Newbie Here

Hello wise ones,

I have browsed the boards for a while, but this is my first time writing.

Just curious to get everyone's take on my story:

I'm 31 yrs old and was diagnosed with mild UC in 1995.  The ignoramus of a doctor immediately put my on 50mg of prednisone as a first line treatment.  That was my first and last time on the drug.

Since then I have gone in and out of mild flares.  When I am not flaring I usually go a couple of times in the morning. My worst times are always in the morning right after waking up.  Even when not flaring my stools are not like before UC.  They have form, but are soft and occasionally on the thinnish side. I am then usually fine the rest of the day (no cramps or movements).

When flaring, I go a few more times in the morning before leaving the house (maybe nerves have something to do with it).  I have cramps that usually persist over the course of the day.  I would say they are moderate cramps, but they are enough to cause me discomfort and make me anxious about emergency trips to the bathroom.  I never have diarrhea, just the soft stools. Then later in the day (about 4-6pm) I will have 1-2 more BMs.  In some flares there is a little bit of blood and mucus but nothing major.

I was quiescent for a few years and then after having kids (maybe stress because of lack of sleep) I started going in and ut of mild flares. I am currently in a flare (extra BMs in the AM, usually 1 extra BM in the PM.  Cramps from 6am-3pm, they usually disappear after that. I don't see any visible blood and sometimes there is a touch of mucus).  Overall I try not to let it affect my quality of life, but in reality it does. I am nervous to go on trips, especially places without restrooms and I am always making mental notes in public where the nearest facilities are.

I am routinely on Asacol (maxed out) and Azathioprine (maxed out).  I usually add the Rowasa enemas when I feel symptoms coming.  This time it didn't do much to alleviate the symptoms, so I used the cortenemas and they seemed to do the trick.  Now I am trying to wean from them by alternating with the Rowasa and symptoms are starting to break through again. I am getting quite frustrated going in and out of these flares.

I understand that compared to some these symptoms may seem mild, but they do cause me a good deal of both mental a physical discomfort.  At my last visit with the GI, he mentioned that if I have trouble weaning from the cortenemas, it is probably time to try infliximab.  I'm not a big fan of biologics and do want to avoid this.  Do you guys feel my options are running out and I should give it a shot?  I don't want to spend my life going in and out of these flares, but I'm not sure these mild-moderate flares warrant more aggressive treatment.

I have also been taking cuturelle and recently added curcumin and have not noticed and difference.  I tried aloe gel capsules (I couldn't get down the liquid) and that seemed to irritate my stomach.

I apologize for the rambling post, but just wanted to see what everyone thought about my story.  Thank you for your time.

Fruitgirl: As of my last scope, the inflammation is left sided, with some focal inflammation in the transverse colon.  I would prefer not to use prednisone, but would consider that if I was out of options.  It's funny that you mention CBT, my wife is a psychologist and CBT therapist. Perhaps the Colazal is a good idea.  I will definitley bring it up with the GI.

Malkavian: I will certainly try the Rowasa for maintenance in the future.  The problem is coming out of this flare now.

Quincy: I used Rowasa for a month nightly before the GI suggested I switch to Cortenemas. I have been using the Cortenemas for about 2 months.  I should mention I take the cortfoam in the mornings as well.  For weaning, I alternate between the cortenemas and Rowasa nightly.  When I start doing this alternating I become symptomatic.  That is what I meant by trouble weaning.

Thank you all for your time

I'm embarassed to admit that since having kids ~3 yrs ago, I haven't had much time to do anything athletic.  The most I really do is walk back and forth 2 miles to work (not the most fun to do during a flare).  Do you think excercise would help???

If I could just get rid of the urgency and extra BMs I would be golden.

I don't think I flare because of stress.  I just meant that I feel anxiety about urgency and finding restrooms.

I do take culturelle but it doesn't seem to make too much of a difference at least with me.

When I was first diagnosed I took fibercon, but that led to bad cramping and lots of extra BMs.  I'm not sure I am a high fiber kind of guy?

Thank you  for your suggestions