Is this possible?

I'm wondering the same thing. Has anyone ever just had one flare up and then nothing ever again?

Yes, it's possible for it to go into remission for years and years. But go away, nope sorry - as of now there is no cure....unless you were misdiagnosed in the first place. There are types of colitis that mimics Uc and can go away with time, but unlike Uc where there is "ulcerations", these other types of colitis normally do not have ulcerations. Uc is an auto immune condition and until they find a way to cure the wacky immune response, there is no cure unfortunately.

I was in remission for almost four solid years without one symptom. I believe, personally, that UC is my "Weakness" and any time I'm stressed, really sick or otherwise, my UC will always be the thorn in my side (or my colon!). Some people's arthritis acts up, some people get heart palpitations, I get a flare. Its my body's way of sending me a message, then turning OFF that message is the hard part. If I can have 3 out of every 4 years of total 100% eat whatever I want feel great no symptoms, no pills health, then one year of meds and feeling like crap, I really consider myself one of the lucky ones. Good luck to you!

Capt Chuck,

It is possible to have a single flare and never have another. When I was in medical school, the statistics at that time coming from our department of Gastroenterology at UCSF was 10-15%. 10-15% of individuals will have a single flare and never experience another. Ulcerative Colitis is still a poorly understood disease in many respects. There is debate still as to whether it is truly an autoimmune disease despite often being classified as such. I have learned the very important lesson as a physician to not purport that I or any of my colleagues truly understand the workings of the human body. There is so much that we don't know and discoveries that change the basic practice of medicine. For example, gastric and duodenal ulceration were discovered to be caused by a bacterium, H. Pylori. This was not discovered until technological advances allowed for this level of discovery. The same could be true for ulcerative colitis. We may one day isolate a specific type of bacteria that can be linked to the development of Ulcerative Colitis. Know that the human body is amazing and is capable of healing itself and is certainly possible that a single flare will never be followed by another.

Thanks for your thoughts.
I truly believe Napacaps theories on the human body---even though my GI has good intentions, I will not go through another round of colonoscopies ever again.
I'll take my chances now that I have control of my stress and understand what lead me to this one flare / breakdown.

If I told you the entire history of HOW it first came about, the naysayers would come out of the closet!!haha

I'll just point to the state of Ca. and let you figure it out for yourself.
There IS medicine that will help you get to this point---it is just hugely misunderstood.

I know a nurse who had a 25 year remission and then flared and lost her colon due to the severity of the flare. UC is unpredictable at best. I would never wager a bet on it.

Sue

I believe if you can find the root cause(s) of your IBS/UC, you can successfully manage it so you never have another major flare. I suffered off and on with IBS for several years before a round of antibiotics touched off my UC. I spent over a year in a miserable flare, but gradually learned what worked for me to control symptoms and rebalance my gut ecology. Since that initial flare, I've had one minor flare about three years back that was quickly controlled with a short course of pred. It's been smooth sailing since then, but it has required ongoing healthy supplements, lifestyle and dietary changes. If I went back to my old "normal" way of eating and mistreating my body, I'm sure I'd have another flare.