2023

For Ulcerative Colitis "I have had left side colitis since my return from Vietnam in 1970. I have been in and out of the hospital, put on Prednisone so many times, every drug imaginable over the years… Five years ago I had one of my twice yearly bad flares and my Dr. put me on 8 500mg tablets every day. It has been a miracle for me. In remission for 5 years. No side effects. I’m 78 years old, so I have had this a long time. The only negative side is trying to swallow those horse pills… my advice to my fellow sufferers is don’t give up! One last thing… I moved to Costa Rica with my wife 13 years ago. I belong to Caja which is the country's socialized medical system. It covers all the cost of the drug."

• Anonymous
• November 2, 2011

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I am a 25-year-old female who was diagnosed with Crohn's almost 2 months ago. Pentasa has helped to relieve the very severe stomach cramping I was experiencing before my diagnosis. This is the first treatment my doctor has given me, but after a month of taking 4-250 mg capsules 4 times a day (in combination with Budesonide 9 mg), I finally feel comfortable after eating. I'm not noticing any side effects yet. Maybe I'm lucky, though, after reading some of these other reviews. I wish I didn't have to take 16 of them each day, but to be able to stand up after a meal is wonderful for someone who used to keel over screaming and crying with a rock-hard stomach after eating."

• Anonymous
• September 29, 2011

For Ulcerative Colitis, Active "I took Pentasa for ulcerative colitis after Asacol started failing. Asacol had worked for me for seven years, but when P&G started having manufacturers make it in Europe, it no longer worked. The Pentasa worked for my ulcerative colitis at a 3-gram per day dosage. The side effects are much worse for Pentasa. I experienced nausea, mild headaches, and severe hair loss."

• Rit...
• April 26, 2017

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I have been taking Pentasa for 10 years and it has relieved all cramps and distensions. I'm able to lead my life comfortably now. Only recently, I have developed rashes all over and want to know if anyone else is facing the same way."

• aja...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 20, 2014

For Crohn's Disease "The only reason I gave Pentasa a '9' rating instead of a '10' is due to my having to remember to take 8 capsules a day. This medication has allowed me to live a normal life again...no more excruciating gut pain and no more daily diarrhea. I can actually eat at restaurants now, without worrying when the pain and diarrhea will hit me. I have had no side effects from Pentasa. It has given my life back to me."

• OVE...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2018

For Ulcerative Colitis, Active "I've been taking Pentasa tablets for about 3 weeks. I take two 500 mg tablets, 3 times a day. During the 3rd week, diarrhea set in. So far, I've gone through 7 straight days of diarrhea. I'll be seeing my doctor next week."

• red...
• December 26, 2009

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "My husband has only been taking Pentasa for a few days, but he has had terrible side effects since day one. His Crohn's had become progressively worse over the years, so his GI doctor prescribed Pentasa. He has chest pains, headaches, severe nausea and vomiting, as well as loss of appetite. I saw that one person had to lower his dose after 3 weeks, and I wonder if that was due to his experience of these effects also. I know Pentasa has great potential, but how long will these effects last?"

• bel...
• March 31, 2015

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "My main symptoms were diarrhea and bloody mucus stools. Once on Pentasa 4g a day, the symptoms had stopped. Until a month ago, where they began, along with a lot of wind. Was using suppositories as well, initially 1, then 2 per day. I've stopped taking all medication till I see my specialist. So far, symptoms are on worse-better, if anything. No longer running to the toilet all day. I've had colitis for less than a year. I'm 35."

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

For Ulcerative Colitis, Active "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."

• Sco...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 21, 2018

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I am 65 years old and have had Crohn's since I was 19. I have tried different meds, but over the last 20 years, I have been very happy with 2, 500 mg of Pentasa daily. It keeps me out of the hospital and maintains my condition to the point I can live with it. However, now that I am on Medicare and have lost my drug coverage, the cost has gone from $400 for a 3-month supply to $1500 for the same 3-month supply. I asked my doctor about trying another drug, it calls for 9, 750 mg pills a day, so here goes, wish me luck."

• Mis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 24, 2020

For Ulcerative Proctitis "I was diagnosed with UC last year. I was both on Pentasa 8x500 mg daily plus daily Salofalk suppositories. I can’t say anything about Pentasa tablets, but Salofalk worked very well. Unfortunately, Salofalk is not available anymore and I had to switch to Pentasa suppositories, which are the worst. I am wondering if any of these drugmakers ever used Pentasa suppositories. I bet they didn’t! It is very hard to use, and I prefer bleeding a lot than being mentally depressed by using it (very irritating and very uncomfortable, plus it doesn’t dissolve and irritates the area badly). I am missing Salofalk a lot!!"

• Cho...
• June 3, 2016

For Ulcerative Colitis "I was given Pentasa 2 mg in sachets after having a bad flare-up of colitis. After a few months of taking it, I started noticing a regular pattern of not being able to sleep, a bad case of restless legs syndrome (unbearable) always at night and partly causing the not sleeping, irregular heartbeats, and having already asthma, it got much worse. So, after going on forums, I realized I wasn't the only one. I halved the dose to 1 g, the symptoms receded, but I still know/feel it's not good to take long-term, and I will start reducing. It also makes me feel constantly tired. On a positive note, it really is effective for what it was designed to do: stop the bad effects of colitis. It's finding a good balance in the dosage along with clean nutrition!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 22, 2020

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I'm a 51-year-old male from Scotland and was diagnosed with Crohn's at 30. I take 1 sachet of Pentasa in the morning, and it has been keeping everything at bay. I can have a pint or two and can eat what I like with no effects. I can suffer cramps in my back passage through the night, which lasts about 15-30 minutes every 2 to 3 months. Also, losing my hair and on blood pressure tablets. This is side effects of Pentasa."

• Gig...
• February 25, 2010

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2005 after having years of severe diarrhea, stomach pain/cramping, and nausea. After a few weeks of taking the Pentasa (4 grams daily), I felt unbelievably better. Within the last year, I have had lots of breakthrough flares and have had to add other meds (6-MP and Humira shots). I have had an active flare since mid-December with no relief. I have reduced my Pentasa to 2 grams a day because I had noticed that my nausea and other symptoms were more severe on the 4 grams. Even though I feel better, my symptoms have not improved enough, and I have to now add Remicade infusion therapy to my long list of meds. I think that these meds are helpful as long as they are adjusted depending on your symptoms."

• Pau...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 25, 2022

For Ulcerative Colitis "Stopped smoking 9 years ago, noticed days later I was needing the toilet about 10 times a day, lots of blood in the toilet, lost 3 stone, left it for 3 months, what a fool, well the doctors thought I'd left it too late and would need a bag, well they were wrong, the strong steroids worked. I'm on Pentasa 500 mls in the morning and the same at night, got the powdered form, the tablets would choke a horse, anyway decided to just have the morning tablets, it worked until last year, when my joints were aching and I couldn't walk, not good when you're a landscape gardener. Doctor said it's inflammatory arthritis, and I will get this if I get a bad colitis flare-up, so I started steroids. After 5 weeks I'm back to normal, and started taking the Pentasa morning and night. As of writing this, it looks like I'm going to need another dose of steroids, joints are starting to ache again. P.S. I've put myself down for a trial new drug at a local hospital in Merseyside, if the drug is better I'll get back onto this forum."

• Hal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2015

For Crohn's Disease "I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease about a month ago, and I am 15 years old. I take 400 mg of Pentasa 3x daily along with other pills to stop inflammation. So far, it's been working great. I still get abdominal pain occasionally, which is a lot better than it used to be."

• Sar...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 6, 2021

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "500 mg x 4. Took it for the duration of the disease (30 years). My GI was negligent. The disease was never fully active in her care. Early on, she expressed doubt that I had Crohn’s disease until pathology came back positive. The disease became active after 28 years of mild inflammation. GI dismissed my complaints (only believes colonoscopy, referred back to the last colonoscopy as evidence) until a new colonoscopy revealed a fistula. Referred to a new GI who said I had never been treated for Crohn’s disease because Pentasa doesn’t work for fistulizing Crohn’s. Inflammatory polyps were present and removed at every single colonoscopy with the negligent GI. The new GI used biologic, zero inflammation at colonoscopy. Pentasa - easy to take. Does nothing for your Crohn’s. Inflammatory polyps should not exist if treatment is working. It isn’t preventing inflammation if you have inflammation."

• Zon...
• May 17, 2018

For Ulcerative Colitis "Got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 25 yrs ago, and they said I had to have a bag, which I refused. Then said, you have to go on steroids, which I also refused. Then I gave up smoking! Wow, 4 months later, UC kicked in with a vengeance, ended up losing a half glass of blood. Can honestly say the toilet was my best friend for 4 months! I plucked up the courage to go to the hospital, had a colonoscopy, and was put on Pentasa, 4 tabs a day - bearing in mind I hadn't taken any tablets except paracetamol occasionally. I put on too much weight, which I didn't like! So it was decided that I cut down to 2 tabs a day. Anyway, still didn't feel right, so I went to the chemist and showed my belly. He gave me water tabs, said take 1 a day, so off I went. Next morning, I couldn't believe it, I had a half solid stool! I thought, that's odd! Now for 2 weeks I'm doing great, 1 Pentasa tab and 1 water tablet, and my weight is leveling off and my stools are normal! My experience maybe not good for everybody!"

• Psy...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 15, 2015

For Inflammatory Bowel Disease "This is the first drug I was prescribed after hospitalization and initial diagnosis. It made it possible to get off steroids and back to work. Hair loss was extensive, until I increased water intake and saw a renal dietitian. Even though I am allergic to sulfa drugs, this has been the least risky of the medications prescribed for my condition. My hair has grown back in, and with lifestyle changes I am much better. Long term, this is the only regimen that works for me."