Crohns Disease Causes » Sulfasalazine http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com Help, Cures and Support for Crohns Disease Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:07:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Treatment for Crohns Disease http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/treatment-for-crohns-disease/ http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/treatment-for-crohns-disease/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:00:31 +0000 Dr Joe Stevenson http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/?p=168 Crohns Disease treatment is a life-long commitment, as this chronic condition is marked by flare-ups and remission periods that sufferers will unfortunately be forced to deal. Crohns Disease symptoms, and possibly one or more stays in a hospital.

All of that works together with the general stress of life to affect the course of your disease. When it all combines together — you get fatigue. You feel tired, listless. I know. I’ve been there. Proper Crohns Disease treatment is crucial, and it is important to learn everything you can about this debilitating condition.

The goal of medical treatment is to reduce the inflammation that triggers your signs and symptoms. In the best cases, this may lead not only to symptom relief but also to long-term remission. Treatment for Crohns disease usually involves drug therapy or, in certain cases, surgery.

Doctors use several categories of drugs that control inflammation in different ways. But drugs that work well for some people may not work for others, so it may take time to find a medication that helps you.

In addition, because some drugs have serious side effects, you’ll need to weigh the benefits and risks of any treatment.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
Anti-inflammatory drugs are often the first step in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

They include:
• Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine). Doctors have used this drug for many years to treat Crohns disease. Although it can be effective in reducing symptoms of the disease, it has a number of side effects, including nausea, vomiting, heartburn and headache. Don’t take this medication if you’re allergic to sulfa medications.
• Mesalamine (Asacol, Rowasa). This medication tends to have fewer side effects than sulfasalazine has. You take it in tablet form or use it rectally in the form of an enema or suppository, depending on which part of your colon is affected.
• Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids can help reduce inflammation anywhere in your body, but they have numerous side effects, including a puffy face, excessive facial hair, night sweats, insomnia and hyperactivity.

More serious side effects include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, bone fractures, cataracts and an increased susceptibility to infections. Long-term use of corticosteroids in children can lead to stunted growth.

Also, these medications don’t work for everyone with Crohns disease. Doctors generally use corticosteroids only if you have moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease that doesn’t respond to other treatments.

A newer type of corticosteroid, budesonide (Entocort EC), works faster than do traditional steroids and appears to produce fewer side effects. Entocort EC is effective only in Crohns disease that involves the lower small intestine and the first part of the large intestine (ileocolitis).

Corticosteroids aren’t for long-term use. They can be used for short-term symptom improvement for about three to four months. They’re also used in conjunction with other medications as a means to induce remission.

For example, corticosteroids may be used with an immune system suppressor — the corticosteroids can induce remission, while the immune system suppressors can help maintain remission.

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]]> http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/treatment-for-crohns-disease/feed/ 0 Colitis Treatment http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/colitis-treatment/ http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/colitis-treatment/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:33:45 +0000 Dr Joe Stevenson http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/?p=31 Because the symptoms and progress of ulcerative colitis vary from person to person, treatments must be tailored to individuals. In most cases, however, drug therapy is the first line of treatment for ulcerative colitis.Drug therapy helps treat the symptoms of ulcerative colitis and prevent them from coming back. The four main categories of medication for ulcerative colitis all work by reducing inflammation. The drug categories are aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunomodulators and biologic therapies.

Aminosalicylates are called “5-ASA” drugs because they contain 5-aminosalicylic acid, which helps control inflammation. These drugs usually are the first treatment for people with mild or moderate colitis. Most are taken orally, though if inflammation is located low in the large intestine, they can be delivered in enemas or suppositories.

Azulfidine (sulfasalazine): a combination of 5-ASA and the sulfa drug sulfapyridine, sulfasalazine was the first aminosalicylate used widely to treat colitis. In this combination, the sulfapyridine prevents 5-ASA from being absorbed until it reaches the large intestine. But the sulfa drug can cause unpleasant side effects. Newer 5-ASA drugs, while they still have side effects, are easier for some people to tolerate. Also called steroids, these medications can relieve symptoms quickly, but they usually are not effective in preventing symptoms from returning. They also can have serious side effects. As a result, corticosteroids usually are used for short periods of time only. People with ulcerative colitis gradually taper off corticosteroids since an abrupt stop can bring on symptoms. The drugs can be taken orally, delivered in enemas, suppositories and foams, or given intravenously.

Immunomodulators reduce inflammation by suppressing the immune system. Immunomodulators are usually prescribed for people who:
•    Do not respond to other medications
•    Have become dependent on corticosteroids
•    Have active, severe cases of the disease

Because these drugs are “strong,” people must be monitored carefully for complications, including pancreatitis, hepatitis, reduced white blood cell count and infection. The drugs are taken orally, and it may take up to six months before they are fully effective.

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]]> http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/colitis-treatment/feed/ 0 Alternative Crohns Disease Treatment http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/alternative-crohns-disease-treatment/ http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/alternative-crohns-disease-treatment/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 15:07:20 +0000 Dr Joe Stevenson http://crohnsdiseasecauses.com/?p=5 The main treatment for Crohns disease is medicine to stop the inflammation in the intestine and medicine to prevent flare-ups and keep you in remission. A few people have severe, persistent symptoms or complications that may require a stronger medicine, a combination of medicines, or surgery.

The type of symptoms you have and how bad they are will determine the treatment you need. Aminosalicylates (such as sulfasalazine or mesalamine). These medicines help manage symptoms for many people who have Crohns disease. Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and metronidazole may be tried if aminosalicylates are not helping your symptoms. These medicines work especially well for disease in the colon.

Antibiotics are also used to treat fistulas, which are abnormal connections or openings between two organs or parts of the body. But 50% of fistulas come back when antibiotics are stopped. Corticosteroids (such as budesonide or prednisone) may be given by mouth for a few weeks or months to control inflammation. But corticosteroids have serious side effects, such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and increased risk of infection. Budesonide causes remission in mild or moderate Crohns disease of the ileum and the right colon. It does not work as well as prednisone or other corticosteroids. But it also does not have as many side effects as other corticosteroids. The long-term side effects are not well known, so your doctor will probably not have you take it for a long time.

Prednisone may help if budesonide does not. Medicines that suppress the immune system (called immunomodulator medicines), such as azathioprine (AZA), 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), or methotrexate. You may take these if the medicines listed above do not work, if your symptoms come back when you stop taking corticosteroids, or if your symptoms come back often, even with treatment.

If you have tried all the medicines listed above and none of them have worked, your doctor may give you a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist such as infliximab (Remicade). This drug may work for people who have not had any success with other medicines for Crohns disease. Infliximab is also used to treat fistulas if antibiotics do not heal them. Another TNF antagonist that may be used to treat Crohns disease is adalimumab (Humira). It may work for people for whom infliximab has stopped working and for people who have a bad reaction to infliximab.

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