Just Diagnosed with UC

Unfortunately none of us can tell you how long any given flare will last. It varies greatly between person to person and flare to flare.

What was your reaction to Lialda? Apriso is the same active ingredient as Lialda.

Are you on any rectal meds? You should be if you are having bloody diarrhea.

Hope you pull out of it soon.

Get on rectal meds....mesalamine 4g would be the best, see if you are sensitive to them. If too high a dosage, then ask for 2g.

You need protein, chew well. Try eggs.

Flares...well, there are varying degrees of inflammation. It increases and decreases...inflammation is a flare. You're early in dealing with them, and it takes time and experience to recognise early symptoms and healing symptoms.

Tone down excessive exercise...revving up your system doesn't help. Do mild exercise and allow your body the time it needs to heal. A mental schedule will only tick you off more with expectations.

Welcome to the forum. Hope you will find helpful info and support here.

I stress the rectal meds. Add probiotics and eat. There are many touted UC directed diets that many have tried follow with varying success. I've never followed any.

q

Lialda gave me flu like symptoms. Body aches, joint pain, fever
After trying Colasol and Asacol I am sure that I have an allergy to mesalamines which is the active ingredient in both, along with your Lialda and Apriso. I had your symptoms along with pleurisy. But if you are compatible with Apriso then maybe it isn't mesalamine itself but the other ingredients such as sulfites or something that are added to Lialda that give you problems.

I have no idea why some doctors continue to say that food has nothing to do with IBD when the evidence is overwhelming that it does. For example in order to induce UC in lab animals researchers will feed them carrageenan. Carrageenan is a 'natural' seaweed that is found in myriad processed foods. Many people here on this forum swear that certain foods trigger symptoms.

Gluten and dairy are the usual suspects but any food can be a problem. I, for example, cannot eat cruciferious veggies or shellfish without severe problems. Best to maintain a food diary to isolate that which may cause symptoms. Start with something relatively safe (like maybe chicken broth), and then add one food at a time.

Maybe you will be one who has no problem with gluten (wheat). But if you do have a problem with it then you need to stop eating your toast and beer and anything else that contains wheat. But a friend of mine who is Celiac (that means super intolerant to gluten whereas I am just sensitive to it) told me that Corona beer is the one brand he can drink. A food diary should tell you what you need to know.

am I ever going to be back to normal?
Flares are very hard to escape but once you are in remission a good maintenance med such as your Apriso and rectal meds taken as needed can bring you back to normal. And if you are sensitive to any foods then you will also need to avoid them.

Hi RyanC!

I'm also recently diagnosed and a runner and craft beer enthusiast. While I am by no means a doctor, I just saw mine for the first time last week and will share the info she gave me in the event it helps you feel more hopeful. Your mileage may, of course, vary, and for the record I have procto-sigmoid UC.

Running and cycling were the first things I asked about, since they're a non-negotiable part of my life, and my current flare ramped up seriously bigtime in later training for my marathon and immediately after. I was Very Concerned. Doc told me that they never tell runners not to run and said that, in a flair, it will come down to the amount of discomfort I'm willing to tolerate, but that I wouldn't be doing any damage or prolonging the agony, as it were. I've got her ok to run as much as I want. HOORAY!

Diet--including craft beer and wine! She said I may have to back off, depending on how I respond to it, but that it also may not be a problem. Diet tends to be a case-by-case issue. I've been tracking, and nothing seems to make any difference.

Butt meds. Dude. I stared at the enemas my diagnosing doctor gave me, trembled in fear a bit, then dug in my heels and refused. I freely admitted my non-compliance to my new doc and she was . . . Totally fine with it. In fairness, the initial doc had me on 2 Lialda/day, and the new doc felt it was a bigger issue that I wasn't taking 4/day. So she told me not to worry about the Rowasa for the time being, since I seemed to have mild improvement with the lower dose of Lialda, and give the increased dose 6 weeks and see how I do. If I don't see substantial improvement, then I should give them a try. She also told me that it's no big deal if I can only tolerate the enemas (should I try them) for a few minutes at a time, and not to torture myself about their deployment or my tolerance at this point. That said, it's something I'm probably going to have to do at some point in my life, and that's fine--I've resigned myself to the eventuality (possibly sooner rather than later), but it made me stress about it much less to hear that my doc wasn't concerned about for the time being.

So basically, I told her things that were non-negotiable parts of my life, plus other things that I enjoy greatly, as well as (possibly irrational) concerns, and her approach is to manage me, to the greatest extent possible, with the inclusion of those things I need/love while minimizing stress about things that worry me, or freak me out.

I've gotten loads of good info perusing the forums, but I've also gotten anxiety considering all the various restrictions and limitations that I've seen. It was reassuring, to me, to have a frank discussion with my doctor about how best to proceed, with the management goal of living the life I'm most interested in--which includes marathons and cycling to breweries.

Oh believe me, I have been through the frustration of being a person who does the "right" things, health-wise, only to have everything go sideways. But autoimmune disease doesn't care.

As for how flares end, I'm no help there (yet). The improvement I've had since the sub-optimal Lialda dosing started 45 days ago has been incremental. It has greatly reduced bleeding, down to just trace, rather than seriously considering the emergency room every time I poop, and the frequency is down to 2-6x per day, average, from 6-10x (though I still have those days, too) But it's still far from normal. I'm guessing it's going to be gradual.

And there lies the denial and naivety of what UC is. It's not caused by food, how healthy you perceive yourself to be or that one is in good shape.

No, flares don't magically go away or bam you're in a flare.

I suggest you don't get hung up on the belief you shouldn't eat this or just eat that.
Experience of what you're actually dealing with will go a long way toward a knowledge base. You can't strong arm it into submission.

Rectal meds...what are you afraid of?

q

Hey guys, fellow marathoner and enema hater here.......pretty new diagnosis of chronic UC, as well (I did have my first flare 8 years ago though but was put immediately into remission and stayed there until this current flare).

I have to tell you that I used oral mesalamine for quite awhile and didn't get rid of any symptoms at all until I added the rectals along with them. Right now I am on a streak of a week or so symptom free.

The oral mesalamine doesn't reach the rectum and if you are seeing blood, there are most likely ulcers there that won't be getting treatment. Without treatment, the inflammation can just get worse and creep......believe me, this has been utterly humbling. But the folks suggesting the enemas are really offering sound advice.

Also, drink tons of water & good luck.

Flares end gradually--unfortunately. We all wish for a magic bullet believe me.

Chicken (boiled or baked) and fish (baked) are generally good proteins. Some stay away from red meat. Use coconut or olive oil. Well cooked veggies. Limit raw fruit and veggies while flaring. Most stay away from dairy, gluten, and sugar while flaring.

Welcome to the forum. Sorry you've had to join us!