Hey Studman, What UC Treatment Should I Do?

you know my philosophy T man > when the chain on the toilet flusher handle breaks, you just dive in with both hands and take care of the problem !

unless of course you can delegate that task to someone else

and then there is the less is more take on life - guess that would apply here also -

did you have any issues/side effects with the mesalamine ? have you been sticking to a strict anti-inflammatory life style: no grains, omega 6's, sugar, sex ?

oh, and less stress is better too - try to find projects that have limited potential for adding stress - we all need a certain amount of stress in our lives - I think it's healthy - but you need to what kinds and how much work best for you -

for now, i would just keep doing what you are doing - just let your body deal with things till it's absolutely mandatory that you intervene - I think waiting patiently can qualify as a plan !

oh, and not that they need it really, but go hawks !

Hey Guardian. Not a bad question, but you'd have to know my history...

I went on Remicade after such an intense flare that I was house-bound and couldn't work for three weeks. I was keeled over in pain. If I flare that badly again and no medicines are able to work, that is when I would opt for surgery rather than not have any life.

I did 5ASA's for a long time and they really didn't help me much at all.

Believe me, I don't want my colon out any more than you do.

Thoreau said...
Hey Guardian. Not a bad question, but you'd have to know my history...

I went on Remicade after such an intense flare that I was house-bound and couldn't work for three weeks. I was keeled over in pain. If I flare that badly again and no medicines are able to work, that is when I would opt for surgery rather than not have any life.

I did 5ASA's for a long time and they really didn't help me much at all.

Believe me, I don't want my colon out any more than you do.

Yes... I too am familiar with pain brought on by medications. It isn't pretty and I completely empathize with your situation. A course of cipro (which I later learned was completely unnecessary) did something similar to me. I had to change the way I walked (as in stepping on crubs, making sudden movements, etc) because of tendonitis pains all throughout my body. My doctor told me to be cautious because he was afraid that I could rupture something. It was a scary time for me because I used to exercise quite a bit - I had to give it up something that brought me a lot of joy. It was also an adjustment period, and I learned quite a bit about the harms of western medicine.

That being said, I also learned there are many treatments that conventional medicine does not tell you about. I think it's ridiculously harsh to jump yourself to surgery if you fail the conventional paradigm (which isn't too promising in the first place either). If you are doing well now and asymptomatic, why think negatively and assume you need surgery? Do you know that some percentage of people with severe UC go into remission with just the sugar pill - it is the placebo effect.

It sounds like your doctor is scaring you and getting in your head mentally about this. Stress can bring on flares. You sound like a fighter, so you have to trust your body. It's possible that what is working out for you now might work out later. I say enjoy life while you can and not let this fear get to you. You OWN your body.

Best.

Haha, great to see you Katie!

Ya, I'm off Remicade... last infusion was August 20th ish last year. I still have the pains, but just this month found a physician that didn't think I was crazy. I'm on prednisone and am slowly getting better. There's a long thread "Stopped Remicade, So Sad" or something to that affect by ContentProf that I've been documenting things in. She's been helping me along greatly.

I'm meant to dive in and do things. If this colon doesn't want to come along for the ride I think it will have to leave. BUT, I would like to be nice to it and see if we can't get along... haha. Presently gluten-free which is helping. Am in remission still, thank God.

How else have you been??