Apriso

So today we are starting a new medicine. Its called Apriso. He is to take two capsules a day. You may be wondering how is a 5 year old going to swallow two capsules like that. Well he isn't. I have to break them open and dump the little granules on a spoon and pour a little amount of juice on the spoon. He then takes the spoonful and chases it with water to prevent biting the granules. The granules need to stay intact because they are slow release and if he chews on them he will ruin the time release thus not allowing the medication to lubricate his colon. Wish us luck I am sure it will take some practice. Maybe one day he will learn how to swallow or they will make a kids version. 

The reason for starting this medication is because Liam has been on Prednisone since September 3rd, 2012. He started on 20 mg, and although we have gotten him down to 10 mg, we just can't seem to wean him off. He is getting wicked headaches from being on it for so long, along with other side effects. After talking with his doctor we agreed to give this a try. Many adults that I have talked to said it worked well for them. They were able to go into remission while on it. Its a medicine that you stay on even if in remission. Like his doctor said "we start this then we need to continue even if all symptoms go away." At this point I feel like its a good choice, because prednisone is so dangerous for little guys to be on. The one thing that worries me about Apriso is there is very little information on how it affects children short term and long term. Adults who take this are already developed and can chance taking it. I just pray this medicine does not affect Liam's growth, weight gain, puberty, eye sight etc. Lets hope it does what its suppose to do and allows us to wean him completely off the prednisone. My goal is January 1st 2013 for Liam to be prednisone free. I think that would be the best gift to start the new year.  I would love to hear from anyone and everyone who has been on this medication.