Sulfasalazine User Reviews & Ratings (Page 5)

• Sea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 29, 2019

For Psoriatic Arthritis "Have been on sulfasalazine now for approx 6 weeks, 2000 mg/day. Not seeing much improvement, joints still swell badly. Pain in shoulder kept me awake tonight. Acid reflux, which I had prior to this medication, has significantly worsened. Overall, not pleased with sulfasalazine."

• Hor...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 18, 2021

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I have had RA for at least 25 years. I have tried many RA drugs with not much help, both injection and pill. I have also been on sulfasalazine for a number of years now. It has helped to some extent, nothing overwhelming. But better than any of the other drugs. It has helped with IBS, which I have as well. Just before Covid hit, I was about to try yet another drug that would lower my immune system to fight the RA, but held off. Now that I am vaccinated and the Covid numbers are falling, I am going to try another drug. But during this Covid year, sulfasalazine did keep RA somewhat under control with no side effects."

• Top...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 27, 2019

"The first year, sulfasalazine felt like a miracle cure for my Ankylosing Spondylitis, absolutely no back, hip, and knee pains at all. Now I’m getting a bout or two of knee pains that come and go, although thankfully still no back and hip pains. What is happening now, and quite often, are stomach problems, including indigestion and reflux. My doctors seem to completely ignore my case, possibly because I’m overseen by London Euston Hospital, and getting to talk to anyone at the hospital is all but impossible. If you are in the early stage of the disease, this drug will really help."

• RTR...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 21, 2013

For Inflammatory Bowel Disease "My constant infections from Mycoplasma infections are a thing of the past. This medicine has kept intestinal leakage and polyps from recurring, keeps the blood in my urine to a minimum, and constant kidney infections from recurring."

• Cro...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 17, 2018

For Crohn's Disease "I was getting gastric blockages quite often that caused a lot of pain and put me in the hospital on more than one occasion. I wasn’t diagnosed with Crohn's until after my surgery. After surgery, my GI doctor gave me a couple of prescriptions for medicine that wasn’t covered under my insurance and I could not afford. We settled on sulfasalazine. I have been taking this stuff for 8 months now. I go to the restroom now more than ever. I noticed that if I would miss a dose or two, I didn’t have to use the restroom so much. This medicine caused bloating, strange noises in my abdomen, constant diarrhea, and abdominal pain. I recently took myself off the drug and feel my best since surgery. I’m waiting for my next appointment with my GI doctor to discuss other medicine or no medicine at all."

• Pap...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 30, 2023

For Psoriatic Arthritis "Since I’ve been taking sulfasalazine, I don’t wake up with my finger joints nearly as swollen, and I have more flexibility. My joints don’t ache as bad as they did before taking it. I haven’t had any side effects, and I’ve been taking it for several months. I take two tablets in the morning and two at night."

• GAR...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 12, 2023

For Ulcerative Colitis, Maintenance "I was on another med that was new on the market and is very expensive. I requested my doctor to prescribe an older, effective med that would be covered by my insurance. I've been taking this for 6–7 years, it's been working well and is covered. The only downside is I have to take it four times a day. That's not really bad, but I do have to make sure to stay on schedule."

• Mil...
• February 15, 2018

For Ulcerative Colitis "I had never heard something positive about this medication for colitis, but I had to find out myself. From day 2, I started using sulfasalazine, and I got super watery bowel movements. It worsened over time, including blood. My doctor told me that it had to take around a month to be fully effective, so I kept taking it. I had to go 25-30 times, and even at night. The bloating started, and there was so much gas in my stomach that I was in real pain. On the 4th week, I got a high fever. I stopped the medication, but the fever lasted a week, and I had mild stomach bleeding. When I started it again, I got a fever within 6 hours. Also, my hair was falling out in chunks, and my beard thinned out heavily. It worsened my life in the past 2 months. I was taking 2000 mg."

• Mrs...
• March 15, 2018

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Diagnosed in 2010, lots of medications, and wore ear muffs daily. In 2017, I began methotrexate and became ill, along with Neurontin and 2 Tylenol 2 times a day with ear muffs. Now, after week 1 of just the sulfa, I stopped the ear muffs, but when I got to week 2 and added the hydroxychloroquine, I needed the ear muffs again. My head hurts bad, constipated, and with hair loss and more pain. So, I stopped the hydroxychloroquine. Today, I took a pill called Ultimate Immunity along with sulfasalazine, 2 pills 2 times a day, 1 prednisone, 1 folic acid. I make a mustard pack and put it under my feet at bedtime and 1 fiber capsule, no ear muffs. The moral to this is finding what works for RA and how to treat the side effects. I put mustard on a paper towel and put it in the pit of my feet at night for the headaches. The fiber is for constipation, the Ultimate Immunity is for the immune system, and the rest is prescribed for the RA and hair loss. I'm 2 months in and LOVING IT. In my opinion, hydroxychloroquine stops the sulfasalazine from working."

• per...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2023

For Psoriatic Arthritis "28F, diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis one year ago. I had very painful fingers and knees, and taking weekly 25 mg methotrexate injections helped, but did not fully eradicate the pain or help me regain function. After a bout of uveitis and a new onset migraine with aura, sulfasalazine got added (2500 mg, titrated up to 500 mg a week). Although it took a while to work, it improved my condition dramatically. It feels almost back to normal pain and function-wise, and general fatigue levels have improved somewhat. The abdominal side effects are the ones that still bother me, with bouts of nausea and painful bloating almost daily. I was advised it may take a few more months to improve, but honestly, I feel I can live with that as long as I get to keep the benefits of it."

• Pat...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 16, 2023

For Ulcerative Colitis, Maintenance "In 1987, I was diagnosed with moderate ulcerative colitis. I had blood in my stool, constant diarrhea, and experienced weight loss - from 100 lbs. to 85 lbs. My new doctor prescribed Watson sulfasalazine. It worked and I experienced no side effects! I still take it, but in a smaller dosage - from 4 pills twice a day to 2 pills twice a day. The brand just changed to Teva USA. I have been in remission for about 25 years!"

• Mrs...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 17, 2023

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I have been taking Sulfasalazine for several years and had to increase dosage (tripled) over that time period. It works fairly well for pain, but the heat sensitivity/intolerance to sun is horrible in the summertime. I also get a red rash on my arms from it, worse in the summer. I become a prisoner in my home. I will probably go back to Leflunamide, however, that causes hair loss, so I'm not sure what I'll do just yet. Sulfasalazine is fairly effective, but I had to give it a lower rating due to the side effects."

• cmu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 31, 2018

For Psoriatic Arthritis "I am starting sulfasalazine for the second time as the first time I ended up coming down with the flu a couple of times, so I decided to wait. My symptoms have been worse, so I just started it again. I am on my last day of two pills in the morning and one in the evening. No real bad side effects other than increased joint aching, especially in the hip. I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night as I just couldn't get comfortable at all. I'm supposed to increase gradually up to three pills in the morning and three at night. I will have to see how it goes, though. I am not really patient when it comes to side effects."

• Aus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 5, 2017

For Psoriatic Arthritis "Trialed this medicine for psoriatic arthritis for approx. 6 months in combination with methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine. While no major side effects, there was no clinical efficacy either, so therapy was discontinued."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2023

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I am noticing that I'm eating less since I started the second dose, which I find quite interesting, and having questions if I should be concerned. The RA has slowed down kind of, but still having issues with it on my left hand."

• GUb...
• November 26, 2017

For Ulcerative Colitis "I was on Lialda and in remission for over two years, unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover it anymore. No flares, but I do have canker sores all over my mouth, swollen lips, and red splotches on my face that itch. I had to stop and am now waiting for another prescription."

• Lou...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2021

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "After 8 weeks of taking the drug, increasing from 500 mg to 2000 mg dosage, some improvements with RA, but suffering with depression and anxiety and unable to continue living like this. I would rather have RA, waiting for the consultant to advise if I can try a different treatment."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 16, 2018

"Have been taking sulfasalazine for about two months for spondyloarthritis. Not only has it made no difference to joint/muscle pain, but it has severely worsened my fatigue. I feel like I have the flu constantly. Also causing terrible thirst. Hoping things will improve with time, but so far not at all encouraging."

• DrG...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 8, 2017

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Update from June. My husband has been improving in terms of his anemia of chronic disease on prednisone 15 mg daily. However, still on 2 gms of sulfasalazine, he has had pleuritis for two months and now has conjunctivitis and scleritis. All of which are listed as side effects of sulfasalazine. These are his only symptoms associated with RA. While reluctant to reduce the sulfasalazine, we will do so. We increased the minocycline to 200 mg on alternate days a few days ago."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 9, 2022

For Crohn's Disease "Diagnosed with Crohn's disease 11 months ago. Was on budesonide, then taper off and put on sulfasalazine 6 pills daily, 3000 mg total. Sulfasalazine worsened knee-down pain in both legs. Also experienced brain fog, anxiety, and depression. Have been off meds for 3 weeks now and feel clear-headed, happier, no depression, leg pain seems so much better. Do have insomnia now. Stopped medicine as new doctor feels I was misdiagnosed. Will find out later this week."

• mls...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2024

For Ulcerative Colitis, Maintenance "I don't know if this is related to sulfasalazine but I am fatigued all the time; have to take naps every day. With that said, all of my symptoms with regard to the colitis have gone away. It is difficult to remember to take these pills 3 times a day as I never have to take any medication, but I am relieved that the symptoms I experienced for the first five or six months have pretty much been eliminated."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 3, 2017

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I was on sulfasalazine for 25 years until my kidney function decreased, and I had bone marrow suppression. In other words, I became pretty ill. I already had third-stage kidney disease from another medication, bipolar. I take Topamax for the migraines. I have gastroparesis and take 5 other medications. I originally started with acute Crohn's colitis but have been in remission since taking prednisone and then sulfasalazine."

• Pus...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 11, 2016

For Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis "Sulfasalazine initially caused extreme headaches upon waking, extra strength acetaminophen worked for those. It took months to begin to work, and I eventually got to 4 pills per day. It took an extra six months for it to work well. I still have low-grade inflammation, but at least I am not miserable anymore, can sleep through the night, and get up fairly well. So it did work, but for me, it took a super long time to do so. My CRP dropped to normal (2 from 16.5) well before I felt close to normal."

• Cha...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 30, 2023

For Ulcerative Colitis, Maintenance "At present, I am taking one tablet a day to keep my U.C. under control. I have had no unexpected side effects. This was an alternative to other drugs because of the vast price difference between Sulfasalazine and the other choices. Being on Medicare, I have to watch the costs of medications."

• ove...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2023

For Psoriatic Arthritis "Was started on sulfasalazine after a virus caused a flare of what the rheumatologist thought was PsA & fibromyalgia. Dr later determined my PsA wasn't active but still continued the sulfasalazine. The dose was 1000mg twice a day. I believe it caused me headaches & nausea at the start. Dr encourages me to continue the medication. I have stopped & restarted the medication with his 'advice' but still don't think it is doing anything for me."