Sign Up for the Rite Aid Wellness+ Program

I've spent massive amounts on Rx drug costs the last few years. At around $220 a month out of pocket for Balsalazide, it's a little hard to swallow. If you spend alot every year at the pharmacy, I can recommend Rite Aid. Sign up for their wellness+ program and you'll reach a point where they give you a $10 credit for spending in the store with each prescription, and get 20% off so it makes things seem like grocery store prices.

I bought over $10 worth of toiletries the other day and I just had to pay a small amount in taxes. There is an upside to paying through the nose for prescription drugs! If you use another pharmacy check to see if their program is as good as Rite-Aid. I am with Express Scripts so Walgreens was out. After signing up make sure you tell the employee ringing you up that you are in the program, sometimes they forget to ask.

Prednisone and Azathioprine Side Effects

So the good news is that my required blood test 2 weeks after I started prednisone and azathioprine came out fine. Your blood should really be checked, especially if you start taking a double whammy of immunosuppressive drugs like me.

I've become quite the pill popper. I now take Colazal with each meal. This makes sense, to constantly keep it running through my system. Before I was taking it just with breakfast and dinner. I suggest making sure your doctor prescribes it for you to take 3x a day.

This week I will call pharma companies that make 5-ASA drugs and see if they can help me cover the cost of my medication. I will have to take 5-ASAs indefinitely, and the cost of Colazal is simply too high to do so, especially with taking it more frequently than before. I'd then ask my doc to prescribe the drug I found the discount on. I will post if I have any luck.

I'm drinking ginger apple juice to fight the nausea and trying all kinds of dark berry juices for the possible cancer fighting properties. Ever since my GI told me about azathioprine and cancer I've been buying more juice.

So... the side effects. There are actually some positive side effects. I've got bad arthritis in some of my joints. Azathioprine is sometimes prescribed to fight arthritis, this drug has kept my swelling way down. My joints sometimes feel like they did when I was 20! Good for lifting... sorta. Ha. Prednisone can be prescribed for asthma, it is easier for me to breath now when I work out and I never get light headed anymore when I stand up. It is nice to have some positive side effects...

But the negatives outweigh the positive side effects... this can be handled because overall the meds seem to be helping! Colazal made me nauseous, these meds more so. Sometimes much more so, that I don't want to look at food. Colitis is kind of a cruel joke to me since I can be a mighty eater. I do not have the energy to work out as much as I am used to, but I am grateful to get in the gym at least a little.

My vision has gotten quite hazy twice. I am happy this has happened only two times since this bothers me more than feeling sick to my stomach. I often get a light headache and usually feel off most of the day due to the new meds. It is harder to focus, on reading a book for example.

I am having decent success just concentrating on what the goal is: remission. This helps me handle feeling a little sick or like I am hungover throughout the day. Then I just get tired at night. The drugs also don't let me sleep as well. I often wake up way too early, and am wide awake when I do so.

*Possible TMI incoming...
Thankfully I can deal with this because overall my condition is improving! Trips to the bathroom are less frequent, with less blood. I am 'evacuating' (sorry, I thought it was funny when my doc used that term) more completely. Yay, drugs.

My Next Step in UC Treatment

I saw my gastrointerologist this week. He said I've gone from what he considers mild to moderate UC.  =/
Since the 5-ASA drugs are not working for me (Asacol, Balsalazide, etc) I've moved on to the next step.

The good news is that the next step isn't as hard on the wallet as I feared it might be. It is just harder on the body apparently, with stronger side effects to go with the stronger medicine. He prescribed Azathioprine and Prednisone for me, the first to be taken indefinitely and the second for a month. I must take blood tests every 2 weeks and a followup visit with the doc in a month.

He told me Azathioprine could cause cancer, but of course the chances are much greater I'd have more problems with UC if I didn't take this medicine. Part of the doctors job is to weigh options and set out a plan, I have confidence in him. It only cost about $20! I started taking it today and feel nauseous... as I expected.

Prednisone is serious as well. At least this one only costs five bucks. I have to take it before 9AM each day so I will start it tomorrow. I'll post later about what kind of effects I feel from the new meds. I am kind of concerned about them but more concerned that my UC has become even more limiting to what I can do than before.

Interestingly, the doc said I should stay on the 5-ASA drug indefinitely as well. It helps control my symptoms a little, so it makes sense that I would stay on it. I just wish it wasn't so costly as my insurance Rx coverage is not the best. So this one has cost me thousands and will continue to do so. That brings the drugs I am on this month to 3.

The doctor said it was fine if I continued to take aloe vera gel pills and fish oil supplements in addition to these 3 meds. He did mention that the fish oil could cause loose stools... which is ironic since I think that is the least of my concerns right now, considering the kind of symptoms that are common with UC!   :p

What should I ask the doctor?

What questions should I ask my gastroenterologist? More important, I think, is to actually take a little notepad in with you into the doctor's office and have it at the ready when the two of you are having a discussion. A simple thing I know, but chances are it is a costly visit for you and we all want to know the best way to get a handle on UC. I know I would probably forget a few questions and kick myself afterwards for it without taking some prepared questions in with me.

I have some questions prepared for my doctor's visit next week. I'll need to know what meds he will Rx, they will be new this time since Balsalazide Disodium is not helping us (the doc and I) reach our goal of remission.

Not something I was dying to put in the search box on my browser for, but I've heard people had success with a fecal transplant so I will ask about that. I also need to know if some of the bleeding is due to hemmorrhoids and if so, what I can do about that. Also, LDN. LDN is Low Dose Naltrexone, and something I've read that is in general effective, quickly. Sometimes I am severely constipated. I can swing from one extreme to the other, but I thought most with UC just stayed at one extreme. I need to ask about that as well, even though both doctors have told me modifying my diet won't help get UC into remission.

I think the doctor has a certain plan laid out for me if things keep getting worse. But this is my second doctor and things are not progressing as they both were hoping. I've poured thousands of dollars in to this already. So I will be prepared this time with a notepad and questions, ready for action as it were.

Boswellia Side Effects

I only took Boswellia for a few days but I could tell it made me way too nauseous and even gave me some chest pains / tightness. And my symptoms got worse, if anything. I had read 2/3s of people that take Boswellia were helped by it, but not me.

The side effects were such that I would really stress caution if you try to take Boswellia. Back to trying Rx medicine it is for me! The pills from a tree in India made me more nauseous than even the balsalazide. :(

Others have reported side effects such as sore throat and a skin rash. Boswellia helps with remission in many people, but take at your own risk! I wouldn't take it more than a month or 2 even if it was helping because of all the side effects that could come with it.

Remission Impossible

Doc said I should be in remission after 6 weeks. It's been 6+ months, time to see a new doctor! Since I've started the medicine it has helped, but not enough. Even my old doctor agreed. I am headed for my 3rd insurance plan of the year, I am sure the ladies in the doctors office love me!

Balsalazide still makes me nauseous a little almost all the time, just like Asacol HD before it. Strange that I have had to adjust to and accept that feeling 24/7. The good news is that sleeping enough isn't as big a problem as when I first started UC meds.

Balsalazide Fun!

The cheapest medication I have found for UC in my current pre-existing condition, bad insurance state is Balsalazide for $150 a month. Pay $20 a year for Walgreens discount Rx drugs plan and you get about $150 per month off the big B!

Is it effective? Well it is hard to tell, because aside from UC I have hemorrhoids that bleed alot and must take Citrucel regularly to keep things moving. I will have to be on Balsalazide a bit longer to tell if it is worth it. I don't think it makes me as nauseous as Asacol HD, and nowhere near as bad as Rowasa.

Rowasa costs me $150 a week but the doc said I could take them as I can afford them...

The next step.

Since Asacol HD is too expensive now, the doc prescribed Balsalazide. He said they have it in generic form. I will still pay the full cost of this medicine but I hope it is cheaper. I will also take Rowasa but that is not a long term thing, again because of the cost.

Nothing has been too effective so far, hopefully Rowasa will help more since it is basically directly applying the medicine to the effected area.

We are trying a patchwork of things at this point. I hate having to put so many different drugs into my system, especially steroids, but there doesn't seem to be a good alternative because of insurance issues!

The discount card program for Asacol HD changed started this year. I paid $50 monthly last year and only get $50 off now. Apparently if you have a insurance plan that covers Asacol HD already, with the changes to the plan you could pay nothing for the meds. Good for some but not for me. =/