Posted 1/10/2017 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
How bad are your current symptoms? I was only able to regain weight once I got my daily bms 4 or less per day, and at least semi-formed. It was a steep, uphill climb to regain weight with some lingering/simmering symptoms remaining: I drank whole milk, ate lots of carbs, made protein shakes (whole yogurt, peanut butter, and a banana in the blender), and snacked and ate a lot. Still I was only able to gain about 1/2 a pound every 3 weeks or so, despite pounding on the calories. The closer you are to a remission, the easier it is to gain weight.
Regarding class, ideally, you get your Ulcerative Colitis under control. Realistically, it takes many months to heal. So certainly tell your teacher/professor about your illness so if you need to leave the class suddenly for a bathroom run then it will be okay. Similarly, some of us have been given special accommodations for tests, like taking it by yourself in a room with a close bathroom.
There's always things like Imodium you can use to slow down your bowels. Skipping caffeine and alcohol can help some of us (caffeine can stimulate bms, alcohol can aggravate/inflame the GI tract). Limiting eating before or during class can help reduce bms (eating can stimulate bms), eat bigger afterward classes. It's tough, we all have tricks and techniques that help us get by when UC is at it's worst. Just want the struggling to be as infrequent and limited as is possible.
If you can't tame your UC with your current treatment, has biologics like Remicade or Humira been discussed? They're pretty quick working medications that often work within a few to 6 weeks. If you're still struggling as you taper the pred then you might need something much stronger as a maintenance medication...