What Were You Doing In Your Life At the Time of UC?

Seems like the solution is simple. Get rid of virtually all stress and hardly anyone will come down with the disease.

Yes coffeeman, there are many suspected environmental triggers for IBD and it's believed that it's more than likely a combination of at least 2 or more that can actually trigger ones IBD. Chances are stress alone, or antibiotics alone or birth control alone (just to name a few) wouldn't be enough to trigger it.

Stereo you wrote "But one thing is for sure, inflammatory bowel diseases has never popped up in generations before my own."....There's no way you can know that for sure, not everyone discusses their bowel habits and there's a very good chance somewhere along the line in generations before you, that some family member may have suffered with an IBD...it's been around for over a hundred years.

Always makes me chuckle though when people are convinced they have no IBD history in their family when you consider even researchers aren't sure how it passes amongst generations.

I got my IBD before my mom got sick with hers...imagine if she had died before she got sick with hers, then I might be thinking the same as you and many others...fact is, it has to be triggered, doesn't mean that our past generation relatives wouldn't have gotten an IBD had they not died prematurely or something. None of us can say for sure who may have had, or would have been predisposed to getting an IBD in their family tree.

pb4 said...
Stereo you wrote "But one thing is for sure, inflammatory bowel diseases has never popped up in generations before my own."....There's no way you can know that for sure, not everyone discusses their bowel habits and there's a very good chance somewhere along the line in generations before you, that some family member may have suffered with an IBD...it's been around for over a hundred years.

Always makes me chuckle though when people are convinced they have no IBD history in their family when you consider even researchers aren't sure how it passes amongst generations.

I got my IBD before my mom got sick with hers...imagine if she had died before she got sick with hers, then I might be thinking the same as you and many others...fact is, it has to be triggered, doesn't mean that our past generation relatives wouldn't have gotten an IBD had they not died prematurely or something. None of us can say for sure who may have had, or would have been predisposed to getting an IBD in their family tree.

I don't assume no one had IBD in my family tree.

I was referring to how they haven't popped up in conversation as "inflammatory bowel disease", and instead undiagnosed digestive issues, or lactose/gluten intolerances...

I first noticed when I was backbacking, my boyfriend would tease me that I had piles years ago.

We later broke up, I moved out, was drinking loads, my landlady went away a week and the next I know I'm in agony and in hospital with barely any memory for the three weeks before hand which is really weird. It was very slow to start off wth (years of a small amount of bleeding and urgency) and I just thought it was 'my normal' then floored me, each flare has been at a relatively stressful time.

Aside from the first undiagnosed flare up when arond Europe for the summer, the main one was in winter like a few other people have said, but no antibiotics.

Another thing I have see cited is that incidence of uc is much more common in the colder weather states than it is in the warmer weather states. For example, I'm from NH which is right on the border with Canada. And I know there are quite a number of Canadians who post here as well.

Of course it could have more to do with the groups of people who originally immigrated to those colder states being from the same countries. The warmer states were settled later on and with people from later immigration waves from different countries.

I was dating a spanish guy and was eating alot of different foods...i was in college and also had a miscarraige. :( I had alot of stress in my life too, and was in my early 20s. I went to a GI and he said i had hemmoriods. So I had that rubberband procedure done. After that i ended up in the ER and the GI doctor couldnt believe he actually did that to me and said i had UC. I was just curious about the food everyone was eating at that time b/c i was introduced to a lot of different types of foods at that time in my life dating my b/f that was from Venessuella.

From what I understand, we with UC have a defective set of genes and there is usually an "event" that kick-starts our UC. THis is exactly what happened to me.
Have most of you had an event or illness that started you on the road to UC?
Interesting to have a poll on this.

Second year of college. There on a swimming scholarship, so I was in great shape. Just went on the pill to regulate my cycle.....then the bleeding and the feeling of never being empty. Went to the clinic and they told me it was internal hemmies. After 7 years and many, many doctors, I finally got the right diagnosis.

Hi pb4...

I never knew i had UC at the time. I went to a private GI. He didnt do a colonoscopy, so he never knew i actually was having symptoms of Uc.

I guess the GI Doctor in the ER was surprised he did that b/c i was bleeding and actually did that procedure. I later went home and was bleeding even more w/ d.  She said they should have never done that. It was back in the early 90s. She ended up being my doctor for about 6 yrs until i moved.

I also was on the swim team all throughout high school and college. I do remember being so nervous before a swim meet and would run to the bathroom with a normal bm. The excitement of it all made me go...lol

I had an abortion in my late 20's had a lot of guilt and stressful job and got IBS, later after my first child the IBS went away. 8 years later when my father got dementia I felt guilt as I lived so far away it was a very stressful time especially when he went into a home and my mum got sick after being his carer. That is when I got UC I cannot remember the month I made the mistake of not going to the Dr straight away thinking it was hemroids at first. After my father died after taking enemas and mess not working was at funeral when my brother found out I was sick. He organised a naturopath and I am now in remission on no enemas and living a normal life. My GI said it had nothing to do with stress or diet. Lol was he wrong, I am on a special diet and supplements from the naturopath live a more less stressful life. As I have no time for stress! It's a huge trigger. So on my diet I will stay and hopefully in remission I slipped on my diet really bad once as I thought I was better took me a couple of months to get back in remission :D

On no pharma meds
Take ultraInflamax scout in rice milk twice a day
1 teaspoon vital greens twice a day in above shake
2meta EPA/DHA tablets one with each shake
2 boswellia medi herb tablets one with each shake taken
Shakes and tablets to be taken during breakfast and evening meal
That is my maintenance when in remission