2nd flare up..was 9 months in remission, now in denial...

Hello everyone,

I seem to have stressed myself into my second flare up since my diagnosis almost a year ago in April. I noticed blood in the toilet last Friday and have since been in denial. I'm 18 going on 19 (in April, was diagnosed around my birthday). I know it was wrong of me to put off telling my GI and my parents about this. So far my flare isn't as bad as it was the first time, which is good, I guess. I have 1-2 BM's a day, little to no form, sometimes more formed than others, bloody with some abdominal pain right before going. My parents full on yelled at me for not telling them and I've been sitting in my room trying not to cry for the past hour. It's hard for me to accept. Having been relatively healthy for the past 17 years of my life, this was a tough pill for me to swallow. I take 8 pills of Sulfasalazine a day along with folic acid. 4 in the morning, 4 at night. Transitioning into this change has been tough on me. Since I don't take well to swallowing pills, I had to drag along things like frosting to put my pills in so it masks the taste. I was on 60mg pred and tapered off of it, ending in July. I finally got my life, non-moon face, and normal body back. When I saw the blood, I immediately thought prednisone and couldn't come to terms with it, and yes, I know putting it off makes my chances of needing it more likely.

I'm not asking for more badgering, as my parents have done a good job of that already. Some comforting words and advice are appreciated. :)

Get those rectal meds and stop beating yourself up about it! Your parents yelled because they are scared. It is totally normal to be in denial and delay getting treatment. Every. single. one. of. us. has. done. it.

kazbern said...
Get those rectal meds and stop beating yourself up about it! Your parents yelled because they are scared. It is totally normal to be in denial and delay getting treatment. Every. single. one. of. us. has. done. it.

I hope that's all I'll need. Definitely not looking forward to a liquid diet to prep for the colonoscopy but anything is better than flaring.

BV said...
Hang in there! Sulfazine is the most basic, there are several other options to step up treatment. My teen son went from sulfazine to Remicade in a short 3 months as we got no relief from sulfazine. Although this disease is different for different people but here's what helped my son to remain in remission for a year - daily probiotics (vsl#3 2x daily), gluten-free diet, no red meats (known to be inflammatory). I think exercising diet control and having probiotics is a good practice to stay healthy. Also, docs haven't told me this but I think anxiety and stress can trigger this disease too, at least in my son's case that is distinct possibility. So try to do things to de-stress, meditation and sitting still and being aware and mindful is a good practice too. All the best!

Thank you so much :) This is really helpful.

notsosicklygirl said...
I am so sorry. I am in denial every time this happens to me too and I am in my 30s. I always think things are great and they are going to stay that way. I wish that was the case. Try to stay positive, you are at the bottom of treatments. Maybe a different mesalamine will keep you flare free for MANY years to come.

More reassuring music to my ears, thank you so much :)