Hi,
To re-cap doctors are not sure what I have some form of colitis is there answer. I have been on entocort, predisone, asacol elavil librax and questran all offered no relief from the D 8 to 15 times a day. I have changed my eating habits.
My Gastro would like me to go on Lotronex. I know it was recalled in its early days but has been back on the market for 10 years.
I'm not frightened by the possibility of bad reaction. I just do not want to get my hopes up does anyone know if this has worked. Their web site if full of testimonies of how it has given people there life back.
Also, with my Insurance I would not get this drug from my mail away pharm. for 10 days which would bring me right up to the day I leave for vacation, should I start it while traveling???
Please give me you opinions.
thanks,
Hugs,
K
Please help me make this decision
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Kitty,
Lotronex tends to be a very powerful anti-motility agent for most people. That's all it does; it slows down the peristaltic pumping action of the intestines -- it does nothing to suppress the inflammation.
As long as you don't have C, it's a relatively safe drug. The problems occur for people who have C. It doesn't exactly cause bad reactions when taken by someone who has C -- it causes death in many cases, due to life-threatening issues such as ischemic colitis, obstruction, perforation and toxic megacolon.
Regarding your diagnosis -- what did your original pathology report show? Do you have a copy of that report? I thought you originally posted that the pathology report showed that you had MC. If it did, then unless someone misinterpreted the pathologist's report, MC is what you have. Once we have a diagnosis of MC, it doesn't just go away -- we have the disease forever. I can interpret your pathology report, if you post it (or PM it).
Anyway, the bottom line is, you should be OK taking the Lotronex, even if you start taking it the day you leave for your trip. Just stop taking it if you should develop C.
Hugs,
Tex
Lotronex tends to be a very powerful anti-motility agent for most people. That's all it does; it slows down the peristaltic pumping action of the intestines -- it does nothing to suppress the inflammation.
As long as you don't have C, it's a relatively safe drug. The problems occur for people who have C. It doesn't exactly cause bad reactions when taken by someone who has C -- it causes death in many cases, due to life-threatening issues such as ischemic colitis, obstruction, perforation and toxic megacolon.
Regarding your diagnosis -- what did your original pathology report show? Do you have a copy of that report? I thought you originally posted that the pathology report showed that you had MC. If it did, then unless someone misinterpreted the pathologist's report, MC is what you have. Once we have a diagnosis of MC, it doesn't just go away -- we have the disease forever. I can interpret your pathology report, if you post it (or PM it).
Anyway, the bottom line is, you should be OK taking the Lotronex, even if you start taking it the day you leave for your trip. Just stop taking it if you should develop C.
Hugs,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks Tex
I will try to get that report
So Tex, I have heard about the slows things down part but I truly do not understand how that will work. Is it just that there will be fewer BM's but they will contain more?? If I (hopefully) am reduced to 2,3 x a day where does the rest of the stuff that has been coming out 8+ times a day go???
The first colonoscopy showed nothing, so they said IBS the sigmoidoscopy showed inflamation and some ulcers so they said ulcertive colitis they said they did biopsies at the same time and that showed MC. Blood work had them calling it crohns. I feel like I have 2 things going on. Have not got the results from the last colonoscopy done last month but immediately after he said things looked better and would like me to try Lotronex.
If I get the report I will post.
Thanks
Hugs,
K
I will try to get that report
So Tex, I have heard about the slows things down part but I truly do not understand how that will work. Is it just that there will be fewer BM's but they will contain more?? If I (hopefully) am reduced to 2,3 x a day where does the rest of the stuff that has been coming out 8+ times a day go???
The first colonoscopy showed nothing, so they said IBS the sigmoidoscopy showed inflamation and some ulcers so they said ulcertive colitis they said they did biopsies at the same time and that showed MC. Blood work had them calling it crohns. I feel like I have 2 things going on. Have not got the results from the last colonoscopy done last month but immediately after he said things looked better and would like me to try Lotronex.
If I get the report I will post.
Thanks
Hugs,
K
The drug relaxes the muscles that control the rhythmic pumping action of the intestines so the effluent remains in the intestines longer. When material remains in the colon longer, the colon extracts and recycles more water, so that process reduces the volume and weight of the effluent to only a small fraction of it's original volume and weight.
The pathology report on the laboratory analysis of those biopsy samples is what counts. That information trumps everything. Not only is it the only way to diagnose MC, but the information in those biopsy samples can also confirm or rule out UC (and in some cases even Chron's disease, if it is present in the colon) provided that enough samples were taken in all sections of the colon.
Hugs,
Tex
The pathology report on the laboratory analysis of those biopsy samples is what counts. That information trumps everything. Not only is it the only way to diagnose MC, but the information in those biopsy samples can also confirm or rule out UC (and in some cases even Chron's disease, if it is present in the colon) provided that enough samples were taken in all sections of the colon.
Hugs,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.