Help!

Hi everyone!  I joined HealingWell.com a few years ago when I was dx with Ulcerative Colitis.  Since May of 2007 - I can happily say I have been doing well.  Steriods didn't do much to put me in remission - so in Jan. 2007 my docs put me on 6MP and finally - in May of that year I was in remission and have been doing fantastic since!!

Here is what is going right now - since Wednesday of this past week - I have seen an increase in my UC symptoms.  My stool is loose (diarrhea), have had some abdominal pain (mostly after going to the bathroom - the spasms hurt!) and have been going to the bathroom anywhere from 2-4xs a day.  At this point - there is no blood - thank goodness.

I've had some pretty intense personal stress this week which I think has contributed to my worsening symptoms - but here is my question.  What do you do when you've been doing great and hit a speed bump - should I call my GI dr. Monday morning or should I try to "calm" the symptoms myself (changing diet, rest, relaxation, etc.)?????

I should note as well that I also have relapsing remitting MS and on that front have been doing well too.  My last MS relapase was about 14 months ago.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.  I'm really concerned I'm headed for another relapse with the UC (I was sooo sick the first time around and it took a long time to get everything under control) and want to do everything in my power to not go down that road again!

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Karen

Current meds for UC -

Asacal - 3 pills - 2xs a day

6MP - 2 50mg pills - 1x a day

2 Citracel fiber pills

Miralax - 2 doses - 1x a day

I would suggest seeing your doctor sooner rather than later. I had been doing very well, relatively speaking, until July. Things got worse, but not unbearable. I went in to see my doctor anyways, and he was glad I did. He made sure to tell me to not be afraid to call or come in, even if my symptoms are even just the slightest bit worse. I think it's important to be proactive rather than wait until things get out of hand.

Stress does definitely make life more difficult, and health harder to attain. I can't give much advice though, as I'd feel like a hypocrite!

Thanks for your replies.

Rpgdancer - I do have a couple of mouth sores right now and my stomach feels slightly distented. I had both of those before when I was first dx with UC. I really don't like going on steroids unless I have too...so I'm hoping things can calm down before that step is taken. Thanks for the yoga recommendation - I consistently swim 4-5 times a week which lately has been hard to fit in because of a bunch of things going on..you know..life. My GI doctor is convinced without a doubt that the swimming was a huge factor in my doing so well. I plan to get back to the pool this coming week.

Thoreau - I agree - I'm leaning more towards contacing my dr. than not. I would rather try and nip this in the bud than have it get out of hand.

Thanks to both of you for your advice and insight!!
Karen

See doctor immediately.   The longer you wait, the worse your flare up will become, the more severe your symptons will be, the higher the corrective dosages will be needed, and longer time to return to normal.

FYI it is my theory that ED can result from a number of different situations:  lowered testosterone production as a result of extended prednisone use, physical effect of discomfort and inflammation down there impacting your prostrate, lower blood pressure caused by azathioprine.

I just came off a 6 mo flare up after 10 yrs, first noticed some ED while on 40 mg/day of prednisone, problem went away once I tapered off of the pred, but is sneaking back for some reason currently on theraputic dose of azathioprene at 200 mg/day.  Very fit 46 yr old.  Love my wife dearly but this is killing me.   Been watching diet and laying of the social beers.  Will try getting back to the gym  and get back to running 6k once a week (its been about a yr) to boost up circulation and healthy BP.  Been subjected to lack of sleep lately due to business startups.  Hope I nip this hiccup in the bud soon.

Neverthe less, see doc asap.

 

I actually asked my doctor how to deal with these "speed bumps" at my last appointment, as I have finally finished a long taper off of prednisone and have definitely had some days where I've felt a bit off. She said that if the troublesome symptoms last for a week without relenting, then it's best to get in touch with her and then we would take action to figure out the source of the problem as soon as possible (the course of my disease was aggressive from the start, so she believes we need to treat it aggressively, as opposed to my first doctor who was extremely conservative). This mindset helps me because before my UC diagnosis, I've never really been majorly sick, so I tend to just kind of wait things out--which we all know, is not a good strategy for UC flare-ups. So it seems that by that measure, it would probably be good for you to get in touch with your doctor in the next day or so.

I can definitively say that stress makes my UC worse. Not that it's good that you've been stressed, but hopefully that is what's causing your symptoms. I agree with the others who have suggested yoga/exercise, lots of rest, and foods that are easy on your stomach. Thanks to Quincy, I can also vouch for the fact that rectal meds really, really help. I never thought I would be saying this about a suppository, but I absolutely love Canasa. I was amazed the first time I used it how much better I felt even after the one dose.

I hope that you have a restful day today and start feeling better very soon!