Does Length/Time haveing UC affect healing?

Well the answer is YES. I have seen for myself and my other siblings that as the disease progresses the flare ups are more severe. Initially I used to have flare ups for hardly 30 days or so in a year, but later on it used to flare up quite often. Colon gets time to heal plus there are chances of polyps too. The bleeding may come from polyps and may not be UC related at times. The best thing is have proper diets, natural cures, meditation, yoga, less of stress so that you don't have a flare up. Just by changing your life style you can prevent flare ups as you know the stress causes the immune system to go bonkers.

I've had three flares:

In regard to frequency, I'm getting flares less often.

In regard to intensity, my second flare was the worst. My doctor was shocked when he saw my condition.

In regard to duration, my second flare lasted the longest.

I healed quickly after all three flares.

No, I don't believe so. The disease is unpredictable. For some their first flare is their worst yet they recover and have many years of remission. For others their first flare is the only flare as it leads directly to surgery as no medication can touch it. Most people I meet with UC fall into the category of their first flare is their worst. You don't meet them on these boards because they are in remission.

Sue

I've been flaring pretty much since I was diagnosed 6 years ago. I've had maybe 2 years total without any bleeding, but the rest of the time I've been bleeding and flaring. So in my case, the answer would be no! I actually think that now that I've had the disease for so long, I'm able to treat myself a little better. I know what works for me and what doesn't so I don't suffer with feeling lousy for as long. I'm able to be more pro-active since I know what meds work for me.

Yes and no. UC is unpredictable, but the colon mucosa does tend to thin over time + the colon can shrink lengthwise, too. I know from cytology reports that both have happened to me. Right now I'm in a sigmoid flare-up that took me by surprise & got worse with application of generic Rowasa. This is the 1st time that retention liquids have failed me! (We never know 'til we're in it.) On the other hand, most of us learn to take better care of our health in order to function reasonably well day-to-day, which improves our healing potential. But we're all aging because it's the natural process-- so we can just try our best to carry on in good form for as long as possible. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])

Acording to my Doctors the longer you have UC and once you go over ten years with it your chances of developing colon cancer increases allot, and depending on you family history it could be a substantial increase! For me I was first diagnosed in 1990 and I have a history of colon cancer on both sides of my family, with my mother dieing from it at age 62. When I went to Mayos a few years ago the gastorenterologist told me with my UC and my history that I should have a colonoscopy every 6 months, I had been getting them every 2 years, when I got back to my home and talked my own gastroenterologist  about it, and he agreed with the Mayo report, but also felt that yearly would be sufficient, and my insurance went along with that. So I get a full colonoscopy annually. Every time I have one they remove 3 or 4 precancerous ademonas, and as long as they get them early I don't have to worry about them developing into colon cancer. So far I have been lucky and not have had a major flare in quite a few years I do get small ones every once in a while but even those are getting less frequent!

I think I have had UC longer than most. I was diagnosed a month after my sixteenth birthday and I am now 63 years old. That would be 47 years. My worst flares were between the ages of 16 and 35. I have NEVER been in total remission. When first diagnosed I lost 30 lbs in two weeks and needed 6 blood transfusions. While doctors back then rarely included me (because I was a kid) in conversations, I do remember them saying my entire colon was affected. They told my parents they thought that within a year I would need a colonostomy. But I didn't. I spent a month in the hospital and missed three months of school. The next year I went back in the hospital and they felt I had improved so much they did not do surgery. I was on prednisone for two years......the second year a minimal dose and then increased whenever I flared.

I had my first colonoscopy at age 30 and have had one yearly ever since. My UC stabalized much more after I went through menopause and now I have milder flares and less often. So in a way, my UC has improved as I have aged. It seems to be the opposite of many. But as someone said, this disease seems to have no patterns.