New Board Member Looking for Opinions on UC

Hello Everyone,

     I am a 29-year old male who has developed bowel problems within the past year. I recently saw a gastroenterologist, and she thinks that I have ulcerative colitis. I am having a colonoscopy on Jan 5th to confirm this diagnosis. It stinks, but I'll manage.

     I joined this board because I just wanted to people to talk with about the disease. Most people with healthy bowels do not find fecal urgency an appealing discussion topic. I would also like to know if board agree with the doctor's diagnosis based on my symptoms.

     For probably the past six years I have had small, intermittent amounts of blood after BM. 95% of the time it is just a few bright red drops, and it's never much more than that. This will happen every six to eight weeks for about a day and then disappear again. The doctor initially said it was just hemhorroids and I shouldn't worry about it.

     Then, this year, the fecal urgency developed. I would go from not having to go the bathroom to immediately having to go the bathroom. Waiting more than 10 minutes is usually not an option. Luckily, I have figured out how to predict when these instances will happen based on when I eat the previous day, so I can usually empty my bowels during the first two hours I am awake. But occasionally I get caught by surprise. I have had three accidents (and a bunch of near misses), two of which were luckily by myself . I have determined that the accidents are usually brought on by certain foods (pepperoni, sausage, Chinese food, prosciutto, deli meats), and this realization has helped immeasurably. I've also realized my intestinal motility is pretty haywire, and food passes through me in about 13-15 hours.

     Within the past two months I have had a persistent irritation just inside my rectum, I guess in the sigmoid colon area. Basically, I usually feel like I kind of have to go to the bathroom. Even small amounts of waste make my insides uncomfortable. This took some getting used to, but again since I have learned to predict my habits I have gotten around the problem somewhat. But it sure is annoying.

     Does all of this sound like UC? I relate to a lot of what people say on here, especially the panic. I'm hoping the disease can at least be managed. Having to get up 2 to 2.5 hours before leaving the house isn't great, but it's really not that bad, I guess. I am otherwise healthy, with no fevers, fatigue, anemia, or anything like that. My weight is steady and has been for years (6'0" 195).

     Thanks in advance for any responses. I'm really just trying to get as much information as I can so I can feel more in control.

     Happy New Year!

      

 

Wittgenstein, what you describe sounds very much like colitis, most likely ulcerative proctitis or colitis. I'd suggest avoiding those foods that you know cause you problems while you're waiting for the results of your colonoscopy.

Please do keep coming here, and browse through some of the posts. Also, the resource thread at the beginning has links to a lot of good information.

Hello! The sigmoid colon is above the rectum. You may have proctosigmoiditis, or just inflammation of the rectum-anal canal, but it's best to wait for the c-scope results to determine the nature of your problem. That's the "gold standard" for diagnosis pertaining to colon issues. If your weight has been stable and you feel generally well other than for the urgency & occasional sighting of blood, you likely have a mild form of UC, if that's what it is in fact. In the meantime, until diagnosis, you can try to minimize colon irritation by eliminating fatty and spicy foods and roughage, caffeine and other stimulants. (Several Forum members have posted that pepperoni is a no-no for them!) Good luck with your c-scope! / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

I am also a new member, however I have had colitis for 23 years. For me the #1 enemy is caffeine so avoid to much coffee, i can get away with 2 cups, also colas unless you go to caffeine free like me. Alcohol does not seem to bother me that much. Also avoid sodium nitrite which is in balogna, luncheon meats and bacon in large amounts. I can eat it only every second day. If you make sandwiches use something else. Just me, might not help you.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. The posts about the foods have been really helpful, and I have been looking into foods that are inflammatory and foods that are anti-inflammatory.

I'm trying to view this whole thing as kind of a blessing in disguise, because my diet was pretty much garbage a lot of the time before this happened. I've given up fast food, candy bars, Starbucks pastries, potato chips, processed deli meats - all stuff that was going to cause problems eventually even if this hadn't happened.

Another thing I left out is that my maternal grandmother and my maternal uncle both had/have colitis, so there is a genetic component present.

I really sympathize with the folks on here because I can tell that a lot of people have it much worse than I do. I'm glad I found this board because before I was pretty much alone with this problem, which has pretty firmly established itself in my life at this point.

You're absolutely right, Wittgenstein, about the blessing-in-disguise aspect. It's a big help to overall health when one eliminates junk foods from one's daily diet-- and BEFORE getting socked with high cholesterol readings and other bad lab reports. It sounds like you're taking a rational approach to the colon problem, the best way to proceed. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)