Originally Posted by jfcincy56

I felt great on the Starter Dose, but when I hit the full dose I got stomach cramps, heartburn from hell, and all fuzzy. By day four, after what my husband and I call the "Exorcist Hour" I was done.

But after a few days, I remembered how good I felt on the starter dose I wanted to try again. And this is how I did it.

I re-started with 240 mg a day until I felt good. But, to get to that point I did the following:

1. I went on a bland, almost liquid diet. (Toast, tea instead of coffee, potato soup, jello etc.)

2. I ate every two hours whether I was hungry or not.

3. I treated every symptom aggressively for a few days then backed off to see if my body had adjusted. I took diazepam an hour before the pill for the stomach cramps. Benadryl for the itchy flush. Maalox for the heartburn etc.

By day four, I eliminated the Benadryl with no problems. The next day I tried a pill without the diazepam. That worked. I had to take the Maalox for about ten days, (and still need one every now and then.)

4. On day ten, I felt really good, so I started all over again with the almost liquid diet, the diazepam, etc. This time, it only took 3 days to "adjust."

If you think this method will help, give it a try. If you've found something that works for a side effect, please share! For those who feel good on the drug, anything that will help you get past the first couple of weeks is worth it.

And personally, I think if you can't take the starter dose, this is not the drug for your disease. Any other opinions on that?