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First flare in over a year..It's different this time : /

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/17/2010 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone. So I was flare-free for over year(very nice hah) but last week it started up a little slow. This flare has been different though because I have not had many bowl movements, just a lot of nausea, abdominal pains and the feeling of gas traveling around my ribs, back & abdominal area. There was one day last week where I did have about 4-5 bowls throughout the day and there was a couple drops of blood, so now I'm back on prednisone. This morning I woke up to a painful gas feeling traveling around my ribs & back, I went to the toilet to try and have a bowl and just 1 little drop of blood came out and all the pain went away. Does this sound like a serious flare I'm having? I'm used to the flare that has a lot of bowl movements & not much pain around my back, ribs & abdominal area. I'm out of town right now & got checked out by a GI yesterday an he told me to contact my GI and have another colonoscopy. I had one a little over 2 years ago. What do yall think? Thanks.
Posted 12/17/2010 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
What all other meds are you on, and what dose of pred?

I would call your GI when you get back home.
Posted 12/17/2010 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone started at 20mg a day + sulfasalazine wich I've never took before but the GI said I should stay on so I'm trying it out.
Posted 12/17/2010 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
So you've not been on any maintenance meds at all? Even when in remission, UCers should be on some sort of medication to help prevent future flares. I've been in remission over a year and a half, and I am still on meds.

Personally, I wouldn't have started you on pred for this flare, but oh well. I think it would have been better for you to have started on sulfasalazine (or some other oral med, like Asacol) plus a mesalamine enema.
Posted 12/17/2010 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't call it anywhere a serious flare...certainly not in the realm of needing prednisone.

You sound so defeated that you're on it. Call the doc and ask for a mesalamine enema such as Rowasa if yo're in the US...Salofalk if you're in Canada.

q
Posted 12/17/2010 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
yes, seems like a drastic step to have gone on prednisone. Make sure you get off as soon as possible and have all the back up meds to take you through the pred taper and out of the flare.
Posted 12/17/2010 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
starting @ 20mg a day doesn't seem like a big deal to me when I've been @ 60mg a day. My last flare I did the same thing and it was gone with-in a week. I just don't like the idea of taking meds daily when in remission. "fruitgirl" this GI did prescribe sulfasalazine so i will continue taking that. I took asacol in the past and it worked for a couple months then stopped working.
Posted 12/17/2010 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
My question was to clarify if you were on meds when you were in remission, not if you are on meds now. If you take meds when you're in remission, you'll have longer periods of time between flares, especially if you add mesalamine enemas to the mix. Studies show that those who use them twice weekly in addition to oral meds stay in remission for longer than those who only use oral meds.
Posted 12/17/2010 6:05 PM (GMT 0)
Please take those maintenance meds while in remission, whatever seems to work.
Posted 12/17/2010 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
thanks everyone. i will take my next remission more serious. i was never on any meds during remission for a year.
Posted 12/17/2010 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with the others. I understand 20mg is not a high dose of prednisone but I would always opt for other treatments if possible. Prednisone is evil! I would have tried the rectal meds and 5ASAs before going to prednisone. Gas, a little drop of blood and a bit of increased frequency doesn't sound too severe to me but it could progress to a much worse flare up if not treated. It could have also gone the other way and healed without such aggressive treatment. I hope you're feeling better soon!
Posted 12/18/2010 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
fruitgirl. Do you think I should ask my dr. about enemas during this flare? I have only had 2 bm's with blood in the past 2 weeks and at the most 4 soft bms and a bit of diarrhea 2 days in the past 2 weeks since diagnosis on 11/29?
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