general wel being

Dear All, I've not had a full blown flare for over a year. I do owe many of you for advice and support. While this is good, I don't seem to feel well most of the time. Firstly, I get horrible 24-36-hour headaches about twice a month. Second, I feel quite stiff all over - recently I couldn't raise my leg and swing it over to sit on a scooter! Third, there is the depression which could be from the the general lack of wellness.

Is this common to UCers?

Best regards to you all

Teacher

Um, the stiffness kind of concerns me.

m-dot, I take ibuprofen on occassion, but not while I'm flaring, and I'm fine. But we're all different. If it doesn't bother you I'd say just use it sparingly.

ElephantPipe, why does the stiffness raise alarm bells? Should I speak to my GP about this? Just having to go to the doctors each time is exhausting in itself.
I was under the impression that Ibuprofen (motrin, etc) is a no-no for the gut and can cause bleed by itself (I've experienced that). Haven't tried aspirin because of the acidity. Have been using Tylenol, but there's the danger of overdosing and long term liver damage (I hear that UCers are especially susceptible to that given all the medications we ingest).
Regards,
Teacher

You need to figure out the cause of headache. I get every 3rd day and current suspicion is Azathiprine. I have got Neuroconsult next week to see alls good with my brain. I take Neproxen for the same and it works like charm but the worse part is I flare. None other has helped, tried Pracetamol 1gm 4X a day, Diclofenac potassium 25mg 3X a day.

I don't have your second symptom.

Third symptom, yes, I do have that but its partly due to my family issues and extra ordinary level of stress, plus overall utter dissatisfaction with my work.

Do you exercise? It is a wonderful cure for all those symptoms.

And I agree, you should check for Lyme Disease, check that off the list.

I wanted to add that I take Aleve for my back pain and stiffness because, well, it can be debilitating and Aleve works really well for me (along with ice). I take it every day when I've stressed it, but otherwise just when I can tell I've overdone it with golf or gardening. I don't think it made my UC worse. You have to balance the pros and cons.

Its a really strange disease. I try to workout every day. I stopped taking everything but D3 injections and whole food plus fiber pills and its like I dont have UC anymore but one never knows.

I would keep looking for other problems and do a lot of bloodwork, I did a massive amount which was actually a good price at $1500.00 and was shocked to get a check last week apparently the Dr. got the insurance company to pay for it. This work was done over 9 months ago and I still go back and read thru it to see if it clicks with anything I am researching. My D3 was very low, it seems to help bypassing the oral pills.

Keep looking.

Have you checked the Forum on Migraines-Headache? Since you're getting long-lasting headaches on a regular basis it's no wonder you feel depressed. You really need to pursue the reason for this. Does your blood pressure usually test o.k.? / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)