Need reassurance

Can somebody please tell me I'm not going to die.. I'm obviously flaring. The first "real" flare in the 6 or so years I've had it, although still mild compared to a lot on here. I've increased supps to two a day 1g pentasa. Waiting on stool tests..apparently DNA stool tests. Not sure what those are. It's just My anxiety gets the better of me and I get so scared about what might be..I've got no real support. My husband just tells me I worry about nothing.

Sorry I used to have a signature, not sure where it went..I had a colonoscopy a few months ago after my calprotectin results went from around 80 up to 700. I had some mild symptoms,
Constipation, mucous and some occasional blood. I was due for a colonoscopy. The results showed that I had 8cm mild inflammation which was my original diagnosis about 6/7 years ago. I was told to see my GI as the proctitis had returned. I was still using a 1g supps nightly. After the colonoscopy my symptoms improved greatly. No blood, no mucous and perfect stools, no constipation. I had another calprotectin to confirm how I was feeling. The result had come down from 700 to 149.. So I was feeling great. Until now, had another calprotectin, back up to 300. I've changed absolutely nothing and the only thing I can relate to these symptoms are my periods. Both times this has come around my periods. I should mention I'm using a natural hormones cream which can exacerbate pms symptoms for the first few months but I've been on this cream before without any trouble. I've used a 1g pentasa sup at night for the four years after being diagnosed. The dr put me on enemas to see if they made a difference but they didn't. So I went back to supps.. I see my GI next month.

This is a flare and don't worry my dad doesn't believe uc exists therefore I am not aloud to "lock myself in the bathroom"
These people on here have great advice, that is why everytime I have a question I ask fellow uc sufferers here since they have experience.
I would just relax and wait for your doctor to finish doing his job with all the tests and stuff.
:) uc is not comfortable or fun so anything uncomfortable and lame that happens just think "oh it is my darn uc being rude again"

RiceBunny said...
This is a flare and don't worry my dad doesn't believe uc exists therefore I am not aloud to "lock myself in the bathroom"

that's crazy. You should show him the bloody stools. I wonder what he would say it's from. He's being very disrespectful toward you. If he did a few minutes of research he may figure out that it exists.

Sometimes I wonder which is more difficult to live with - the emotional roller coaster or the physical symptoms.

PS. You're not going to die

You're not going to die! It can get way worse, and you still wouldn't die. I'm not sure that's much consolation--hope you don't get worse! :) It's too bad you don't have better support.

You're definitely going to die, but not from ulcerative colitis. We all die eventually. Unfortunately it takes time for our colons to get into full flare, and it also takes time for them to heal with treatment. There's not much we can do except try to maintain some degree of emotional serenity and wait.

When I got UC my husband wanted to pretend it hadn't happened, but I wasn't having any of it, and so one day I had to sit him down in the bathroom, and I told him straight, that if he couldn't shape up there wasn't much point to us as a couple. I think I frightened him, because he has changed, he is better, definitely more supportive.

What partners sometimes don't understand is the mental toil UC takes on you, it can make you feel weak and unattractive, frightened sometimes, and if you don't feel like your partner is listening it just makes things feel a whole lot worse, and so I think your hubby he needs to listen to your anxieties more, but quite honestly I NEVER, ever think I am going to die from Ulcerative Colitis!! maybe your doc saw your fear, and tried to reassure you, but on a subconscious level all you can remember is the frightening word "die"

I'm so sorry you're going through this, Petah. My mind is my single worst enemy too. Five years ago I was young and active and worry free. Just in the past 2 months, I've been dying from blood clots, deep vein thrombosis with pulmonary embolism, colon cancer, ruptured intestines with resultant peritonitis, kidney failure, liver failure, and acute pancreatitis. Or much more likely, I have a varicose vein and a pulled muscle. Having a chronic condition like UC can affect a person on much more than just a physical level, something many healthy people can never understand.

You don't choose to feel the panic and isolation and underlying dread that comes when your own body turns against you. I know I don't. Your husband is right, that the worry is all in your head. But he's wrong too. You're only worrying "about nothing" insofar as our guts attack us "about nothing".

You are not going to die from this. There will be ups and downs and hard times and easy times. But you will live.

You're going to be ok. I promise.

You're not going to die from UC.

1) You're under regular medical supervision and have been officially diagnosed with UC. If you walk into an ER with symptoms of toxic megacolon, they're going to consider that first. Imagine a person without a GI history coming to the ER with stomach pain. It might take a couple of hours to think about toxic mega colon.

2) you're getting colonoscopies so they'll find polyps, etc. early enough to treat them effectively. Compare that to a 38 year old person without UC who has colon cancer but has never been scoped and thus isn't diagnosed until it's more advanced.

3). You're educating yourself and know that if your symptoms get worse, see a doctor. I hear a lot of stories about (usually) men who ignore blood in the toilet for much too long. That's what happened to my internist's husband. Even being married to a doctor didn't make him take action. You will.

Have you considered that the hormonal cream you're using may be affecting your anxiety? It could also be the cause of your current flare. I had flares when I went on and off hormonal birth control and also when I got pregnant. Hormones definitely affect my UC.

ETA: When anxiety starts affecting every day life, it might be time to speak to a therapist and/or consider medication.