My story

Hi all, I don't think I've shared this yet but here it goes.

I noticed a rumbling in which I thought was my stomach around November 2007. So I'm thinking hey I didn't eat breakfast so I get a bowl of cereal and *** the rumbling gets worse. I go to work and OMG my stomach was making sounds that sounded like I was passing gas. I then feel the urge to go the bathroom and omg slimy white stuff with blood is coming out of me. I go back to my desk and feel the urge to go again, so I'm thinking I must've got food poisoning or something. That whole day I was running to the bathroom and asked to go home. At home the symptoms did not cease and remained the same for a week. I was bringing cereal and milk to work and eating it like it was going to make me feel better, but no it was getting worse. I then thought, this is not going to go away so I went to see my doctor, then a GI and what do you know I have UC. My GI puts me on rectal meds since I have left-sided UC, suppositories and enemas. I felt a little better but didn't feel normal until I was put on Asacol.

Asacol has worked for me. I felt so much better after only 1 day 4x3 (around January), and went into remission (March). I reduced down to 3x2 a day around June and was feeling great. I felt so good that for my daughter's 3rd bday (August), we drove down to Disneyland, which is an 8 hr drive from where I live (OMG right). We made 1 stop, and that was to eat lunch. I felt normal, I was so happy that I was able to spend time with my family and not in the bathroom. The 3 days we spent there at the park, the only time I went to the bathroom was to use the urinal. In September I played some flag football, I felt as if I never had a disease and no one would've thought that I had one, with the way I was playing (I scored 4 touchdowns). So now I was thinking OK I am all better, but about a month ago I started to flare and I am still trying to fight it. I started taking Pred and feel a little better. A couple of days ago I broke down in front of my wife and daughter because I feel like can't be the husband or father that I need to be and it just kills me.

Most of us know exactly where you are coming from. Having Uc can definately be a bummer that's for sure. I am an eternal optimist but even I can get thrown for a loop when my Uc flares. I try to live in the now and not think about the future UNLESS I am flaring. When I am in remission, I keep the thought that I still have Uc in the back of my mind but I don't let it control my everyday thought. And when I am flaring, I remember the times that I was in remission and think forward to the time that I will feel better again. That is how I cope with having this. Hang in there and welcome to Healingwell.