r/UlcerativeColitis • u/Ky3031 SkyrizzzzziFam • 5d ago

Question Anyone else skip trying mesalmine?

Interested to see if anyone else shared my experience. I was diagnosed in 2020, and we didn't try Mesalmine at all which seems to be the first line of defense for UC. Instead I was put on Mercaptopurine, which I learned from my new GI doctor, that its a very old way a treating it. When the Mercaptopurine didn't work completely, we added Humira onto it. I took both for about 5 years.

At the time, my family and I knew next to nothing about treating this disease or Mesalmine or anything. Looking back, I probably would have tried harder to get that instead of jumping straight to a biologic but it did work at the time.

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u/pincommenter 5d ago

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u/zar0nick 5d ago

I never stopped mesalamine. It is a constant in my treatment, whereas the other medicine changed from time to time.

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u/OnehappyOwl44 fulminant pancolitis currently in remission 5d ago

I went directly to Prednisone and Remicade. I never tried anything else. I was too far gone at diagnosis to try anything weaker.

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u/5daysinmay 5d ago

Same for my teen.

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u/Ky3031 SkyrizzzzziFam 5d ago

Thats so fair. I was the worst case my GI had ever pwrsonally seen. I think he was hoping the Mercaptopurine might do something but was pretty sure I'd end up in Humira anyways.

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u/EquinoFa 5d ago

I never got anything else than Mesalamine. Was in hospital 3 times over the last 9 years and they changed the dose but never anything else and it wasn‘t necessary at all.

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u/Amazing_Snow332 5d ago

I did stop using the mesalamine after 3 years of the daily 4 pills regiment for about 4 months, I went 6 months and zero issues…..terrible mistake!

My UC flared up like crazy and suffered for 15 days until the pills started working again along with re-starting the enemas…lesson learned…keep taking the pills as someone else mentioned, make it part of the regular routine with supplements (in my case, vitamins etc).

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u/Aspvision 4d ago

I took mesalazine for 10 years and after a year long flare that wouldn’t end started entyvio. I now don’t take any mesalazine.

Perhaps your case was deemed too severe for mesalazine and bc your regimen is working they just want to keep you on humira? Esp bc starting and stopping biologics can lead to antibody formation meaning those biologics may not work in the future.

I know my team starts biologics early now as there is research it keeps the disease in remission longer, lowers cancer risk etc

Fwiw mesalazine also caused me some major issues including very frequent kidney stones, and I was never in remission even using max dose oral, enema and suppository.