I am at my wit's end!

Seriously, I was in despair - ER, lost 25 pounds in a week... Until I started taking, among other things but this is the kicker --- Ultra Inflam X (not the 360 degree stuff). Take it!! (amazon it) In addition to that, Fiber Biotics from Purity Products is a life saver. Adios to Pred and Imuran.

So sorry about your flare. Anxiety certainly increases our problems.
Are you taking anything for the pain?

Perhaps you need to talk to your GI about steroids although my remission came from diet modification rather than any meds I tried over 10 years. Diet mod. got rid of gas and blood for me and eventually urgency (that was last to go for me).I never had much pain but Bentyl help occasional cramps.

Sounds like you have a lot of weight on your shoulders. You need to bring this up to your husband, not keep him in the dark before the SHTF.

Talk to your GI and chart a plan.

I vote for surgery. I mean, really, who wants surgery? In the end it is often the very best solution and there have been many, many here who finally decided on surgery and wound up regretting very much the fact that they didn't do it a long time ago.

My diet is Paleo-ish, that's the closest "named" diet. I started on SCD but migrated toward Paleo as those foods seemed more friendly to my gut. It was hard to change a lifetime of food choices (loving baked goods and ice cream for example) and go gluten-free and dairy-free (hard cheeses are OK with me however) and grain-free (for a year or two).

Paleo is simple in being meat/protein and low-starch veggies. Simple food to digest. But you may have some trouble since you mention "emotional eating". That usually implies foods that are bad for UC gut generally. No bread, no pasta, no ice cream, no chocolate or candy, no baked goods. No, not easy and you might not see immediate results. All I can say is that I had no other choice (except surgery or biological meds) so I made those choices.

Surgery may be in your future and if so it's not the worst thing. You should do some research on it just to have that as an option. Then if something happens suddenly you can make an informed decision instead of having it made for you.

Diet modification doesn't work for everyone but it might be worth trying some of it to see if you get any improvement. Try going gluten-free for 2 weeks. I do not suggest loading up on "gluten-free" products, instead eliminategluten from your food intake. Drink more chicken broth, eat some cooked spinach, eat less dairy and sugar.

Keep a food diary and look back after a week, not daily. If 2 weeks of gluten-free = no improvement then try dairy-free. It's your life and your decision.

Don't expect any support from your GI about diet (but it would be great if there was) that's not in their playbook. Hope they can help you in other ways.

Sounds really hard. That's a lot of pressure to buy a home now before you husband is able to be back working full-time. It sounds like the most important thing for you now is to find ways to get some more fun and friends in your life as emotional eating is bad for anyone and particularly bad for us colitis people. Life sounds pretty lonely for you now, is homebuying the best move at this time when your husband is not able to fully contribute and he's doing so much of his own thing?
Please take care of yourself, find ways to have fun, try not to feel responsible for the both of you, these things should not be falling on your head only.

I am so sorry Heather. You were doing well for quite a while, it's discouraging to have this illness and have ups and downs and unpredictability. I hope you get some good options.

How did the appointment go?