Cheryl wrote:Tex will the Entcort rebuild the colonic bacteria and enzymes that are required for proper digestion to occur?
What about when I'm weaned off the Entocort?
Will the 5 ASA drugs work? What's the success rate of Encort followed by Asacol therapy?
I hate to think this is just temporary relief.
Tex how are you so knowledgeable?
Cheers!
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
I don't believe that the Entocort is capable of directly rebuilding the colonic bacteria balance and/or enzymes, but it may do so indirectly. Entocort suppresses inflammation, and as the inflammation subsides, your digestion will improve, and things will begin to work more normally again. It is the job of the pancreas to buffer the acid coming out of the stomach along with the chime, (partially digested food). For many of us, (especially those of us who are gluten sensitive), many organs are adversely affected, including the pancreas. In fact, we have one member whose doctor insisted that she had a serious pancreas problem, that would be life-threatening, if not properly addressed. She was pretty sure that the problem was due to her gluten reactions, so she ignored his request for her to undergo an invasive, and rather risky test procedure, (if something goes wrong during the test, the pancreas can be permanently damaged), and sure enough, when she found the final piece of the puzzle that allowed her to fine-tune her diet, not only did her symptoms go away, but the pancreas problem also went away. (The final piece of the puzzle was discovering that the chocolate that she ate regularly, contained a tiny amount of soy, that was not listed on the label).
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that as your pH comes back into balance in your intestine, your digestion will also improve, and the environment will be more favorable to the "good" bacteria, and less favorable to the "bad" bacteria, and hopefully, a proper balance will be restored. If that doesn't happen, you might need to help them along by taking a good probiotic, (or a prebiotic). Technically, prebiotic refers to the origin of life, specifically to the state of matter before life existed, but was conducive to the formation of life. The most common use for the term, however, seems to be to describe certain non-digestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of one or more types of bacteria in the colon, and thereby benefit the host, (us), by improving digestive system efficency and/or health.
Usually, prebiotics are carbohydrates (such as oligosaccharides), but the definition does not preclude non-carbohydrates. The most common forms of prebiotics are nutritionally classified as soluble fiber, and to some extent, many forms of dietary fiber have some degree of prebiotic effect, though, obviously, some are better than others.
If I were in your shoes, I would just wait a while, to see if things will get back to normal on their own. It takes time for the gut to heal.
The success rate of Entocort, at standard label rates, (9 mg per day), is in the 60 to 70% range, but I have no idea what the success rate might be for Asacol. I have no research documentation to verify this opinion, but I suspect that there is a good chance that even if Asacol did not work for a patient early on, (before remission was achieved), it might work as a maintenance medication, after remission is established by another med, such as Entocort, because after remission, your intestinal pH should be in the proper range, and hopefully your bacterial balance will be closer to normal, also, so that the 5-ASA in the Asacol can be properly activated. Obviously, that probably wouldn't apply to someone who is intolerant of any of the ingredients in Asacol. Remember, though, I'm not a doctor, so that's just my unprofessional opinion.
Once their gut heals, many MCers maintain remission by taking a "maintenance" dose of Entocort, such as one capsule each day, or one capsule every other day. At those rates, it appears that it can be safely taken indefinitely, by most patients, without a serious risk of complications, or adverse side effects. Of course, others choose to switch to a maintenance dose of Asacol, or some other med. There are various ways to handle the situation, and everyone has to decide what is best for them, in their own particular situation. Some of us start with meds, and then maintain remission by diet.
LOL. It's not that I'm particularly knowledgeable, I've just learned to be a pretty good researcher, and I'm able to remember enough about what I read to be able to tie a lot of it together, so that it makes sense. Of course, on the other hand, sometimes I just confuse myself, and everybody else, in the process. LOL.
Don't worry, after getting a taste of relief, you'll find a way to make sure it continues, so that you can have your life back. That's what this board is for - we learn together, how to fine tune our treatment programs.
Tex
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