Being in remission but still bleeding?

Hi. This is my first time posting on this forum. I'm a 36 yr old female, diagnosed with mild/moderate ulcerative colitis November 2013. After a yr of constantly flaring and getting sick, I'm currently in remission with the help of an extremely strict diet and asacol 2 x am and 2 x pms. . What I would like to know, is it possible to still see a little bit of blood and sometimes mucus if I'm in remission? I sometimes get cramps but very mild and no other symptoms?

My second question is for the ladies who have fallen pregnant and have had kids. I am going to start trying for a baby in the next month or 2, has anyone been on asacol and occasionally entocort enema and had healthy babies, and has the ulcerative colitis flared while pregnant?

Hi there! It looks like you do some entocort enemas- how frequently do you do those? Are you on suppositories at all? This board has definitely made me more of a believer in rectal meds. I have had blood/mucus come and go from time to time and as long as it's not sustained and I don't have other symptoms my gi says don't worry too much.

Glad that it sounds like you are doing okay overall - hope it gets better! Welcome to this board!

I agree with Cavalier9,

When I told my GI (23 yrs ago) that I was wanting to have my second and last child he encouraged me to go ahead, before that conversation he told me to advise him first before getting pregnant so I did....even though I was still flaring and only using rectal meds for my proctitis he gave me the official "okay" to proceed with getting pregnant. I have crohn's colitis which is crohn's affecting my colon and proctitis issues on and off ever since getting sick with crohn's. I was still fairly young (26 yrs old) when deciding it was time for my last baby (I have 2) so my GI was accepting of it due to my age, he advised (back then, things probably have changed since) that it was my age that made him feel comfortable enough to give me the green light so to speak even though I was stil flaring....I was either allergic or non-responsive to traditional oral meds used for IBD back then so he figured I mine as well try since it was going to be my last pregnancy and I was still in my mid 20's, age seemed to really be a big deal to him...he also suggested that maybe if I was one of the lucky ones, the pregnancy might put me into remission...it didn't but I got a beautiful baby boy out of the deal anyway (even at 22 he's still my baby and always will be).

I was lucky because I got pregnant easily (with my first as well, which I wasn't sick with IBD yet, it wasn't until my first was about a year and half old when I became ill)....I have to say though, it was tough looking after one let alone 2 kids but it mostly worked out I suppose.

Best of luck to you!!

Sounds like your uc is simmering, not in remission. Untreated, simmering uc inflammation can greatly increase the odds of landing in a flare, uc often spreads in extent and severity when not fully treated ...

Here's some info on uc medications and pregnancy:

From conception to delivery: Managing the pregnant inflammatory bowel disease patient
www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/pdf/v20/i13/3495.pdf

The Second European Evidenced-Based Consensus on Reproduction and Pregnancy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
ecco-jcc.oxfordjournals.org/content/eccojc/9/2/107.full.pdf

Because you are seeing blood and mucous that may mean you are in the beginning stages of a flare
It is much easier to stop a flare in the begging before it gets bad
I would get in touch with your GI doc ASAP
I Hope it turns out to be nothing serious

Forgot to mention, when I do take any supplements ie. glutamine, digestive enzymes they make me worse, so I keep it to the minimum. I make my own probiotic yougurt and also just started making bone broth that has helped tremendous with my immune system. I guess that is why oval I'm feeling great but just can't nip this bleeding and little mucus in the bud.

There have been a ton of people who have come to this website who started flaring again either during or immediately after pregnancies. I don't know the exact reason. Maybe they had reduced their meds due to the pregnancy. Maybe not. There is much evidence though that female hormones seem to be related in some fashion to autoimmune diseases in general. That's one reason why more women than men get autoimmune diseases, although with IBD those numbers seem to be about 50/50.

Thanks for all the info. I guess at the end of the day everyone is different and even healthy women can feel awful when they pregnant. Will have to just cross that bridge when or if I get there. Frightens me alot, but I guess it's only natural. First I need to get this bleeding even if it is a little under control. I've never really suffered from hemmies or fissures, just once when they were external and really painful. I'm really sure what internal hemmies feel like, so maybe that is what the slight bleeding and mucus is from. Will spk to my GI and see about rectal meds. Would anyone know if there are any enemas apart from entocort that you cam use as a maintenance?

Thank you so much. Will spk to my GI tomorrow and ask about Rowasa.

There's no skin in the colon...the "shedding" is mucus and stool and fluid that's in the colon.

q

I have booked a sigmoidoscopy for next week. Hate the guessing game need to know forsure why bleeding, guessing it's a minor flare but this way I'll know forsure and can go forward from there. I've always thought that taking 4 asacol tablets wasn't enough, think I need that extra bit to keep me in remission hopefully.

Thanks Quincy appreciate it. Definitely going to ask him about Rowasa enema as enemas seem to work well on me. Although I've only tried the entocort enema which is a steroid, hoping another enema would work just as well.

Thanks Quincy will definitely keep you posted next week ☺