Advice, please, lovely people...

So I was doing pretty badly. Crazy low iron, crazy high inflammation, Constant loose stool, etc. Doctor said we could be looking at remicade soon. NOT my first choice. Anyway, started taking a salofalk suppository in the morning, upped my mezavant pills to 4 a day, began taking iron, then finished with a salofalk enema before bed. Also took metamucil daily.

Bleeding stopped almost instantly. No pain. Normal stool.

I started weaning off to every third day after about two months and have been lazy with my metamucil so I'm not taking it every day. Now the past two days I'm noticing loose stool and blood. Not a huge amount of blood but blood non the less and not just fissure or hemorrhoid blood. . I've been a bit stressed, diet was off due to special occasions and other factors, etc

Questions:

1: should I go back to my daily routine of suppositories, enemas, and metamucil? (Really trying to avoid my immuno suppressive options as long as I can)

2: are little flares just normal sometimes, despite taking preventative medication? Ones that pop up and leave during stressful times? Like even when on your holy grail medication?

3: also, when you notice early signs of a flare, what do you do to nip them in the bud? How long until you go to your gastro?

Thanks for the support. You guys are amazing.

Post Edited (mlena89) : 5/8/2014 9:52:01 AM (GMT-6)

If you have a routine that really works, stick to it. There are few things safer than rectal/oral mesalamine and Metamucil. Rectals aren't the most convenient treatment but it sounds like you would rather do a daily suppository and enema -- forever -- than move on to Remicade or anything like it.

You didn't mention how long you were on the nightly enemas.

Did you drop from nightly to every third night?

Were you still on the supps during that time?

How much and what kind of Metamucil...and when were you taking it?

There's a learning curve, we all go through it.
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Ditto the recommendations/comments above; we have to stick with whatever works once we find improvement. My gastro, who subspecializes in IBD treatment, also advises to get back on a helpful diet right away after indulging in different food/drink due to a "special occasion". Staying on track most of the time helps many of us to max out benefits of 5-ASA meds. Hang in there! / Old Hat (33 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)