Hoppin on the bandwagon. :/

Hi..welcome to the forum!

what meds did the doc put you on?

What's the extent of your UC...with the constipation you mention I'll assume it's limited to the rectum.

What other symptoms are you having?

Regarding diet...it's pretty subjective. Low fibre...hmmm, again subjective. Eat for comfort...meaning not many foods that will cause you lots of gas.

Probiotics would be better than yogurt...at least for me. Yogurt causes me lots of gas/discomfort. I take my probiotics at bedtime

Fibre supplements are a good idea...I use metamucil capsules with meals.

For you...you'll have to find what agrees...we're all different regarding food.

quincy

Thanks for the responses.

4 years, I know, is an awfully long time. Although, I was an ignorant, high-school girl at the time and was, quite frankly, pretty scared to mention it to anyone. (but i did.) I spoke to two physicians during that time who both told me that I probably just had a tear. (I have issues with milk and possibly gluten, so I am often bloated/constipated- which could have caused an ongoing fissure?) They told me to take Miralax, but I focused on changing my diet to a very high fiber diet, which helped me go to the bathroom at least. Finally, I went back to the doctor and said the jig's up- something is not right. Symptoms: I experienced constant bleeding throughout that time- sometimes minor, sometimes pretty severe. But persistent. Anyways, then I did have to wait several months to see a GI.

The doctor mentioned that the inflammation was located on the rectum (8 cms, which classifies as proctitis from what I've learned) but he also said that it is on the very upper part of my colon. I believe that he said it was mild, but I am just waiting to hear from him to schedule another appointment/get my biopsy results.

He did not give me any medication yet, but I suppose I will have an appointment within the next couple weeks. (I am an out-of-state college student, so I will be leaving for the week of Thanksgiving.)

Do you have any suggestions on medications? I mean, I know everyone is different- but I definitely don't want to end up with something that gives me awful side effects. I can re-update when I find out what is prescribed.

Notsosicklygirl, is your exhaustion from your UC?

Thanks

Ah, if your cecum and rectum are affected, please make SURE you're on both oral and rectal meds. the 5ASAs would be the place to start....and I'd suggest the retention enemas rather than the suppositories, especially since your cecum is involved.

q

Hey, MNorthernlight, I have two comments. You should definitely be able to keep running. If you're feeling good, keep running. I used to jog five or six days a week and I have scaled it back just a little.

Also, I was very much like you-2.5 years of symptoms before getting them checked. I did mention it to my primary care doc and he kept saying it was a tear or an internal hemmie; all in all nothing to be concerned about. I still regret listening to him and feeling young & invincible and also embarrassed, but hey, that's the past now for both of us I guess.

I can actually connect my two comments about jogging and letting symptoms linger based on bad advice-this doc lives on my street and sometimes when I jog in the afternoon he is on his way home and I always have the urge make a mean gesture or throw something :D

Thanks for the advice.

For medications, why is the Asacol considered "a curse for others?"

Also, I have looked into SCD, and it seems to make sense. Although, an extremely difficult task when on a college meal plan. Oh well, health is a lot more important than money in the end so I will just have to hit up the grocery store more often. It seems difficult, though, to not only limit gluten intake but rice, oats, etc. Getting enough carbs does seem like a difficult task on this diet, though thankfully they allow fruit. Ironwoman, I'm glad to hear that things have gotten better for you- almond muffins sound awesome, and good for you for doing the half marathon!

Levi, after "scaling back a little" for running have your symptoms gotten better? I just wonder if there's a correlation between the two. On average I would say I also run 6 days a week.

Thanks so much!

Hi and welcome.

I think that with diet, your best bet is to see if the meds work first (because if you modify diet at the same time, you won't know if it's the meds or the diet making things better), and go from there. I just kept eating as I had been after I was diagnosed, but I was eating pretty bland, low-fiber stuff to be easy on the gut. Once I got in remission, I was going to keep a food journal if I noticed occasional symptoms, but I haven't. I've been in remission for a year and a half now, and am doing really well.

If your doc doesn't prescribe mesalamine retention enemas, definitely ask about them.

If Asacol works, it's great. Works great for me. Brother and sister have had times when it served them well, other times not so much. It's not steroidal so it can produce less severe side effects.

Cost is one of the big curses to Asacol, and I've recently gone Canadian.

Lialda's active ingredient is Mesalamine, which is also in Asacol and Apriso. Asacol was the first mesalamine drug developed; Apriso and Lialda are "newcomers." Bascially, the only difference in them is their delivery system (how they break down in your colon). I guess call your doc and mention that you've never taken Aspirin. My guess is they'll probably have you go ahead and take it, since you have no idea if you have an Aspirin allergy. FWIW, I can't take Aspirin b/c it tears up my gut (gives me diarrhea), but I have no problems with mesalamine drugs. However, the diarrhea I get is a sensitivity and not a true allergy.

Mesalamine really helped/helps me a lot. I just about got into remission with Asacol and mesalamine enemas, but got a tummy bug from my son that threw me back into the flare. So I ended up using a relatively quick course of prednisone to get into remission. I've since switched to Apriso, and it and a mesalamine enema twice weekly has kept me in remission.

You may want to consider asking your doctor about enemas. They'll do a lot to heal the lower portion of your colon that the Lialda might not reach. Studies show that patients who use them in addition to oral meds fair better than those who only use oral meds. It's not really as bad as you might think to use them, either.