Is my UC under control, or do I need to fix something?

Diagnosed with UC at the tender age of 18. Been about 5.5 years since.

Was dreadful at the beginning, while unmedicated, as life revolved around going to the bathroom. D with blood, at least once every waking hour during the worst few months.

Saw a specialist finally, got on Salofalk (5-ASA, Mesalamine) and things got better. No more blood, no more uncontrollable need to have to go to the bathroom right now or else havoc will be wreaked.

I'm a bit older now so I'm beginning to think about the condition and what it really means for my body. At 18 I was just happy I wasn't glued to the toilet anymore. But today, despite the meds, I still FEEL like I have colitis. My stomach is grumpier than the average persons, the consistency of my stool is softer than it should be without UC and the colour can vary between shades of brown. Also go to the washroom around 5 times a day, though it's important to note it's not because of an uncontrollable urge. I'd just rather function with a non-crampy stomach.

No blood, generally no D.

So my UC is manageable and doesn't ever stop me from doing anything, which it did when unmedicated. But is there something wrong still? Should I be feeling even better? Should it feel like I never even had colitis, minus the taking the meds part?

Does this mean I'm in a flare? And flares are bad to be in right, even if they're somewhat under control? https://www.healingwell.com/community/emoticons/confused.gif

PS: I also frequently urinate. I was on sertraline for the past year or so though and some people floated the idea that that could along with the 5-ASA cause frequent urination?

Thank you for reading this.

Post Edited (stephcurry) : 11/13/2017 3:56:44 PM (GMT-7)

Welcome to the forum.

What salofalk are you using exactly...and the dosages.

q

The colonoscopy with biopsies is really the only way to tell if you are in remission.

I have cramping, diarrhea, frequency, urgency, etc and am apparently in remission (based on the colonoscopy I had 2 weeks ago).

Many of us never seem to return to fully normal functioning, even though we're technically in remission. If you're concerned I'd asked my GI for a calprotectin test if you've not had one recently.

I was a bit like you in that even in remission I still wasn't "normal". It always felt to me as I was on the verge of a flare. To see if I could get closer to normal I went on SCD, upped my probiotic intake and added a daily dose of tumeric. Taken together, all helped significantly and although still not back to what I was like pre-UC, I am now much closer to it.

A flare is a persistent and consistent worsening of your UC symptoms. It's isn't just a one day episode of bad symptoms (and yes we all do have bad days). Rather a flare shows one or more (one for a mild flare and all for a bad flare) of the following and it persists for multiple weeks or more: increased bm frequency, urgency, loose stools, blood, tenesmus (feeling you have to poop and either nothing or only tiny bits pass), and pain. A remission is described as a total absence of UC symptoms. As an example when I am in a remission, I have 1-bm a day without urgency that is mostly to fully formed, with no signs of blood or abdominal discomfort.

If you are unsure whether you are in a flare or not then the first stop should be your gasteroenteroligist, give him/her a call. You will need a test to see whether you are flaring or not.

Non-Invasive Options:
1.) Ask for a Fecal Calprotectin (FCP) stool test as it measures intestinal inflammation.
2.) Ask for a C Reactive Protein (CRP) blood test which will measure body-wide inflammation levels.

Most accurate but invasive:
1.) A colonoscopy or at least a flexible-sigmoidoscopy.

Some can have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in addition to their UC. Some can have GERD in addition to their UC. You'd need tests to confirm or deny those possibilities. Some can have food-intolerances/sensitivities. We are more prone to having dairy-intolerances and non-celiac-gluten-intolerances than the general population (not guaranteed but higher risk), so eliminating all dairy and/or gluten for 3-4 weeks would be a good test of that to see if your symptoms dramatically improve (they may or they may not).

Thank you all for your help.

Lots of stuff here to take in and implement.