Sooo....how are we today?

Thanks for your kind thoughts Old Hat. I go in on the 28th for the game plan talk with my two dentists/surgeons regarding my two latest implants. Hoping it goes as smoothly as last time and as yours did. :)

I'm gradually moving past the denial stage. Was diagnosed w/UP in Jan after bleeding for 2 mo. It took about 3-4 weeks of Canasa for the bleeding to stop. I continued taking it a week or so after that, stopping in late Feb.

I saw the images from the colonoscopy done in January, and frankly the red patches weren't very dramatic. That, combined with reading on this site about the serious issues people have with UC, led me to conclude my case was pretty mild. The PA agreed at my last appt, and agreed it was reasonable for me to stop taking Canasa & see how things went.

I don't want to have a chronic condition. I have several int'l trips coming up later this year and I don't need the inconvenience. I like to be able to say I don't take any medication, while so many other people my age need bp & cholesterol & other medications. I'm really very healthy! I imagine this is a pretty common reaction when people receive a UC diagnosis -- just denial, really.

So, after stopping the Canasa, I would see occasional blood on the stool. (But I eat lots of tomato-ey foods. Probably just tomato residue, not blood, right? I would tell myself.) In late March, I started seeing it on the TP again, so over the next 2-3 weeks, I started using Canasa again but wasn't very consistent about it, I probably used it 16 times over 23 days. Then I stopped taking it again.

From mid-April to early June, things were pretty good. Oh sure, I'd see blood streaks on the stool some days, but there was none on the TP so I ignored it. Then about 2 weeks ago I started seeing a lot of blood with every bm, on the stool & TP, and it's really more than there was even during those first 2 months before I was diagnosed. So as of about 5 days ago, I am back to religiously taking the Canasa every night. (But geez, $140 for Canasa, after my insurance covers their share? I'm too cheap to pay that every month for the rest of my life!)

I've been lucky that I've never had diarrhea at all, & instead tend toward constipation, so I think that means the bleeding is confined to the rectum. But the last couple of weeks, the bleeding seems worse than it was originally. I'm more tired, there's more blood, there are more less-than-productive bowel movements (blood, mucus, but only a little bit of stool), there's more bloating. It is worrying me. I'll probably head back to see the GI if the bleeding get under control in the next few weeks. I know I should feel lucky that my symptoms are still much milder than what many of you here are facing.

Yes I like this thread. I cried half way down because I know I am not alone and wished that no of us has to go through this crap, but this is the card we are delt and we dealing with it :) and when we are all fixed up we'll be twice as healthy as we were before this all began! 

Last week was so bad! Today a great morning! Started L Theronine four nights ago so we'll see if that's helping me improve over the next few days and nights.

I didn't make it to see my dad yesterday for Father's Day, they live almost three hours away but we had a friend (a veteran) over for dinner. He can barely hear so it was a lot of loud talking at dinner! It was comical! I made turkey burgers (Jenny O) mac and cheese and potatoes. I don't normally have starch or gluten but he really liked the gut sticking food and I sent him home with a plate and other goodies. He said if I hadn't stopped by and invited him over for Father's Day he wouldn't have done anything, his daughter never came to visit. Writing that makes me cry. No vet should ever be alone, period. They should always have medical and benefits for life!

So I had a very rewarding day for myself, it felt good to give. I wish I was rich, like really rich so I could hand out hundred dollar bills to people I know and people I don't. I dream of just being a secret santa all year long. Just to make someone's day, every day, I don't think seeing someone smile or crying tears of joy for you helping them, would ever get boring. Because I would be crying myself, so happy GOD Blessed me with enough money to help others. I just would love to give it all away. How fricken fun would that be? I don't dream of the stuff I would buy, I think of tipping a waiter/waitress huge, helping a single parent, giving someone medical help, fixing someone teeth, buying someone a bicycle, getting someone a new roof on their house, free heat for the winter, little things that would mean so much. 

Sherbear-- No impression as yet. That's what I'm going to ask the dentist about after hygiene session on the 28th. As I wrote above, some recent dental lit says they can make the crown BEFORE the abutment gets placed on the rod, which shortens the whole process by about 3 weeks. The surgeon doesn't want to deal with my abutment 'til Oct.-- so if the dentist can make the crown in the meantime I'd be glad to get that part done & paid for. BTW, with your past implant did you have to wait for crown after the abutment was added? It seems to me that surgeon will have to make another cut into my gum to expose the top of the rod so that abutment can be added. Maybe they wait to place the crown after the gum heals around the abutment (?) All I'm really sure of is that the surgeon told me the whole implant process only goes fast in cases where a very long rod can be implanted!!!!! (Since my premolar site is right below the sinus, he had to implant the shortest available rod-- which gives me a longer wait for abutment & crown.) So good luck to us in getting these projects finished!!!!! / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Oops-dang iPad.

EleventySeven-I had the denial too. I'm sure we all did to a certain extent. And you need to take your own time in coming to terms with this, but please get all of the information you can on this disease. I didn't. And when I got into my first remission, I went off my meds, not knowing what a huge mistake that was. Every flare after that was worse. Unfortunately you do have a chronic illness, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to learn to manage it now. It will cost you money you didn't want to spend, and your life will be different than it was before, but it doesn't have to be worse all of the time. Hang in there...

Congratulations on your new daughter, Supa! You could get extra use out of the little girl clothes, too. (LOL) / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Thank you oldhat!! Yes, lol, we have a sea of pink in this house!! Some of these outfits have gotten a loooooot of wear!! My poor husband...he is so screwed, lol. Glad to see you are currently doing well!

I'm not so great today. My first colonoscopy was last Thursday and I was diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis so now I'm taking Salofalk 1000mg suppositories nightly. I seem to have even more problems than before. I have lower abdominal cramps, constipation, gas, and just general tiredness. There is also blood on the toilet paper and in the stool still. It's only been five nights of the Salofalk so I don't want to stress it too much. The problem is I only know how to stress. I'm finding it hard to look forward to the appointment with the specialist in 4 weeks if I'm already feeling lousy. Can anyone recommend easy to digest foods? I've been just having bread, croissants, fish, perogies, bananas, and other things if I feel hungry enough. I might go a doctor tomorrow to just get a blood test done or something... Feeling especially bad during night since everyone goes to sleep and I just sit around on my computer or lay in bed waiting to fall asleep.

That plantar fasciitis is a humdinger isn't it Judy??? I suffer from that as well and those first steps in the morning are killer!

Everyone that is still flaring - hang in there! I know that when we are hurting that we want to get better NOW but please remember that patience is the key to healing. I hope that you all get these flares under control quickly!