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Ulcerative Colitis and Possible Allergies

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/15/2011 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

I am a mom of a 14 year old girl that was diagnosed with u/c out of the blue last August.  Started off with stomach cramps, then diarhea, then blood in stool.  A colonoscopy in August confirmed UC.  She was put on Asacol with minimal success, did the prednisone and had a short period of relief.  She is now on Asacol and 6mp, it took forever to see any results but about a month ago her bowel movements went from 6-8 times a day to 3-4, diarhea still present but blood intermittant. 

Here is whats wierd....My daughter has always claimed that it is something about our house that is giving her UC.  She states that when she's at a  friends for the weekend she feels better.   At the time of her symptons we were in the midst of a 95 percent home remodel which included  an addition, and the destruction of the majority of our house.  Pretty much we were down to just the studs, which then required sheetrock, insulation, painting etc.  We lived in a small portion of the house when this was being done.

A week ago my daughter went to Arizona for spring break.  When she left she was still having three or four bm's a day.  Throughout her visit down there she told me that she was only having 1 bm per day and they were normal.  I asked her about her eating habits down there and she said she was eating anything and everything, from b-que to Taco Bell.  Happy kid let me tell you!  She returned yesterday...Within a 1/2 hour of being home she was in the bathroom.  Through out the day she went four or five more times.  I asked her if they were normal in appearance and she said yes....but after looking a the condition of the toilet rim that tells me another story :(   Im not sure of how long normal lasted (she hates talking about it) yesterday but its obvious that the diarhea is back.  So my question is...has anyone heard of something like this relating to UC? 

We considered the pets (we have 4 and had them way prior to UC), but so did the people she stayed with in AZ.   She is so frustrated, understandably so... We are at a loss..the coindences are many.

Thanks for any input

rkar

Posted 4/15/2011 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
How about stress? I don't want you to think that I'm saying your daughter's illness is "all in her head," but all of us with IBD will tell you that stress exacerbates our illness. Having just finished a home remodel and suffered the IBD consequences, I can tell you that the activities you described above (destruction of the majority of your house, for example) are stressful. Vacation in Arizona? Not so much. On the other hand, travelling is hard on the gut even for healthy people, so it's not surprising that she had a relapse when she got home.
Posted 4/15/2011 9:37 PM (GMT 0)
Does she immediately feel better after being out of the home for just 1 night ? Or does it take several days out of the home for the symptoms to go away ?

Have you had your home checked for mold ? There could be a connection to the construction. It's really hard to say.
Posted 4/15/2011 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
Gosh, what an interesting pattern.

I do notice, for what its' worth, that when I go away for a weekend my frequency will change, sometimes dramatically. And often for the better.
I figure it's the change in foods, water intake, activity levels.... and maybe the R&R.

I've also noticed, absolutely every time, that when we get home from vacation, we all run for the bathrooms for BMs - my UC son and I are first, but usually the other family members are soon to follow.

As MomUC says, I'd get the house checked for mold.... and are you on city water or well water? I'm not usually a "there's something in the water" person, but it might be worth a test.

Teens are tricky, in regard to asking them about the state of the stools. Are you familiar with the Bristol Stool chart? Although it doesn't cover all the possibilities we have in UC, like blood and mucus, it might facilitate easier communication ("Are you having Type 4 today...?")

Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_feces#Bristol_Stool_Chart
Posted 4/25/2011 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
My doctor said he notices a pattern, when the seasons change from fall to winter & then winter to spring he sees a huge increase of patients w/ flare-ups & admittance into the hospital for UC. He recently has had me start to take an antihistimine to see if this will help my flare from worsening (although I think this recommendation came too late). So according to my docs hypothesis it would make sense if something is "activating" or "irritating" your daughters allergies & therefore possibly triggering her UC.

Also, I agree w/ the others. I typically have less bm's when on vacation or at a different place. I think it has something to do w/ being around a new enviroment & maybe not as comfortable & also the increase of activity level to keep your mind off of things.
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