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Blood and mucous but still remission?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/13/2012 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
I know this question has been asked 100s of times before, but is it possible to have a little bit of blood and some nasty mucous in formed stool but still be going into remission? I've been doing pretty well the past week or so - upped my dose of Imuran to 150mg about 2 weeks ago after the blood test showed I didn't have the right amount in my system to help my UC.  I've been stuck on 15mg of Prednisone for about a month now and am supposed to go down to 10mg this Wednesday. I was so looking forward to finally reducing it!  My stools are usually formed (with a few 'in-betweens' now and then) and pretty regular during the day - 1 in the morning and 1 at night.  But this morning I noticed a bit of pink and some pretty nasy mucous in the last stool that came out. I haven't really had 'bleeding' since January when I started the flare-up.  I suppose there could be some blood in the stool now and then but its hard to 'inspect' it each time and for the most part it usually looks good!  But I do feel pressure in my rectum and some burning in my left side these days.

I'm so depressed about it, I thought I was getting better!  I barely wanted to go to work this morning as all I could think about was how can I possibly not be getting better after all these drugs?  Sigh....

I don't want to call my doctor as I swear I feel like I'm bothering them with all my calls.

 

Posted 8/13/2012 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry that you're feeling bad today.

I'd say the flare is coming back slightly. But thankfully you have formed bm which means it's easy to control at this time. Better act now before it's getting too bad again.

I feel like I'm bothering my doctors as well. But you have to call them. It's your health.

All the best.
Posted 8/13/2012 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear. That's happened to me numerous times! It's so frustrating BUT since you are seeing early signs, bust out all the ammo and fight back HARD. Avoid all triggers, be diligent with diet and herbs and meds. Maybe try acupuncture and massage therapy. Relax, don't stress and good luck!
Posted 8/13/2012 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
I was out of town for the weekend so didn't eat the best, that's for sure. Being back into my regular routine with eating during the week hopefully will help a bit.  I noticed I already don't have much gas or bloating today which I did over the weekend (although not as bad as it has been the past week).  Other than that, I'm already taking Imuran, Prednisone, Colazal and Mesalamine enemas twice/day - at this point I'm not sure what else to try?  Other than waiting another few weeks to see if the higher dose of Imuran kicks-in and does start calming things down a bit. It's just so disappointing that with apparently nothing changing, and while on all these meds, some random blood shows up (I've been having mucous pretty much all the time but hard to tell when you are using the enemas sometimes).
Posted 8/13/2012 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
Cortisone enemas has helped me a lot. Knock it off before it gets worse. It's best to call your GI.
Posted 8/14/2012 2:20 AM (GMT 0)
So tonight I had a perfect BM - not even a spec of mucous and formed like they have been for weeks now. Sometimes I wonder can the first BM after the enema clean out the top layer of the colon? I've been using the enemas for years to maintain remission but it's been so long since I've had inflammation while using them. I was thinking of asking for he cortenemas just to see if they may help - maybe alternate those at night. That certainly seems better then going back up on the pred again!
Posted 8/14/2012 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
I had a ton of blood a few times and I didn't go into a flare. This illness is so unpredictable. I also have a fissure that bleeds here and there. I never know whether it's the fissure or the UC. I assume it's the fissure because it's usually after a very firm movement that's uncomfortable.
Posted 8/14/2012 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
When I was starting to heal in the rectum the enemas actually began to irritate the fragile lining. I actually stopped using them and saw a huge improvement. I only stopped using them once the Imuran was starting to work which it sounds like might be the case for you. It might not make a difference but it did for me. Best of luck!
Posted 8/14/2012 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
I think you should maybe taper the one enema in the morning and see how you do.

The pred tapering will have some of your symptoms rebounding...especially since you're tapering at a quicker amount than from a higher dosage.

Maybe alternate the dosage of pred 15, 10, 15, 10...etc...10,10....

Maybe switch the evening primrose oil or stop it for a bit and see how you do. Oils can cause a bit more urgency because they slip the stool a bit.

What probiotics are you usingÉ

q
Posted 8/15/2012 3:55 AM (GMT 0)
I had another totally normal BM tonight so I'm almost afraid to taper the Prednisone tomorrow knowing it will mess up my BMs for awhile. Before I have a BM or I think when my colon is 'full' I do have alot of random pains in my abdomen, though. I'm wondering if that means I still have enough inflamation for it to get easily irritated.

I did actually ask my doctor if I should taper by 2.5mg instead of 5mg but he said no, I needed to try to get off the Prednisone. But he did want me to stay at each new dose for 2 weeks I think to probably give my body time to readjust and be 'normal' (hopefully) before I'm tapering again. I didn't think to ask about the 10-15-10 method though although I'm guessing he would say to just reduce it if I'm having normal BMs.

I was thinking of starting to use maybe 1/2 enema in the morning instead of a full one but was afraid to change anything the same time I taper the Prednisone. I wonder, would it be better to wait a few days after the taper before I start reducing the enema?  I feel like its such a delicate dance, one mistake and you are back to square 1.

I take Nature's Bounty probiotics but am thinking of switching to one of the other ones I've read about on here.   I also try to take papaya enzymes before I eat my biggest meal of the day (but not the same time I take the Imuran) - they really seem to help me digest the food better and I don't have that bloated, full feeling.

Posted 8/16/2012 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
Well I bought Culterelle tonight and thought I'd try that and see how things go.  I could have sworn I bought it once years ago and it actually upset my UC but I couldn't remember.  Hopefully not!

Tapered to 10mg of Prednisone this morning - I'm hoping I don't feel too bad tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

Posted 8/16/2012 8:05 AM (GMT 0)
Culturelle is a good starting probiotic. Take it at bedtime, you're less likely to have discomfort that way.

Hope the day has you feeling better.
q
Posted 8/16/2012 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
Why, after being on 15 mg pred, are you going straight to 10? I would,in your situation, at least go to 12.5 first, and maybe even alternate between 15 and 12.5 a few days to be sure the taoer is going ok. 15 to 10 after being on 15 for a month coukd be a big shock. Many doctors are completely clueless regarding ored tapering- Your body has to be the guide.
Posted 8/16/2012 12:31 PM (GMT 0)
Wondering if yo saw pink, not red, maybe it was something you ate. Watermelon can go righty through.
Posted 8/16/2012 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
Culturelle upset my UC when I tried it years ago. Others have good luck with it though.

Sorry to hear about your symptoms. This disease is so frustrating. And I hear you, it is so depressing when you see blood show up again. I personally wouldn't reduce any of your other meds while tapering off pred. Do you think the bleeding could have been from a fissure or hemmie?
Posted 8/16/2012 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
Probiotic - I went right to 10mg because I asked my doctor if I should taper by 2.5mg and he said no.  I go to Mayo Clinic so I feel like I should be able to trust them (although sometimes I still wonder).  He's been a doctor there I think for 20+ years so I mostly trust him (the doctor I had there before him, though, completely screwed me up and put me into this flare).  He is keeping me at each dose for 2 weeks though rather than having me taper each week, I'm guessing to make sure my body gets used to each new dose and I get back to normal before I taper again. I may taper to 7.5mg in two weeks though instead of 5mg, depending on how I feel. Especially if I go out of town for Labor Day weekend, I don't feel like feeling sick when I'm on a little vacation.

allswell - I was wondering if it was food in the stool too although I haven't eating anything pink or red. I'm pretty careful about what I eat right now and try to make sure to eat things that I'm sure will digest fully. I did have some lettuce on a sandwich last night though, we'll see how that works out for me today.

Sara - i was hoping it might be a hemmie but the pink is mixed in with the stool. Although its SO hard to tell when you take the mesalamine enemas - if they don't absorb all the way they can come out looking like mucous on the stool when really its just the enema itself mixed in.  So I'm never really sure and that white stuff (which I assume is the enema) can disguise anything else in there. 

So far today I'm feeling achy from tapering the Pred yesterday but not as bad as I thought I'd feel. My stool was fairly (other than enema or mucous?) normal this morning.  I guess I'll wait and see if things normal back out by next week once my body is fully used to the new dose of Pred. If not, its another call to the doctor - I'm sure he will be thrilled to hear from me again!

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