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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/8/2011 4:14 AM (GMT 0)
I had a sinus infection in early August that required a lot of antibiotics to get rid of, which subsequently led to me getting intense pain under my ribs, and eventually I ended up in the hospital. My WBC doubled the normal rate and a Catscan showed inflammation near my terminal ileum. The doctor suggested I may have been misdiagnosed with UC when I infact have Crohn's.

I don't know about that, I do know that I didn't have blood in my stool when I went to the hospital. about a week after I got out, I started having some flare up symptoms. Mind you, I had to be on Cipro and Flagel to get rid of the inflammation that put me in the hospital. This flare-up, which i'm guessing has been caused by antibiotics or something, has been pretty bad by my standards. I've had UC for 5 years, only have occasional summer flareups, and 2 Lialda daily pretty much keep me in remission most of the year. I think I only have Proctitis.

My question would be if I've had significant blood in my stool for 5 days and Lialda isn't working do you think my doctor will put me on prednizone? The lialda isn't working really, would it be ok to up my dose to 4 a day? Also can medications trigger really bad UC flare ups? Any help is appreciated.
Posted 9/8/2011 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
Ask your doctor if you can up your Lialda to 4 a day. You can also ask about rectal meds. The mesalamine enemas work wonders for many of us here. They are especially good at treating inflammation in the rectum so they would probably benefit you. They aren't as bad as they may seem. There are also suppositories.

What do you usually do when you have your summer flare-ups to get them under control?

I feel for you being on the Flagyl. I just had to take a round of it a couple weeks ago and that is the nastiest antibiotic ever made.

Is the inflammation near your terminal ileum gone now? Are they going to do a scope to check if you have Crohn's? Mention all this to your GI doctor if he is not aware.

Yes, antibiotics can trigger flare-ups. Usually, flagyl wouldn't though because it's used to treat parasites and other stuff in the intestines (it's used to treat crohn's too). I don't know about Cipro. A lot of people have problems with the "-cillin" (amoxicillin, penicillin, etc) antibiotics causing flares. I'm fine with them but I know others have issues.

And welcome to the forum. :)
Posted 9/8/2011 5:38 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks. Yea, my Dr's appt. isn't too far away and I anticipate being scoped in the near future. Usually my flare-ups will clear up with my medication, this one just seems particularly nasty, because I probably still have some upper abdominal issue that hasn't been resolved. I didn't learn much from my hospital stay, maybe I do have Crohn's, I guess I'll find out. I think there's a strong chance all the azithromycin i took caused all this because it was a really stubborn sinus infection and they put me on two courses of it.

My WBC count returned to normal before i was released but they never did another scan to see if the inflammation was gone. I think its back or it never went away. Hopefully my GI can figure something out where I don't end up in the hospital again.
Posted 9/8/2011 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
After months of doing great, I have a day of dairy on Monday - milkshake, cream on my pie, cheese pizza, etc etc.. had a bad day tuesday, decent day wednesday and today about the same. Massive Probiotics have helped (or have they? Also, I went to no wheat or dairy on Tuesday and things got better. Trying to stay of medicine from doctors, it appears to me they don't work, other than short term. That's no solution. IF you do go on prednisone, just do it one day, 70 mg, stop it cold.
Posted 9/8/2011 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
4 Lialda is the maximum amount you can take and I would be taking it if I was flaring. 2 pills is my maintenance dose. I agree that the enemas would also be beneficial to you.
Posted 9/8/2011 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
I think you should up the Lialda to 4/day and add a nightly mesalamine enema before you use prednisone.
Posted 9/8/2011 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
baconeggsyum, I've never heard of anyone taking a massive dose (70mg) of prednisone for one day only (stopping cold). Can you enlighten me as to what the benefits are from this short sharp shock of steroids?

I'm not having a pop at you, I'm genuinely interested.
Posted 9/8/2011 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to hear you are seeing your GI soon. Let us know what he says.
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