Suggest An Effective Alternative For Lialda

Posted on Tue, 17 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 17 May 2016 Answered on

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My wife has been taking Lialda 1.2MG, 4 tablets daily however the cost of this drug has risen dramatically.
Our insurance company has reccomended
Sulfasalazine 500MG which has a moch lower cost
Is this drug a good substitute and if so, how
many tablets should she take daily to match
the equivalency of Lialda?
Thank you XXXXXXX XXXXX

Answered by Dr. Ronald Schubert (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Sulfasalazine is a good substitute for Lialda (mesalamine)

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for contacting HCM with your health care concerns

I am sorry to hear that your wife had inflammatory bowel disease and that your insurance is recommending change in medication. The sulfasalazine is a common drug and used interchangeable with the Lialda. The dose of sulfasalazine is 500 mg every 6 hours. Side effects with sulfasalazine are skin rashes, pulmonary, liver and kidney toxicity. Your doctor will need to monitor her condition as she transitions to sulfasalazine.

I hope I answered your question. Please contact us again if you have any additional questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar