What to do???

Hey all. I'm in a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate some advice from people who genuinely understand my problem so here goes...

My nan passed away in June which was obviously a stressful time and I started noticing some mild flaring symptoms so I was pretty worried and went to see the GP around the end of the month. She prescribed a course of steroids but advised only to take them if absolutely necessary and instead control the stress with anything else that would help relax me! So I did and it seemed like the symptoms "appeared" to go away.

Now a few months on and I've had some mild symptoms kicking up for the last month or two. I've had ALOT of wind and gurgling in the tummy and gut, some cramps on the left side as usual and more recently the urgency to go to the bathroom again. AND i've been getting a fair amount of blood & mucus when I go to the loo.

I've still got a valid prescription for the steroids and an appointment with the gastro next week so i'm really not sure whether to go back on the steroids or to just wait it out and hope the symptoms will fade away (again).

I'm really scared i'm gonna end up flaring quite severely and that's probably my only reason for going back on the steroids but as I'm repeatedly being told by the GP and gastro this is really a last resort that they would rather try and avoid.

Do any of you have any suggestions about what I should do or possibly ways to calm my system down as I'm really having trouble deciding the best action to take.

Dont freak out it aonly is going to make it worse! Take deep breaths when you're stressed and try to relax : )

Hiya,

I've managed to survive another few days - have the appointment with my GI today so fingers crossed he has something worthwhile to share.

I'm not currently taking any probiotics, can you suggest a good quality one? If so, is it possible to get these on prescription or are they just over the counter supplements?

TBH Discouraged - I've never really had a "quick" taper. The average one has lasted at least 6 weeks, starting on a dose of 30mg, decreasing by 5mg each week. In that time I usually manage to get a bit podgy, develop an endless appetite, have sleepless nights and offend most of my friends and family with my insane temper and mood swings. That's why i'm trying to avoid it.

If it were me, I'd start taking cortifoam rectal meds and a good probiotic daily and indefinitely, one that I use is called primadophilus reuteri made by natures way, it has guaranteed intestinal release, aid with lactose intolerance, high cholesterol and for women, vaginal health, it has aided both my IBS and IBD, it's affordable and only 1/day is needed. Only downfall is it must be kept in the fridge, but worth it.

:)

I know this is unrelated and silly, but what's a probiotic? I've obviously never taken - should I be?

well.... I've actually been prescribed 6 Asacol daily so thats 800mg, 3 times a day. But I noticed i used to get some hair loss. Then when they introduced me to the Aziathioprine I had EVEN more hair loss so i just decided to lower the dosages myself and experiment a bit. My GI was happy with this as long as I was on an amount that suited me.

So instead of taking the prescribed 125mg Aziathioprine and 2,400mg of asacol, I cut it down to 800mg and 100mg of Azia.

     I've had UC for ten years.  My last flare started in March of this year.  I had to be hospitalized for ten days in May and slowly...VERY slowly...have come out of the flare.  For most of that time, I had to take prednisone.  It seemed like whenever I was off the prednisone for two weeks...wham...blood, urgency, diarrhea returned.  The end of September my GI doctor put me on 40 mgm of prednisone (he usually started me at 30 but it just wasn't doing the trick), with a taper of 10 mgm every week until I went to 20 mgm, then 5 mgm per week.  I am now on 5 mgm and hopefully will be OFF the prednisone by the end of the week.  He also increased my 6MP from 50 mgm to 75 mgm.  For the month of October, I have been symptom free..yaaaaaa.  Normal bowel movements, no blood.  I now have to have monthly blood tests instead of every other month.  This is to check my CBC and make sure my white count doesn't fall too low with the increase in 6MP.  My liver tests have been normal, although my pancreatic enzyme level was very high when admitted to the hospital.  I was taken off the 6 MP for a month because of that.  My Amylase and Lipase returned to normal levels after my fifth day in the hospital and I wonder if it wasn't a lab error to begin with.

     The doctor recommended I take probiotics and I take Powerdolphilus by Country Life, two daily.  My other meds are listed below.

I know what you mean about relying on medication, it's a big adjustment.
I have lots of friends who struggle to change their diet to control their cholesterol or blood pressure when new meds can help so much, but they don't want to rely on medicine. Another friend who needed to give herself shots and take big pills said she thought she couldn't take pills...but now she knows she was wrong.
Better living through chemistry!!

I have had good luck with a naturopathic doctor, and improved enough to finally get off prednisone. But he emphasized that I should not stop taking the Asacol. He gave me strong probiotics, and some other herbal pills to "strengthen my colon" (licorice root?) but I haven't been good about remembering to take them.

I wish you wouldn't worry so much!! Keep in touch.