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Questions about current flare

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/26/2016 8:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,
Thankfully, I believe I am coming to the end of my first major flare. I have been in my current flare since around late May, and I am finally up to 2 solid BMs a day followed by 2 loose ones which I hope will continue to subside. I have never been so relieved about looking down and seeing a solid stool!! Who knew. My question to you guys is how do you know when you are fully out of the flare? I've been on a very strict diet over the past few months, which of course has caused me to lose about 12 pounds, and I'm eager to slowly start expanding my food choices without doing any damage to the progress I've made. Should I wait until all become fully formed bms? I still have the occasional urgent moment where it's a race against time to make it to the toilet, but that is rare right now. I go off of prednisone completely in 2 days, but I'm going to stick with my other supplements of probiotics and slippery elm. Does urgency ever really subside even when in remission?
Posted 10/26/2016 10:58 AM (GMT 0)
Congrats on seeing solids, always a good sign that you've made great progress. Yes, urgency does disappear in remission. You can try slowly reintroducing foods and see how your system reacts. Generally we can eat a greater variety of foods when we're healed than when we're flaring badly. You might still have some mild inflammation left in your rectum which you can hit with rectal route medication to achieve the last few steps to remission.
Posted 10/26/2016 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Ah great news hearing that urgency goes with remission! Looking forward to those days. Is the rectal route medication by prescription only? Or is there some OTC thst may be able to help?
Posted 10/26/2016 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, prescription. Examples include anti-inflammatory mesalamine enemas (rowasa), foams, or suppositories (canasa). Or steroid enemas, foams, or suppositories. I'd generally recommended the anti-inflammatory first.
Posted 10/26/2016 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
I just recovered from a flare that started around the beginning of Sept.

After being treated with pred for a week my urgency was greatly reduced. I would place myself in the "mild" category in terms of BM.

After two weeks it completely disappeared.

I am now at three weeks, still tapering and normal. Down to 40mg today.

As to when you know the worst is really over? If your frequent urges have ended I think you are OK. The rest is maintenance therapy -- finding the right mix for where your issue is so you don't have a problem in the near future.
Posted 10/26/2016 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
Great thanks for the information!
Also nynj, congrats on the quick recover hat is awesome! Have you been able to find the right mix for yourself? I'm still working on getting that down.
Posted 10/26/2016 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
not to butt in here b18, but if nynj had found the right mix, pred would not be part of the current program - pred is a rescue drug not anything else - hard to say what prompted the need for it in nnynj's case, but could be maintenance meds being used were not sufficient - or sometimes there is just a blip that some folks address with pred -

what maintenance drugs are you taking ?
Posted 10/27/2016 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Very good point soynomore
I just dropped down to 10mg of prednisone myself, I will be going off of it in a few days. I Also started humira about a month and a half ago.
For personal remedies I've been using, I just started slippery elm but I read to be careful when taking it as it can mess with other medications. I've also been taking fish oil and probiotics.
Posted 10/29/2016 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
Is mucas in the stool the last thing to go/longest to heal when a flare is coming to an end?

Right now it seems like every other stool is formed. Following a formed one, surely it is one filled with mucas and is very loose and watery. Why do they keep going back and forth? Whenever I think I'm doing good, that urgency comes back and they are very loose. Why is this?

Post Edited (Broncofan18) : 10/29/2016 3:18:38 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/29/2016 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
Mucus is the least concerning of our symptoms and can even be from IBS. Healing can be infuriating and inconsistent especially when healing. You can try adding a fiber supplement like Metamucil to firm things up a bit and offer greater consistency in stools.
Posted 10/29/2016 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
Oh really? I always thought excess mucus was a bad thing, I know there will always naturally be a little. Could fiber be the missing ingredient in forming up those other stools that won't seem to solidify? I was nervous to add fiber while on this low fiber diet that it would add to urgency.
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