Appointment with GI tomorrow afternoon

[tex]

You have said, I believe, that Entocort isn't a short course drug and that concerns me.

Well, the GI docs seem to think that it is, so surely there are some cases where it can be used successfully on a short-term basis. They couldn't be 100% wrong about that, could they?

I was thinking maybe 6 mg, (two tablets), per day. We're all different, and we all have our own individual thresholds for responses. If you don't see any improvement after a few weeks, then you could either kick the dosage up a notch, to see if that helps, (it might bring a prompt response, since you would already have a "working" level in your system, by then), or you could simply continue the 6 mg treatment, and give it more time, or you could discontinue it, (without any need for a withdrawal period, due to the low dose and short interval), if you don't like something about the way you feel, or the way it affects you. 6mg is the "official" maintenance dose, but we all know that it is more than is generally needed for maintenance of remission, for many of us, especially if we watch our diet carefully, and we aren't overlooking any major intolerances.

Remember, I can't make medical recommendations, so that's just what I would consider doing, (with my doctor's approval, of course), if I were in your situation.

Tex

[Gloria]

Joan,

I felt the same way about my type of MC. I normally had 3-4 BMs per day, up to a maximum of 9. I though I'd be able to fix this in a snap, but here I am, over 2 years later, still trying to figure it out.

You know that I am a big proponent of Entocort, if there aren't any side effects. I think you're probably in a similar situation to Hotrod. We thought he would be able to taper quickly, and I think he was able to reduce to 6 mg. fairly soon, if memory serves me correctly. Going from 6 mg. to 3 mg. however, seems to be a much bigger hurdle, IMHO. Tapering to below 3 mg. per day seems to be the biggest hurdle for many of us.

Once you find the right maintenance dosage of Entocort, you can begin to experiment with your diet to determine what is causing problems. I think it's pretty imperative to have occasional Normans in order to figure out what is successful and what isn't. If you never have a Norman, it's nearly impossible to know if your diet on a particular day is working.

Gloria

[RUBYREDDOG]

Joan, I know how you feel regarding not taking any drugs for MC. I went down that road for about 9 months before I decided to give Entocort a try. I am so glad I made that decision.

I never could reach the point where I had normal bm's on a consistent basis on the diet alone. It only took 4 days for norman to show up after I started Entocort. As Gloria stated, reducing to 6 mg was easy but I did have some trouble reducing to 3 mg. I have now been on 3 mg for 2 weeks now and am doing fine at that level. I even had eggs for breakfast 2 days ago and have no ill effects from that.

So, i was on 9 mg for 3 weeks, 6 mg for 8 weeks and now 3mg for 2 weeks. Of coarse, your experience may not mirror mine. I feel that Gloria is correct in stating that you have to have consistent normans in order to be able to figure out your remaining irritants. Good luck

Hotrod

[JLH]

I seem to be fine as long as I stick to the same old foods and not much fiber. I eat one small serving of applesauce and one baby food veggie like carrots, sweet potatoes, or squash a day. Potatoes and rice seem fine. I'm enjoying the soy free spread (thanks, Dee.) I eat chicken or beef for dinner. I never liked fish. I eat canned chicken or turkey deli (Oscar Mayer) meat for lunch.

I have no idea what causes a flare.

I'm waiting for the results of the SpectraCell test to make my Entocort decision.