Entering UC club… :(

Hello everyone,
I‘m 30 year old female from small middle Europe country recently diagnosed with UC. I had stomach issues since like 2012- bloating, constant lower abdomen pain (not cramping) constipation, sometimes rectal bleeding with mucus.
For three years of pain and discomfort „down in my...“ I was going through doctors trying to find what‘s wrong with me, but every time all tests were almost good (sometimes I had raised body temperature up to 37.2 C, and my white blood cell count was slightly elevated) so I started to believe in my doc. words „Everything is in your head“. I used to that dull constant pain and tried to live normal life thou using tones of pain killers for my abdomen and laxatives for constipation. This lasted till last January…
As I understand now, in January, after my vacation I Italy I had my first flare up – urgency, pain in abdomen, tenderness, rectal pain, blood an mucus. I thought I ate something but my urine and blood test were perfect.My doc. suggested me to visit gastro cause she had no idea what else to do so I signed up for appointment and while waiting (6 weeks) all symptoms went calm and I had only blood and pain.
After sigmoidoscopy with biopsy and other necessary test in April 2014 I was officially diagnosed with ulcerative distal colitis.
I could not believe it was UC, because I had never had diarrhea, never had more than 1 bowel movement per day even on this first flare.
Since then I’m so confused and frustrating. There is not much information in my language about UC and it there is- it is worry poor and not informative.
I‘m still doing research since I was diagnosed and this forum is great. I found much more than I expected. My doc. did not say anything about food, supplements or anything else that could help me to live better life with this. I‘m going to see him again next Tuesday and I hope You could help me with what should I as him.
My doc. put me on Salofalk enemas for 6 weeks daily and then for 2 week once in two days.
Salofalk helps me a lot, thou I still have pain in abdomen, mucus, and my stool is soft (not sure if its form enema of from my new diet).
I have some questions and hope for some advices:

1. That to do with the pain as NSAIDS ar bad for us?
2. Before diagnosis and starting medicines I had rectal pain and it was difficult even to sit, it is almost gone now but it comes beck with my monthly period (for first couple days) and I do not know how to deal with this. Any advices from who experienced rectal pain?
3. I put myself on gluten free, sugar free, low fat, dairy free diet and I think this helps a bit with the pain. Also started probiotics (I still do not know what kind it should be and in drug store they do not know what to suggest for UC) also Turmeric, Folic acid, Omega 3, regular vitamins. I have no diarrhea, no anemia so isn’t that too much?
4. I started exercising- running is best for me, I do 6 to 10 km every second day but I noticed that sometimes I get pain in my lower back and a my abdomen hurts more- can it be from UC? I was always athletic, live actively- love hiking, bicycles (stopped this because rectal pain), swimming, skiing and never had any pain during/ after any activities.
5. Me and my husband would love to have our first baby, my gynecologist says nothing about UC drug influence to fetus and I do not know what to think.
6. I do not know if I’m in remission should it be symptoms free or what. My health improved greatly only with diet change and Salofalk enema but I still have mucus in stool and some abdomen pain.
7. I ‘m doing quite good with Salofalk but do not know f it’s safe to use them for long time should I as for oral medicine as well.

Thank You all in advance even for reading this and apologize for my English.

Best regards,

Aurora

I think your English is fantastic!

Hello everyone,
This place is great, I found many answers even without asking, thou there are some thing that bathers me.
Last week I had my sigmoidoscopy- my doc decided to look if my UC healing (I did only salofalk enemas 1 every evening for like 2 months already, no oral mesalazine).
Results were good, UC in remission, he took biopsy from rectum ant put me on suppositories 1g. every second day. My doc does not speak much, I said I still have some discomfort in my rectum, also the pain in abdomen still persist (feel like muscular pain after training but very very mild), but he said nothing.
So I‘m not sure if my UC is in remission cause I don‘t feel any different except no bleeding and mucus.
I know I have to keep taking my meds, but shouldn’t I be pain free if I‘m in remission? As I saw during sigmoidoscopy- rectal area looks a bit more red than whole colon so maby inflammation is still there. I do not know what to think- should I give more time or should I look for other reasons of discomfort and abdomen pain (thou in March I went to my gynecologist- everything was fine, I did ultrasonography of whole abdomen- everything perfect, my blood, urine, liver enzymes tests were normal).
So I’m confused.

like you I was having rectal pain and the suppositories worked very well. Stick with them and hopefully this will improve. It is good you gi has given you 1g as opposed to 500mg. It may be wise to stay on the enema once every other day as suggested as the inflammation is not being treated in the sigmoid section while you are treating the rectal area. I do the suppository in the morning after my BM so i can hold it all day. If i do have a second BM occasionally i keep a spare 1 with me at work. Them do the enema at night when I go to bed.

Please be careful to watch out for constipation. You can still get constipated with distal colitis even if you are having BMs each day. I would add metamucil fibre capsules. search for it on this site and you will see all the advise on how to take it. You wont need more then 1-4 capsules a day more for maintaining a regularity then helping to treat loose stools.

P.S Is it common that because of inflammation in rectum pain radiates to uterus or bladder? Pain started yesterday after bm (constipated ), stopped for night and it’s here again...

Hello,

I have a question and would love to hear some opinion from You.
From beginning of July my doc. (after sigmoidoscopy with biopsy) said I’m in remission with mild inflammation in rectum. I felt quite good, still some discomfort in rectal area and some short pains in different places of abdomen, but I considered it ok as it was very very different from pains I had before diagnosis. My doc put me on mesalazine suppositories every second day to keep me in remission.
Recently a had what I thing was a start of flare (I’ve god some cold with runny nose what I think had influence on my UC), but symptoms were only pain in lower left abdomen, dull pain in rectum, pain in right side ribs (when deep breath in), and pain in knees when squat, no blood no mucus, no diarrhea.
Firs two days pain was mild, but it hit on Sunday very hard (It was difficult even to walk from pain in lower left side abdomen and rectal are). As soon I understood it might be a start of flare I started mesalazine enemas every night (since Friday) and suppositories in the morning after BM. Today I’m almost free of pain (have only some very slight discomfort in lower abdomen).
As I am new with this, I’m quite confused was is a flare or something else I should talk to my doc. Thou pain was very similar I had before diagnosis, but no blood, no mucus, as during my first flare, also I don’t think it‘s possible to run out of flare in 24 hours. And what about pain? More I read more I find pain is less than common with UC. I thought about my symptom- despite pain in abdomen, rectal area, sometimes knees and back, I have nothing else (I guess lucky me and tank’s God or Whatever for that).
I would love to hear some opinions.

Tank You for Your sharing your experience, Spartan4life. Long before I was diagnosed, I took tons of NSAID because of pain, I had it almost all the time and it was like 4-7 out of 10. Now, I usually have 1-2 out of 10 but still have, even with „officially in remission“.
I think I just have to live with it and think of it as an indicator.