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my worse flare up! help me!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/1/2011 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
Its been three weeks now! I started on 30mg of steroids, 12 asacol, rowasa at night and canasa in the am. A week ago the doctor uped the steroids to 60mg. Which is where I am at currently and not getting any better! He also told me to go on a liquid diet over the weekend and now I am afraid to eat anything! I am still having urgency, blood, and mucus. I wake up and have to go at least twice during the night and the mornings are the worse. Any suggestions would be great. I am starting to lose hope of getting any better. Wahhaa... redface
Posted 6/1/2011 10:25 PM (GMT 0)
I would do the chicken soup with white rice diet until things calm down.
Posted 6/1/2011 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
Bananas, white rice, applesauce and toast, and only water to drink.. hope you feel better soon!
Posted 6/2/2011 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
How long have you bee on 60mg? I hate to say it but it seems like if you're on a high dose and you bump up to a higher dose, it seems to take longer to improve. When I was on 15mg and flaring moderately, I bumped up to 40mg and it took a good 10 days before I had improvement. I was really thinking the worst.

I wonder why they started you at 30mg instead of 40mg? 40mg seems to be the regular starting point.
Posted 6/2/2011 9:13 AM (GMT 0)
Considering you've had NO improvement at all, maybe you should insist on getting stool samples done to check for c.difficile. The symptoms would be the same and would definitely exacerbate your flare symptoms.

Welcome to the forum.

q
Posted 6/2/2011 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
i got tested for c diff and it was neg!

I think the doc started me at a low dose because I have never had a flare this bad and he thought a small dose would make it go away. But its been 9 days since I started the higher dose and still not looking any better!

I am drinking ensure for breakfast and eating some saltines and chicken noodle soup. I am wondering if since I am not eating anything I wont see anything good in the bathroom. Is this right to think?
Posted 6/2/2011 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a bad flare right now, Cupcake777.

I was hospitalized recently for almost a week with my hard flare.

It may be just with me but when I'm having a flare, drinking Ensure makes me worse with the diarrhea(blood and mucous) and causes me some bloating. If you don't have any problems with it then it's great. My doctor ordered me Ensure Plus 4x a day at the hospital for the extra calories but I felt that I wasn't getting much out of it.

I was still going around 10 times a day with HIGH dose IV-steroids and thought about stop drinking Ensure and eating other artificial foods. Within the few days, they helped me a lot. And 60mg of Prednisone a day wasn't doing me much until I really changed my diet. I'm not saying I'm in remission now but # of BMs have decreased by 3-4 and bleeding stopped.
Also not saying that Ensure is the main culprit why you're not seeing any improvements but just want you to be careful with artificial/synthetic ingredients added food because you may be able to get out of this flare faster :)

And add them back in slowly when you're in remission.
Posted 6/2/2011 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
I once had a flare where oral pred did little to help. I only got better from I.V. Steroids. I wonder if it was because stuff was just flying through my system, and I just wasn't absorbing enough of the oral steroids.

I agree about avoiding ensure. I believe it is dairy based, and dairy doesn't agree with me when I am flaring. I found a drink that was soy based and that seemed to not bother me.
Posted 6/2/2011 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Did they do stool tests? I've heard the results can often be a false negative. I hope they took more tha none sample.
Posted 6/2/2011 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hello

I am just coming off a flare like yours, it started in Dec just before christmas. I can't say I did anything special but I feel your pain with the urgency. I promise it will get better but it may take some time. Personally I am not too fond of how much mesalamine you are taking. I was on that much (asacol, enemas and suppositories) and it gave me pancrea*** (although my gastro disagrees) but I removed 1 of them (the enemas) and it went away.

I have found that asacol take a bit of time to kick in. I had my recent flare becasue I stopped taking everything. I found that what the Gastro had me on was too high so i lowered it and life was grand! No D and everything was nice and formed. When the flare started I began slowly with like 1 asacol at night and 1 in the morning, and then inched my way up. I am currently taking 3 and 3. Things are settling down and much much less urgency.

But it has been at least 6 months

Posted 6/15/2011 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
I also agree that doing the BRAT diet will do the most to help with the flare up. I am in my first flare up and am eating mostly white toast, applesauce, lots of white steamed rice, and somewhat ripe bananas. I have been placed on steroids for the first time while also taking 12 colazal tablets per day and using whelchol to help form stools. To be honest, I think the diet is helping more than the meds right now but have only been on prednisone for two days so am hoping for relief. I am on it for 2 months. I am also taking probiotics to help with the bloating and gas. I eat the chewable tablet and eat acitivia yogurt which my GI guy suggests. I brought my own flare up by lowering my dose of colazal. I will never play doctor again. He said that the dose I was taking was ineffective and once it was gone from my system I got such a flare up.
Good luck and do try the diet. On bad days I have toast for breakfast with half a banana and applesauce. My lunch and dinner will contain rice and applesauce. It may take a day before you see a change but it does lower my trips to the john.
Posted 6/16/2011 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone,

I am brand new to this chat. I am so happy I have found people who share my pain. Right now I feel like screaming and yelling at my doctor. One of those times I am completely doubting her. I have had UC since 2005. For the most part after I was diagnosed and got things under control I have been fine. I take 30mg of methotrexate once a week and receive IV treatment (Remicade) every six weeks. Had a flare in December 2010. Colonoscopy in Jan 2011. Everything came back negative/normal. Got things back under control. Have had 2 flares since then treated with prednisone. Am currently having a flare, and the Dr wants to do another colonoscopy. In my mind I'm thinking "hell no." Seems like a waste of money, agony over the prep (which I HATE), etc. So sorry if I am venting right now. I'm sure many of you can relate. I just wish I could get back to normal. I love running outside, yet haven't been able to much lately for fear of needing the bathroom. Have had to go inside. Oh and the last 3 days in order to wake up somewhat normal and not be in the bathroom 20+ times I've been taking a 1/2 Immodium (anti-diarehea) at night. Yet, I'm still going a few times. And I'm bloated and backed up. ugh

 

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