Posted 5/21/2016 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
Generally, you don't have to ask if you're in remission. You know you are because the horrible uc symptoms we worry about are gone, you're living a very good quality of life without uc getting in your way in the slightest. Whereas with active uc symptoms your butt is your king, quality of life suffers, and your limited in what you can do. There's also simmering inflammation, that's way better than a full-blown flare but still physically limiting with some mild uc symptoms remaining that are impacting your quality of life (maybe you still have urgency, occasional blood, and higher than normal bm counts). Simmering inflammation puts you at highest risk of flaring again.
Symptomatic remission means you're free of uc symptoms: urgency, blood, mucus, and you should have only a few bms a day (I have only one, but 1-3 might be your normal). This is something that you can tell on your own. Stools aren't always pre-uc formed. Mine very from normal solids to softer and less formed.
Clinical/deep/endoscopic/histalogical remission is something your gastroenterologist determines after giving you a colonoscopy or a flex-sigmoidoscopy with biopsies. He/she can verify that there's no active inflammation even at a microscopic/biopsy level.
Generally remission is the goal in treatment of uc. It gives the best quality of life, the longest periods of remission, least frequent and less severe flares. For some, it takes years of struggling to find remission and it might feel like chasing unicorns or leprechauns. It took me several years, and I doubted it'd ever happen.