Freakin out and worried

alright im going to just ask this question becuase i am very freaked out.  I was wondering how worried do i have to be about a terminal illness right now after having colitis for 5 1/2 years or so. 

I had blood work done but no results yet, as well as a stool sample.  I guess i am just trying to find that peace of mind because i hate waiting.  I hate putting myself through this massive worry.  Is anyone else like that?

Hi Nick9011, and welcome to HealingWell. I'm assuming that you have been dx'd specifically with Ulcerative Colitis? And what is the reason you are having a stool sample and blood work done; has the doctor given you reason to believe it's something more than UC because of other symptoms? I've had UC for about 5 years, and I have no reason to believe that I will get a terminal illness from it -- but then I live each day for...each day. What meds are you currently taking? Have you had a colonoscopy? I know, lots of questions, but it helps us know you better and maybe ease your fears. Take care, and again, welcome!

Well, it's a good thing that the doc said your UC is slowing down, and that you don't have any blood that you can see. Were you in a flare with blood and urgency? How many times a day do you have a bm? It sounds like the Asacol is doing a fairly good job, but maybe if you are having urgency you might want to try enemas. Did the doc say where your UC was located in the colon?

The stool sample is to check for blood. This is a routine test for a GI and shouldn't have you worried. No one knows why UC flares when it does and you can spend a lifetime cogitating over this one aspect of the disease. Stress can have an impact on UC; it doesn't usually cause a flare but can make one worse.

Sue

Nick, it may help you to know that the life expectancy for people with UC is no different from the expectancy for people who don't have UC.

I've had UC for almost 8 years now, and my mother had colon cancer (but not IBD.) I get my scopes every two years and know that even if I do develop cancer, it will be caught early when it's almost 100% curable. I also have a variety of hardware in my body from multiple orthopedic surgeries (thank you, Prednisone and Entocort), the most recent being a total knee replacement.

Nick, it's hard enough to live with a chronic health condition; adding anxiety makes it infinitely harder. You may want to consider some short-term counseling to help with stress management and anxiety. It's very common for people with chronic illness to become depressed and/or anxious, so never be afraid to ask for help.

Hi Nick...I too would suggest a counsellor or therapist who can help ease your way of thinking regarding all you've been going through and all that's happened to you. Sometimes it's near impossible to even have any areas left in the brain for coping when so much is going on with healing, etc.

Firstly, you need to be on rectal meds.....UC starts at the rectum, and that will help keep things in check and ease your worry that it may get worse, etc.

Are you going to physiotherapy to help you recover from your accident?

I don't believe the meds started your UC, but considering what you've been through at this time, I know if it were me....I'd be flaring for sure.

The fact that you're having small #bms could mean your flare is limited to the lower part of the rectum...as well, the vicodin will slow the bowel a bit and lessen the transit time of the bms...which is helpful for this time considering the amount of pain you must be in and running to the bathroom, etc.

Do the rectal meds to deal with the rectal inflammation. The mindset is really what will help you cope with your issues, and learning the process is better than someone saying try to change your focus.

You have a legitimate reason you're anxious...recognising how your thinking process works will be helpful in intervening and allowing yourself alternate thinking options. It'll be helpful in all your life events, not only UC.

Did I mention rectal meds??

Keep us posted as to how you're doing.

quincy

For me, knowledge is power. It helped me a LOT to learn as much as I could about UC as quickly as I could. Now, I'm perfectly comfortable with the idea of having UC. I know that there are still many more medications I can try that many, many, many people have great success (in terms of staying in remission for long stretches of time), and that if it all gets bad enough, I can have a colectomy and chances are VERY high that I'll go on to lead a completely normal life. So, I'm at peace with my UC.

all very good advice and points. I am definitly going to get more educated on my colitis. I also take some sleeping aids such as unisome, i want to look up tonight if that effects the asacol or the colitis at all.

any other sites people recommend to get more education?

Nick, if you go to the top of the UC page, there is a locked thread called UC Resources, and also the home page for UC which has many good resources. Also, HealingWell's newsletter this month just came out and it is highlighting UC.

Hi Fruitgirl; if you go to the top of the screen under HOME, click on the newsletter underneath, and you can subscribe to it. It's very informative!

i want to thank everyone for replying and sharing their advice. Yesterday I had no apparent symptoms of my UC at all. Everything was normal. I wanted to keep it going so i ate extremely well ( so I thought), chicken for lunch with corn, and steak (done medium) with steamed broccoli.

Felt great and slept well, alarm went off, had the usual morning urge and went to the bathroom, and there it was again, blood in the BM.

I am still waiting to hear back from my doctor too, i had blood taken last week on thursday. I dunno if they have the results yet, but i really hate the fact that some office don't call you unless there is a problem.

im emotionally doing better i think, i've come to terms and accepted that i have UC and will always have period flare ups from time to time. But when i do its about the maintenance and mental state to stay in that i need to focus on.

Feel free to reply, just keeping ppl updated.

I was flaring for over a year but it was not severe, just a blood on the paper. I think if your flare is hard to treat, it can continue with no end until you find the right treatment option. I am sure I would still be flaring if I weren't taking drugs. I think they can last for a year or for a week depending on how aggressive you are with treatment. I have heard of people going into remission without drugs but I haven't had any luck going that route and I've tried a lot of herbs, vitamins and diets. I guess we are all so unique, what helps one doesn't help another.