Will I be able to run again?

I recently found out that I have this disease and the doctor said it looks like I have had it for quite some time. I had taken a medication that started my first flare up of UC. It has been about a month, I have been officially on Lialda for a week since my first colonoscopy procedure which seems to be finally kicking in (went from 15+ BMs a day to about 5 now, praying to get it under 3 by next week). The doc is just waiting for the results of Crohn's, he wants to make sure that, that is not in question. I was an avid runner prior to this past month. I have been running since middle school, ran competitively in college and now, while in the military, running is still apart of my life. I have lost about 12 lbs and I am wondering if there is another runner who was diagnosed with this disease that can give me insight on what they faced, if they were able to get back to where they were or if they had to slow it down. I am 27 years old. I've been healthy up until this point. My thoughts are if I was suspected to have had this for a while and I was "normal" or as I thought was normal, after this flare up I can get back to my normal. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, you will run again. It just may not be the same as before. That being said, I was running before I was diagnosed, but never more than 5-8 miles a run. Last year I decided to run a half marathon and managed to train for it without flaring and am doing the same this year.
Just listen to your body, I know when I am too weak/sick to run and I increase my yoga practice then. You will get there, but don't push it.

I am a runner and was diagnosed early last month.

I seem to have a mild case of UC, but have responded well to the treatments and am already getting back to a normal running routine (yesterday I ran seven miles with no issues). I have a few runner friends that have UC, one of whom is a phenomenal runner who places in every race he enters.

So yes, you will be able to get back to running regularly once you get your symptoms under control. I know people that run even during a flare. I ran a little during my flare, but definitely dialed it back quite a bit. I was going to run a marathon this month, but lost a lot of training time, so cancelled it. That being said, I might run a half-marathon this month and plan to run a full this fall.

Let me know when you get back to running!

Everyone is different the key part is to listen to your body and not push yourself too much when flaring. Doing what you love is important; you will just have to get really creative about it sometimes.

I am one of the UCers where intensive exercise can induce flare ups. I also cannot do moderate to intense exercise during a flare; it can make it worse. I had a particularly bad flare when I was training for a marathon after one long run (it hit me within 24 hours). After that I was able to do shorter runs no problem.

Now I can't run due to severe GERD, but you should be okay once you get the flare under control I've learned to love hiking, biking and other less intensive activities and I don't feel that it's a loss.

i have run during flares - many, many times - unfortunately, all too often not fast enough


without a doubt, you will run again !

I am a runner, currently in a slight flare due to being put on an antibiotic. I am currently trying for the Rock n Roll Nashville Marathon. I take Humira once a week and to get thing back under control, I'm on a low dose of prednisone. Colonoscopy tomorrow and a 20 mile run on Sunday. You WILL be able to run again! Good luck!

You will run again.

If you need some inspiration, check out this link. Kathleen Baker is a 20 year old Olympic GOLD MEDAL swimmer who has Crohn's disease. She is an inspiration and living proof that remission allows us to get back to life as we want it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/sports/olympics/kathleen-baker-crohns-disease-swimming-olympics.html

My son has had no problem staying on his swim team. You'll run again.