Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group
Crohn's disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract. There is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease, but there are many medical...
Hi, all,
I'm in my first flare since being in remission for almost 2 years. I was first diagnosed with UC in July, 2013, after 3 weeks of going to the bathroom 10 times/day, passing blood, etc. I had a colonoscopy that confirmed that the left side & upper left of my colon were severely inflamed. My doc put me on Lialda 3 a day, and I went into remission.
Anyway, about two months ago I had a bad attack of vertigo and, along with the stress of that and work, I started to notice abdominal cramps. They lasted a few moments, then disappeared, but would recur throughout the day. They became more frequent and would last a bit longer after a few weeks.
Then, last week, I had to rush my mom to the ER because I thought she was having a heart attack (the tests came back OK), but the event stressed me out terribly. I also suffer from an anxiety disorder, so I'm sure you can imagine the anxiety I've endured.
Then, a little less than a week ago, the bleeding started and, although so far I haven't really made frequent bathroom trips, I still get the "not normal" stools and the bleeding. I've been trying to watch what I eat & take things in stride (i.e. keeping things in perspective, not freaking out every time I feel like I have to go, not worrying about how long the flare will last), but it's been hard.
My doc told me to increase the Lialda to 4 a day for 5 days and to do stool samples (I'm doing those now, and I've finished with the Lialda increase).
How long do these flare ups last? Reading some of your stories, I need to count my lucky stars, but I'm still really anxious and frustrated. Plus, tomorrow is my nephew's 4th bday & we're going to Yosemite & I'm anxious about the trip because I don't want to feel ill and/or embarrass myself. I'm visiting my sister & her family for a week (a 4 hour drive).
Any advice?
I'm in my first flare since being in remission for almost 2 years. I was first diagnosed with UC in July, 2013, after 3 weeks of going to the bathroom 10 times/day, passing blood, etc. I had a colonoscopy that confirmed that the left side & upper left of my colon were severely inflamed. My doc put me on Lialda 3 a day, and I went into remission.
Anyway, about two months ago I had a bad attack of vertigo and, along with the stress of that and work, I started to notice abdominal cramps. They lasted a few moments, then disappeared, but would recur throughout the day. They became more frequent and would last a bit longer after a few weeks.
Then, last week, I had to rush my mom to the ER because I thought she was having a heart attack (the tests came back OK), but the event stressed me out terribly. I also suffer from an anxiety disorder, so I'm sure you can imagine the anxiety I've endured.
Then, a little less than a week ago, the bleeding started and, although so far I haven't really made frequent bathroom trips, I still get the "not normal" stools and the bleeding. I've been trying to watch what I eat & take things in stride (i.e. keeping things in perspective, not freaking out every time I feel like I have to go, not worrying about how long the flare will last), but it's been hard.
My doc told me to increase the Lialda to 4 a day for 5 days and to do stool samples (I'm doing those now, and I've finished with the Lialda increase).
How long do these flare ups last? Reading some of your stories, I need to count my lucky stars, but I'm still really anxious and frustrated. Plus, tomorrow is my nephew's 4th bday & we're going to Yosemite & I'm anxious about the trip because I don't want to feel ill and/or embarrass myself. I'm visiting my sister & her family for a week (a 4 hour drive).
Any advice?
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I would try to work on trying to keep the stress and anxiety down. I know... easier said than done, but for me, feeling anxious just amplifies my symptoms. Be patient, rest and take care and if you're eating foods that are easier on the gut while flaring, that can help. I've traveled while flaring and the thing that helps me is just being prepared for the worst case scenarios.
I'm trying to stay calm lol. I talked to my GI this morning & he prescribed Uceris for me (although my pharmacy has to order it so I won't get it until late tomorrow afternoon). I'm trying to eat a mostly bland diet as well.
I'm seriously thinking about getting diaper underwear for tomorrow just in case lol If the bathroom trips stay the same as now, then that's ok. Just want the bleeding to stop.
Feel better!
It no longer helps with my anxiety. (My body developed a tolerance)But I still take it because whenever I try to wean myself off, I start to flare. It is now essentially a maintenance drug with me. I now use Alprazolam for my anxiety, and it also helps with cramping.
I've found, for me anyway, that good mental health is the key to being in remission.
I Hope this is helpful to you.
Best wishes. :-)
There is no cut and dry answer to how long it will For bleeding, just the sulfalzine has helped me. But honestly it never helped me until after I gave my colon a chance to heal by eating rice' congee" for two months. I did that along with acupuncture and specific "herbs" recommended by my acupuncturist. At times I have taken good probiotics(from fridge section). It's hard work to really get to know your body and what foods are effecting it, what meds are effecting it. I have been in my first remission in 13 years that came about without prednisone. Prior to working w this acupuncturist and giving up gluten and sugar, and the 2 month rice thing, I have had uncontrolled UC while following doctors orders. You will see we all have different experience and differing opinions on here. So I hope you can find what works for you. I very strongly recommend giving processed foods a break, trying no gluten, no meats, etc theryby giving your colon a break and acupuncture or acupressure massage for energy distribution and relaxation, but anything that helps you relax. Honestly I don't know why the meds never worked for me until after I did this, I think it's because my colon wasn't getting healed up before, I was continuing to aggravate it by what I ate, and false remission w prednisone.
Do you have a list of the UC medications that actually cause UC itself. I've not heard that.
Even some non prescription stuff people take to help manage UC can cause gut issues though. I know some people use aloe juice vera gel to help with their UC and it causes no problem for them, but it also can have a laxative affect.
And I totally agree that there's sometimes confusion between colitis and ulcerative colitis, when they're two separate conditions which adds misunderstanding sometimes. I think there's also a different between triggering disease symptoms vs literally causing UC. My UC symptoms started after I got dysentery while traveling. Did the infection cause it, did the treatment for the infection cause it, was the UC always part of me but was dormant and was woken up by my body fighting the injection? I dunno. Doesn't matter at this point to me how it happened, but I'm quite hopeful the cause or causes will be nailed down some day. Until then, it's just a matter of living as well as you can, whatever that means to you, with it.
In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions (incidence 2%) were ulcerative colitis, headache, flatulence, liver function test abnormality, and abdominal pain. Pancreatitis occurred in