(No Subject)

(this is a repost, but I was advised to repost by a veteran on the site so I'm doing that)

I am newly diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis and joined this site today. Your syptoms are very similar to mine and I can second your frustration. I'm not sure why this developed...and now I am wondering why I can't get the inflammation to settle down.

My symptoms are: urgency, straining, multiple small bms with blood, virtually no formed stools and much worse in the morning and seems to ease up in the evening a bit. Like you, this has had a major impact on my life and can be very frustrating. It's kind of hard for me to believe my ass has this much control over my life! :) I really want to take control back though.

I've tried: mesalamine suppository 2x/day...seemed to help, then got worse, hard to say, but no remiss
steroid supp 2x/day...also seemed to help, then got worse....
oral steroids 20mg/day...no change then increased to 40mg/day and maybe a slight improvement
I am scheduled for a repeat colonoscopy in a week or so

Over the last month I've given up caffeine and I used to LOVE coffee!
I've decided to committ to gluten free and I hope that helps.

What I don't understand is if this is an inflammatory disease then why wouldn't steroids cure it? I wonder if I am putting something in my body that is promoting inflammatio, which is why I am trying gluten free. I am desparate as you are as this is affecting my family life, my job, and my self perception. Hang in there and please if others have words of encouragement (like "yes, one day you in the future you will not poop blood") then please share. :)

Hi Kazbern and thanks for your reply. Just you saying 40mg/day will get me there is a confidence booster. I know there are no guarantees in life, but I can tell from your previous posts that you've been through this before.

The first time I used the mesalamine I was only able to use it for about a week because I (cooincidentally?) developed a perirectal abscess which required surgical drainage. Then I couldn't use anything for another week or so while I healed from surgery...while I assume I was still having a flare although it's hard to tell as blood and discomfort following surgery is somewhat expected. I went back to the mesalamine supp 2x/day and it seemed for a couple days it was better (less blood, much less urgency, less cramping), but then things seemed to all of a sudden get worse in all ways. At the same time I was trying to discover what dietary could be triggering this (caffeine, etoh, greasy foods) so I hadn't made any real significant changes to my diet as I have now. I would say I failed therapy with mesalamine although I wonder if I really had an adverse reaction. If someone does have an adverse reaction does that typically persist for weeks before it settles down?

Right now I am sticking with the 40mg/day of steroid and I am seeing small changes such as less urgency and less cramping. I am having quite a bit more rectal pain though and passing some small clots...the bleeding is worse than it has ever been. After doing a bit more reading I think I have an anal fissure. I have a colonoscopy in a week and a half, but I'm going to keep plugging away gluten free and on steroids in the meantime. Maybe my story isn't complete yet (crohn's, UC). I'm sitting in warm baths, putting A&D ointment on the rear, ibuprofen as needed, and trying to not make any sudden movements!

Another question and thanks for getting this far. How about GI upset taking oral steroids? I've had quite a bit of nausea and bloating since starting them. I'm taking omeprazole for that as a precautionary measure.

I was a pretty active guy before all this started so this has also been a tough mental adjustment as well. Having folks on this forum who given candid advice who have been through it makes a huge difference to me. Thanks for your thoughts and time.

ITA with sherbear, quit it with the ibuprofen. The only OTC pain reliever you should ever take from here on out is tylenol.sorry.

And the probiotics idea is a good one too. Start slow. A poster on the Crohn's forum just reported about her fissures clearing up with the use of acidopholous, I think.

Omperazole is a great idea for your upper GI issues. Very common with prednisone.