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Starting entocort-wish me luck!
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Starting entocort-wish me luck!
Hi everyone, I've decided to give entocort a try. All I've been using is immodium and diet. Tex, your advice helped me make the decision. I thought I would have to go in for an appt. with my gi, but he phoned in the prescription and said to check in with him in a month. I hope this works for me. I've had such bad reactions to various drugs in the past year, that I'm a little scared. Does entocort interact with other drugs? I've read the literature and I can't find anything. I take my thyroid meds at about 5:00 am each day. I'll start taking 9mg of entocort tomorrow. Do you take yours in the am? Advice appreciated. JoAnn
Good luck, JoAnn. I hope the Entocort works for you. When I took it (didn't work, that's why I'm no longer on it), I took 9mg with breakfast, after taking my thyroid medicine about 2 hours earlier. With my thyroid meds, anyway, it just says nothing three hours before or one hour after.
Love,
Courtney
Love,
Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
Hi JoAnn,
The only interactions that I'm aware of are with proton pump inhibitors, grapefruit juice, and St JOhn's wort.
The PPIs alter the pH of the stomach, so theoretially, at least, they could affect the rate of dissolution of the enteric coating on the capsules, which might alter the timing of the release of the budesonide, and possibly cause it to activate somewhat sooner than optimal, which could result in more of the budesonide being absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, if you were taking a PPI, you would probably want to take the Entocort at least several hours away from the time when you take the PPI. As Courtney says, I believe that most people take Entocort with breakfast.
Grapefruit and/or grapefruit juice can roughly double the amount of budesonide that is absorbed into the bloodstream, which would tend to increase the risk of side effects. Grapefruit juice has that effect on a lot of meds, so it's generally best to avoid grapefruit or grapefruit juice if you're taking any meds.
St John's wort may decrease budesonide levels. For that matter, taking budesonide with a high-fat meal, tends to delay the rate of absorption, which will reduce the peak concentration, but that generally won't alter the overall amount of absorption, in the long run.
None of those effects are really serious, though, because in trials, patients have taken double the normal 9 mg dose of Entocort for at least six weeks, with no significantly increased risk of side effects above the normal dose. The double dose will usually increase the success rate from the normal 60 to 70% rate, to roughly a 70 to 80% success rate.
Good luck with the treatment, and in case your doctor or pharmacist didn't mention this, if you should happen to notice any neurological effects, (such as balance problems, increased brain fog, or confusion, etc.), please stop taking it immediately. According to the trial results, that happens in only a few percent of cases, but it has happened to several members here, so it's a possibility that you should be aware of. Normally, an adverse reaction of that type should appear within a day or two of starting the treatment, but I believe that a couple of members here reported that the symptoms showing up a week or two later.
Tex
The only interactions that I'm aware of are with proton pump inhibitors, grapefruit juice, and St JOhn's wort.
The PPIs alter the pH of the stomach, so theoretially, at least, they could affect the rate of dissolution of the enteric coating on the capsules, which might alter the timing of the release of the budesonide, and possibly cause it to activate somewhat sooner than optimal, which could result in more of the budesonide being absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, if you were taking a PPI, you would probably want to take the Entocort at least several hours away from the time when you take the PPI. As Courtney says, I believe that most people take Entocort with breakfast.
Grapefruit and/or grapefruit juice can roughly double the amount of budesonide that is absorbed into the bloodstream, which would tend to increase the risk of side effects. Grapefruit juice has that effect on a lot of meds, so it's generally best to avoid grapefruit or grapefruit juice if you're taking any meds.
St John's wort may decrease budesonide levels. For that matter, taking budesonide with a high-fat meal, tends to delay the rate of absorption, which will reduce the peak concentration, but that generally won't alter the overall amount of absorption, in the long run.
None of those effects are really serious, though, because in trials, patients have taken double the normal 9 mg dose of Entocort for at least six weeks, with no significantly increased risk of side effects above the normal dose. The double dose will usually increase the success rate from the normal 60 to 70% rate, to roughly a 70 to 80% success rate.
Good luck with the treatment, and in case your doctor or pharmacist didn't mention this, if you should happen to notice any neurological effects, (such as balance problems, increased brain fog, or confusion, etc.), please stop taking it immediately. According to the trial results, that happens in only a few percent of cases, but it has happened to several members here, so it's a possibility that you should be aware of. Normally, an adverse reaction of that type should appear within a day or two of starting the treatment, but I believe that a couple of members here reported that the symptoms showing up a week or two later.
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.
JoAnn, good luck with the Entocort. I tend to lean toward more naturopathic rather than pharmaceutical strategies, but did decide to try Entocort as well. Took 9mg in the mornings for three weeks, and just went down to 6mg. I was pleasantly surprised. The only side effect I noticed was a mild headache occasionally. I've had great results in the three weeks since I started treatment. Started gf/cf/sf at the same time, so I can't contribute all of the improvement to Entocort. Don't really know which has been more important, just happy to be feeling so good and free of the D. Hope things work out as well for you as they have for me.
TP
Thanks Tex, Courtney, T.P., Gloria, and Joan, it's Sat. morning and I had to read your comments before I had the courage to take the pills. Thanks Tex for the facts about the drug and thanks to you others for your personal experience. I hope I'm home today for the chat. Well, I'm off to take those pills 
JoAnn
JoAnn
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