pyridium,

[sandyz]

How often can you use the pyridium.? My pharmacist said to use it very sparingly and not to use it for more then 3 days in a row. How frequently do you use it?

[traceann]

That is something that you need to talk to your doc about, as it is a med that can build up in your body if you take too much or for too long. I was taking the OTC versions, and discussed with my doctor how long I could take it safely, since he knows my medical history etc.

What your pharmacist said it accurate - that's what's on the OTC versions "directions" - so, if it's to be used differently, it is best to contact your doctor - I just gave mine a call and they answered my question that way, I didn't have to go in or anything!

Better safe!!!

[Sarojini]

It's true that Pyridium can cause problems after long term use (it affects red blood cells at high doses and changes how they are able to bring oxygen to your body). If you notice shortness of breath, definitely quit taking it and talk to your doctor. And if your skin or eyes turn orange, stop taking it too -- it is possible to turn yourself orange (not permanently, it will go away ) with too much.

Otherwise, your doctor can tell you what to do with dosing because he will know more than I do what dose is safe -- 3 days is very conservative and I know people can take it longer than that, but it's always on doctor's orders.

[ICNDonna]

I agree with Tracey that you need to ask your doctor.

Donna

[sdg78]

At the beginning of my symptoms, they told me to get the OTC kind and take it as needed for symptoms. After I had taken it for 4-5 days, I read the back of the box and it said that long term use has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals (rats I think). I'm sure the long term use on the animals was really large amounts for a really long time, but it is better safe than sorry! I was really upset when I read that because I had just quit breastfeeding, but was still producing milk, which meant since I wasn't feeding the baby, it was just storing there. I called the pharmacist and asked about the cancer in animals thing and she suggested that I go pump. When I did, my milk was orange. I quit taking it right then and pumped for the entire next week just to be sure... I was very surprised that my milk remained orange for most of the week. Long story short - it seems to be pretty potent stuff and probably pretty hard on the body.

[sandyz]

Thanks,

Thanks for all your replies. I had asked my doctor about it before but he didn`t give me much of an answer. I guess I`ll ask again and try to get more out of him. I am very careful with it and don`t use it much. Its nice though when he start flaring, it helps with pain and helps settle things down. That is so weird with the breast milk turning orange. It makes you wonder.

Hugs,
Sandy

[prettyeyes]

I take pyridium plus and my Doctor told me to take it once every 8 hours as needed. When I am having really bad pain I usually take it for about 2-3 days until things calm down a little.

[GriffsMommy]

When I went in for my office cystoscopy I asked my uro about using AZO as needed for symptoms, which is pretty much the same as pyridium right? He said that I could take it when I had symptoms, didn't say anything about only taking it for a certain amount of times. I'll have to ask him about that at my next appointment.

[traceann]

Yup, AZO and Uristat both are OTC versions of the regular Pyridium. Pyridium Plus is a combination of phenazopyridine, hysoscyamine and butabarbital.

I have always used the OTC stuff, which ever I could find cheaper at the time needed, lol, either AZO or Uristat.