Newly Diagnosed Help!

This disease is a randomly remitting and flaring disease. I had a good remission for almost 4 years. My relapse has been minor (some rectal bleeding & mucous, a few days of terrible GERD) but after using 30 suppositories I seem to have gotten past it (knock wood).

Many people achieve a long term remission and they are not the ones posting on this forum.

There are several people here who say they don't follow any specific diet and are in remission. Hopefully they will stop by and tell their stories.

There are also many people here who swear by very restrictive diets. If it works for them that's all that matters.

I am not in remission though I am getting closer (only symptom is a little blood in my stool every few days). I don't follow any specific diet. Who knows, maybe I would be in remission if I did. I enjoy a wide variety of foods and the only thing I have noticed that caused me any problems is high fiber foods -- they tend to move things along too fast for me. I limit how many fruits & vegetables I eat and avoid whole grains though I do still eat everything just in small qtys. I also avoid processed foods 99% of the time, but do eat them sometimes. Haven't noticed any effect on my symptoms from processed foods. I only avoid them because I prefer fresh, whole, homemade foods.

Reading posts here and other places online can be very scary when you are first diagnosed. These forums contain lots of information and are a great source of support for those who are very ill with this disease. But not all of the info would pertain to your situation. Take your meds, try to stay healthy with diet & exercise, but unless you have problems with certain foods or your symptoms get worse I wouldn't worry a whole lot about diet. My doctor said diet doesn't really play a role in this disease except if certain foods make your symptoms worse. It's pretty individual.

Enjoy your vacation!

Please don't panic! Everyone is different with UC. I was dx with proctitis over 20 yrs ago, and it was very mild. Now my disease have progressed. I believe the reason why it has spread further up my colon is because I stopped taking asacol. I thought I was doing well with just rowasa enemas.

My GI told me that most people with UC do well as long as they take their meds. Don't forget you are reading about some extreme cases. Many people who have IBD live a normal life.

You should tell your doctor to treat you with oral meds, and stay on them.

The following website is a great resource for learning about traditional and alternative treatments for UC.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/ulcerative-colitis