Side Effects of Urso?

[rene_g]

Recently diagnosed and started 250 mg. of urso 2 times a day. Did well for 2 weeks and now have diarreah every time I eat. Suggestions?

[cuttysark]

Why not cut it down to one a day for a week or so and see if the diarrhea settles and then start putting it up again.

I started on two three years ago and now take five a day no problem at all. Your body does get used to it in time but take it slowly. I tend to take it a one after breakfast two after my lunch and then again two at night after tea.

It depends on your weight and I have put on a couple more stone due to being on steroids for three years so I had to up the Ursofalk. I seem to do better on the highest dose I can tolerate as I also have chronic pancreatitis and the Ursofalk helps me to digest my food better.

Hope you get it settled soon, but usually folk tolerate it in time.

Good luck.

[Lucylongstockings]

I ve been taking urso for about 18 months I struggled at first as well. I was ok for the first week or so but then like you had diahrheea and terrible indigestion. So I cut the urso down to one tablet a day and gradually built back up to my dose. It tells you to do that in the leaflet inside of the one I take. It took me a few months to get up to my full dose. But I don't have any problems with that now. I take all mine in one go at my evening meal. I have to take them in the middle of my food so my stomach has got something in it before I take them and something on top of the tablets so I don't get reflux. I do get occasional diahrheea but if I take the tablets in the evening I get my toilet problems in the morning and I'm not rushing round to find a loo if im out during the day.

Stay with it. I was really disappointed when infirst started to take it. I really thought I wouldn't be able to tolerate it . But I'm fine with it now

[rene_g in reply to Lucylongstockings]

Thank you both so much for your replies. I was sort of starting to panic thinking that I would not be able to tolerate the medication. I will contact my doctor today and see what they think about cutting back for a bit and building up to it.

[Lucylongstockings in reply to rene_g]

Good luck. I got my support from this group.you ve got to make it work for you find your own way of how and when it's best yo take it. But I would say give it 2-3 months to settle down .

[Hidden in reply to rene_g]

Hello again rene_g.

It is apaprently stated that urso is 'well tolerated'. I don't call it a medication as such as basiclaly all we are doing is adding a component of bile to our system to add further to aid better digestion. to me I prefer to know it as a supplement as that is what it is in my mind.

[mandyc]

I have been on three a day, and I must be one of the lucky ones because I have no problems from day one and it has maintained me for five years now . Just cut down at first but please consult your consultant first before doing this. And always take after a meal never take on a empty stomach.

[Hidden in reply to mandyc]

Hello mandyc.

Good to read that you had no problems whatsoever with the urso from the very start. I'd say mine were only temporary side-effects and I've nto encountered any problems with it since except when I had a change of manufacturer when back in the summer of 2013 the 300mgs were withdrawn and I had to accept 150mg tablets I still take in that dosage.

I think for some of us it might just be the manufacturer as with myself having 3 different urso manufacturers (I am un the UK) I did notice the filling agents varied between them. I think perhaps it is the filling agents that might be a bit of the blame myself. My first tablet change of urso to 150mgs were generic and I only found out the manufacturer as I had to go back to the chemist to ask for the patient info leaflet printing as I got given the tablets loose in pharmacy labelled brown bottles. I had got a brand of the 150mgs for my tablet change and they were OK but had to accept generic the 2nd time as that is what the prescription had always stated. It was actually these that caused heartburn that I had in the beginning of taking urso Dec 2010 but this time it didn't vanish in a short time, so much so that when the tablets were due again, I asked the GP to switch me to the brand I had and I had no problems at all with those.

[Hidden]

Hello rene_g.

I had side-effects for a few months after starting urso - heartburn, a bit of tummy bloating and also I started with constipation. Did think at the time the itch felt worse. (I was diagnosed Dec 2010 and started urso same time.) I was going to quit taking the urso after a couple months until I saw the first LFTs and GGT done and decided to continue with the urso and see. My side-effects did vanish but the constipation for me to continue but by slight dietary adjustment myself I've not had any further problems.

I started on urso at 600mgs and am still on that dosage. I decided to take 300mgs with breakfast and the 2nd dose around 9p.m. at night in the early days. Over time I have expermented with the urso and find for me the best route is with breakfast for 300mgs and then I take the 2nd dose just after I've finished my evening meal. I did at one point read that there are no set rules to take urso and I have tried taking it all at once with breakfast but that simply made me start itching like mad within a couple hours and I don't itch these days during the day (it is all in the evening and through night).

I did read that diarrhoea can be a side-effect of the urso unfortunately but for me never being one for constipation that is how I became. The patient information leaflet (POM) I read with the urso I have had (had a few different manufacturers since Dec 2010 due to the orig 300mgs being withdrawn and then the 150mgs I now take (4 tablets daily) one brand simply caused me to have bad persistent heartburn so I have a brand now and been fine), well it did state that an over-dose of ursodeoxycholic acid would more than likely not have any effect on a patient who needs it (ie in PBC) but it could cause temporary diarrhoea. So perhaps at the moment it is a bit much for your system to take in and as I've noticed on here with others experiencing symptons like yours, may be best to gradually up your dose with time.

One thing tho' I'd make sure that you take the urso with an adequate intake of food. I know for me when I did try the whole lot at night as part of my urso experiments, it simply caused me heartburn as I think for me it is too much in one go the whole lot.

[posh]

Hi Rene g, I would consult your doctor before you make any changes to your medication, just so they are aware. It might not be connected, but if so then your doctor will advise you.

Best of luck

posh

[rene_g in reply to posh]

Thank you all so much for your replies. My diarreah symptoms have gone away....only occasionally and depending upon what I eat do I have any issues now with that. What I do have now though are all of the following: Swollen finger that is very painful, hands and feet burn at times, joint pains that make it very difficult to get up and down, pain in the upper parts of my arms, definite pain in the neck area...to the point that it is difficult to move my head. I also have fibromyalgia and polymyalgia rheumatica so it is difficult to know what is exactly causing what. I never sleep well...it hurts to lay on either side or back and turning in the bed is a real challenge. Other than that, I am good! LOL!!! I am now taking 500 mg. of Ursodiol 2 times a day and have not missed a pill since I began in April of 2015. Anyone else experiencing these symptoms and found anything that works for it? Doctors just don't seem to want to deal with any of these things. Thanks for your help!

[rene_g in reply to rene_g]

Did anyone see this post? I didn't get any responses. Thanks.