Urgency: I think I forgot what normal is!

Thanks petty, I have definitely responded well to it. For the most part there is no blood. At times I see what might be blood but I'm not really sure. I constantly remind myself that it will be ok. Your right, turning off the music and getting some air does seem to help a bit. I have also found that taking Imodium before going out makes me feel slightly more comfortable. I guess it will just take more time.

Oh boy!! I've also forgotten what "normal" is. I've had UC for many years and for the first 10 years I managed to just live with it without taking any medication. Urgency wasn't much of an issue but eventually I was forced to take medication when I started getting flares which affected my day-to-day living. Luckily I came out of them fairly quickly but over the years I have progressively started increasing my dosage of Asacol tablets. Urgency became a problem but only in the mornings which was still something I could cope with.

And then ......I had a brain storm I decided to go the alternative natural/homeopathic route and cut all medication. Gee, what an absolute mistake that was. I had the worst flare ever. In fact, I have never been the same again and that was 4 years ago. Urgency is such a problem now, not only in the morning but at any time of day (especially after eating). It's the unpredictability that really messes me up because sometimes when I eat something at lunch time I'm fine then other days it will be 15 minutes or up to an hour afterwards and I'm dashing for the toilet en-route to my kids school or to the shops etc. At least when it was mornings only I could go about my day normally.

I am now (for the last 2 months) on Asacol suppositories which has helped but just when I think urgency has been limited to mornings only again (like today)....I get a violent reminder that "NO IT IS NOT!!" I also now wonder if my rectum/colon has been damaged irreparably and whether I will ever get this urgency under control. Feeling very "down-in-the-dumps today.....

I understand the psychological toll this takes too. When I was in a massive 9 month bloody flare, I isolated. Didn't go out unless I had to. On days I went to work, I wore a pad or panty liner to catch leaking blood. And I didn't eat for much of the day until I got home from work. There was no private bathroom at work and I was too embarrassed to make noise of passing gas & blood while sitting on toilet at work. It was an unhealthy way to cope, both physically and mentally. I took Xanax to help with anxiety. Having failed prednisone, all mesalamine derivatives, uceris & 6mp (allergic), I finally took remicade & the 'sledge hammer' worked after a few infusions. But it took several months before I began to eat normal food, have reasonable looking BMs (they were a weird color and consistency at first) without urgency (I think I had to relearn how to control the sphincter after inflammation calmed down), and then feel confident I could go out without wearing pads or without worrying about finding a private bathroom.
It's terrible that we have to suffer through this. I felt so alone except for this website. You guys gave me hope that flaring is temporary, that we can get some relief and eventually get our lives back. Each of us has different symptoms and different responses to the meds, but we share the strength to persevere. Wishing you less suffering and a more normal life soon. It can take time though - so patience & perseverance. And pursuing these suggestions that feel right (for me cortenemas helped a little yet I used them 7 months), but I didn't want to introduce other things - too many variables in play & then wouldn't know which had what effect. So I tried to keep it simple & try one thing at a time.

No, it took care of everything but the urgency unfortunately.