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when UC patients gain weight??

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/15/2008 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hi husband got diagnosed with this disease beginning of march and since then he is loosing weight. He is on Asacol 2 tablets 3x a day. Any advice from the experienced users is appreciated.
Posted 4/15/2008 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
He has lost 21 lbs when he was not even over wieght. I am really concerned. All of you people seemed very experienced, please help from your experience or what you have heard from others on this forum. I am just really new to all these things and trying really hard to understand.
Posted 4/15/2008 2:31 AM (GMT 0)

From my experience when I lost a lot of weight with UC it took stabilizing the disease before I could put weight on.  I am sure that is what your husband's doctor is trying to do.  I know it can be scary.

Sue

Posted 4/15/2008 2:41 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there :O) I lost weight when I was first diagnosed.. and trust me.. I couldn't afford to lose the weight as I was already stick thin! I think I went from 110 pounds to 95 or so. Once I started my medication and went into remission I was slowly able to gain weight. Since then I went up to about 135 healthy pounds! I started a flare in March <still flaring> and am now back down to 120 so far. The many symptoms of this disease cause this weight loss. It will take time for him to re-gain the weight... until then just make sure he eats more smaller meals per day. By this, I mean.. instead of eatting Breakfast, lunch and then a big dinner.. eat 5 or more smaller meals... this makes it easier for digestion and absorption. Eat lots of weight gaining foods like pastas and breads but stay away from too much sugar.

Hope this helps. :)
Posted 4/15/2008 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
I used to lose some weight when I was flaring up, now I think my body's hanging on so tightly to all my weight, it's such a struggle to take any off years later. Remicade helped me gain weight. Also now I eat a lot of rice and crackers to avoid going to the bathroom and the carbs might be adding to my weight.
Posted 4/15/2008 8:11 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I also lost a lot of weight during my first flare (about 5 stones) although had just had a baby so needed to lose about 2 anyway but ended up very thin (6 stones). Main reason is it took so long to be diagnosed. I also lost quite a bit of weight 2nd and 3rd flare but had 3 flares since and don't really lose much now, 5 or 6 pounds at the most but soon put that back on with pred.  Once your husbands feeling better I'm sure he will gain the weight back.
Posted 4/15/2008 8:37 AM (GMT 0)
I lost 30-40 pounds before i was initially diagnosed with UC. I had severe colitis that had to be controlled with prednisone (steroids). I lost that weight in 2 weeks, gained most it back in a month or two on prednisone.

I know when i was flaring, I pretty much couldnt eat for the fear of going to the bathroom so im sure some of the weight loss was self afflicted.
Posted 4/15/2008 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
I lost a half a pound a day on my last flare. I still have not been able to put it back on. One of the things that prevents me from putting on weight is that everything I put in my mouth I think "is this going to make me sick?" and it prevents me from indulging. I only eat as much as I think I need and I try to eat healthy. I guess I figure the less you put in, the less there is to come out. I know over time, when I am sure I will stay in remission, I will slip back to my old ways and gain some of the weight back, but right now, I am still petrified....I never want to feel that bad again...ever.
Posted 4/15/2008 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
The problem with my husband is he is not too having too many bowel movement 1-2 a day since he has been on Asacol for the last five weeks and it did help him but so far we have not seen any weight improvement. There is blood in the stools but it better 3-4 days and the gets worse for one day and then gets better (like a cycle). So please help me whem he will be able to regain some weight as for now it is only decline in weight.
Posted 4/15/2008 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi..welcome to the forum.

You should also encourage him to ask the doctor the retention enemas such as Rowasa (if you're in the US) or Salofalk (if you're not in the US).

It took me a long while to gain weight again.....a few years.

He has to make sure he eats.....
What is his diet like at this time?

quincy
Posted 4/15/2008 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
When was first diagnosed, I lost 15 pounds in two weeks. I looked nothing like myself. He will eventually takes some time, it just takes a little while for the body to adjust!
Posted 4/15/2008 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Weight is something I pay alot of attention to.

My average weight is 175-180 when I'm flaring iI can drop as much as 10 pound and when I'm on pred I go up as high as 190 (which I am fine with).

The 1 time I was hospitallized my weight fell to 119

Posted 4/15/2008 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for welcoming me to the forum. also for all the advice i got is very supportive. quincy mentioned retention enemas what are they and how do they help??

As far as his eating is concerned he is eating but for sure his appetite has reduced. the problem is he was not allergic to ay foods previously but now it seems he is more sensitive to lot of things. like he started feeling better and same day we introduced brown rice and radishes (steamed) and soy milk. He had three stools next day very loose. It took him to few days to get better like stool to get better with lesser blood, so again he tried organic soy milk and there we go he had quite some bolld in stool and mucus the next day. so i am not for now sticking with only 5-6 already tried vegetables and kefir (particular brand).

like i mentioned he is taking asacol 2 tablets 3 times a day. centrum as the multivitamin/multi mineral tablet and sometimes folic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C and selenium.
Posted 4/15/2008 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
i forgot to mention that he takes fish oil 2 tablets as well as turmeric once a day. he does not take any probioics/prebiotics yet. he was diagnosed in the beginning of march and it has been very hard introducing anything new like i mentioned so we are now taking things very slow as least for two to three weeks until we see more recovery.
Posted 4/15/2008 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
You can up your asacol to 12 pills a day.  That will probably help if he is already seeing progress with the 6 pills a day.  Also, rectal meds!!  Again, I am sure you are both being really careful as to what he eats, and I am sure in his mind he is a little worried about everything he puts in his mouth.  The weight will come back, be patient.  I tend to drink a lot of calories, juices I can handle and sparkling water, and ginger ale.  But mostly fruit juices....all natural.   Sometimes the carbonation in the ginger ale really kills me.  Good luck and happy eating. 

Posted 4/15/2008 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
The weight will come back, you are worrying too much about it. I myself only have 1-2 movements a day even when flaring and I still lose the weight. You have to remember that this is a disease that will sometimes prevent the body from absorbing nutrients from food so even tho it seems like you are eatting lots.. your body only absorbs a little and therefore you lose weight. Once he gets back on track and the meds kick in <give them time and dont up the does unless it is okay by the doctor> the weight will come back on. As for new foods... I don't know of introducing new foods is a good idea at this time. Personally I would stick to what I am used to so as not to upset my belly but avoid anything spicy.
Posted 4/15/2008 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
How i will know that he is back on track or the meds have kicked in?? Your experienced insight has helped a lot..
Posted 4/15/2008 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
By the time I was diagnosed, I had lost 12 pounds (and I'm a tiny and petite person, so that was a lot!). I gained back my normal weight w/in 6 months of starting medication.
Your husband will know when the meds have kicked in when there are fewer BM's in general and less blood loss; and also just when he's feeling a bit better overall. That's what my experience was.
Posted 4/16/2008 12:10 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with Comedy... you will just know. When he is up and about and doing his normal routine.. he will be better. It takes TIME tho. I have been in a flare since the beginning of March.. home and off work. It's frustrating but you have to keep and open and positive mind to get over it... because stress of and kind does not help any!!
Posted 4/16/2008 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the advice. It rally makes me feel better, that people actually recover from this great weight loss.
Posted 4/16/2008 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
I suggested rectal meds for a reason...just wondering why your husband isn't on them.

q
Posted 4/16/2008 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
his doctor just didn't prescribed them. when we told him that the blood has not stopped for four weeks on asacol then h prescribed prednisone although my husband asked for enemas too.
Posted 4/16/2008 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Since he is on Pred he should expect his weight to go up. I gained 15-20 lbs when I got on that stuff and I'm slowly trickleing down the weight as I come off the pred.
Posted 4/16/2008 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
We kind of figured that the oganic soy milk was bothering and he stopped drinking it and two days later he was a little better. So actually he did not start taking pred.
Posted 4/16/2008 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
Your husband should then refuse the pred and insist on the enemas....I'm not suggesting them because they don't work.

Prednisone has lots of health side effects.....and.....I also believe that once one is taking Pred, it sets one up for future failure of other meds.

Your doctor isn't doing enough....that is what should concern you bigtime.

UC starts at the rectum....why would not taking rectal meds be of benefit. Prednisone ..... my doc would never have considered to put me on it even though my symptoms were severe, but showing improvement on the Asacol and Salofalk enemas. It's a slower process, but going 19 years with just the oral/rectal 5ASA...a good pay-off..

We never have one flare....I can't imagine treating all my flares with prednisone....I would be guaranteed my colon would have been out long ago.

Soy milk can cause a lot of gas and discomfort..Is your husband at least eating other proteins such as chicken and other meats?

quincy
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