Sporadic Remission/Allergy's

Hey People,

Back for some advice on a few accounts;

1 - Has anyone ever had sporadic remission occur, my son's proctitis seems to have stopped bleeding however, we didn't change medication, and not currently on rectal meds. This seems strange but obviously positive I guess. Was only ever small amount of rectal bleeding that was consistent and stubborn however, recently none.

2 - My son sometimes wont pass a stool for 1-2 days however, when he does finally go it can be like a domino effect and he will go 2/3 times inside an hour, then back to normal. Is this linked to rectal inflammation?

3 - Lastly, can allergy's cause UP symptoms or mimic UP endoscopically etc? I am convinced dairy or something highly complex doesn't agree with him. I'm way past the denial stage however, could this whole rectal bleed be an allergy off sorts? He has never had any other symptoms and it appears to come and go at times.

All in, positive news recently with the hope getting better than his inflammation remains localised and mild in nature.

Thanks Again.

Thanks Ipoop for the response.

1 - Bleeding has been very difficult, all be it small. If this has finally stopped, even for a small period we will be over the moon, very happy. I will keep you updated.
2 - He doesn't take anything other than the UP medication and a vitamin tablet. He is extremely fit due to being a top youth boxer, plays football as well. He has never, ever been one to drink enough water/liquids and we constantly need to push him with this.
3 - I have never tried any diet modifications, under doctor advice and have never been to concerned due to the fact the disease, thus far has been very mild, showing not impact. If things got serious, no doubt diet would be very much on our mind.

It takes me back to the usual hope, if my son's disease stays as it is, then it literally, out with hospital visits and medication wont have any burden on his life.

I always ask the question, can it really be this mild?

I feel like if I wasn't an anxious person and had never read up on the internet then, we wouldn't be really concerned.

Very frustrating and complicated illness, heart goes out to anyone suffering with it.

He first has symptoms over 2 years ago, I would say in that time it has got slightly better since being diagnosed 1 year ago. I am hopeful that if it was going to spread, then it would have by now.

He has never had any of these tests, possibly will have in the future.

Thanks, that’s a great post, made me feel good.

Yea, he seems so fine and I think this disease has affected me more, I think the internet can be a dangerous place with this sort of thing.

You've posted a number of times while expressing your gratefulness that your son is only a mild case, and ask will it stay mild? Sounds like you have a fair amount of anxiety and worry regarding his outcome. It's understandable, your son and all (and everyone here has their fingers crossed that he'll continue doing well).

However, if you do suffer from a lot of anxiety from this then it should be treated through counseling, or possibly anti-anxiety meds depending on severity. Certainly, focus on the here-and-now (something that those of us who live chronic illness must come to terms with, and to a lesser degree our family members and SO must cope with), he's doing great so celebrate it. There's millions of worst-case scenarios that are possible but that's completely irrelevant to his case. Only worry if and when it becomes a problem. We learn to look at the here-and-now, focus on our feet and how we feel today. The future is a big unknown and worrying about it does nothing but make our lives miserable (with hundreds of worst case situations running through our minds).

Just know everyone flares eventually (hopefully we get a break for 2, 3, 5 or more years). Two points toward that end:

First, its essential that new patients understand that continuing his/her treatments when feeling good and bad are essential. Common (especially among adolescents) to quit their meds, or at least get inconsistent about taking their meds, when they feel good which is a huge mistake, and can cause his/her next flare.

Second, remain vigilant of the signs of a return of a flare and do not ignore them. Much, much easier to nip-it-on-the-bud and catch it early and intervene ASAP. Easier to put out a glowing ember than to extinguish a five-alarm house fire. When he starts regressing, contact his gasteroneteroligist and ask for a stool test for infectious causes to his symptoms (to rule out c diff) and up his medications from maintenance to flare dosages.

Thanks guys, it is a struggle. I think because he is such a mild case it makes my anxiety even worse because I just think what if it gets bad all the time.

I already have anxiety it’s a terrible condition as well, it don’t affect me on day to day life but regarding issues like kids etc it goes haywire.

None of the rest of the family are even worried, because he’s so healthy.

Only me, horrible and will need to up meds I think myself.

We're all here to help, and to call out things when we see them. We all understand health-related stress and anxieties as many of us have lived it and suffered to varying degrees; never fun.

Certainly, you do not want to obsess over his illness and try in futility to control what's uncontrollable. There's only a few variables we can control, and those you make sure he understands and lives: taking our medications religiously when feeling good or bad, remaining vigilant of regression and contacting our doc to intervene asap. The course of our illness is completely out of our hands, as is the unpredictable/uncertain future.

Certainly look into stress-relief exercises, mindfulness, and anything that relaxes you: yoga, meditation, etc. Here's a few links that the nice folks on our healingwell Anxieties forum gave me to share with folks who are struggling (you can always pop by and post there too they're a great and helpful bunch).

Tips for coping with stress and anxieties:
https://www.stress-relief-exercises.com
https://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessons
https://www.healthyplace.com

Three Minute Mindfulness Meditation Video
https:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdflnqo0tqs
https:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2_uffiszky

And it does get easier over time, certainly new diagnosis is the worst. Once you get to know his course of the illness, warning signs, and what to expect from it then it is much easier to cope. When we're new to all of this, it seems that we worry about worst-case scenarios, and that anything new or unexpected is a sign that the sky is falling. Lots of needless worry about outcomes that are unlikely to occur. We've all been there though, understand, and can empathize. No easy button, for sure!

N, here is a thought to perhaps help calm some of your anxiety about your son. When you find the anxiety kicking in, remind yourself that is he doing very well, you say he is very fit & able to participate in sports. In other words, he is a young person living life as he should be in spite of having UC. Be happy for him.

Don't let this rob you of your peace. He has UC, UC does not have him or you, be thankful.

That’s the thing, he’s always been healthy he has painless rectal bleeding at times and proctitis diagnosis, probably ibd/uc.

It’s never even made him have a day off school.

It’s all me that makes it worse, it’s my anxiety and I think this has flagged up I need to tackle it head on and deal with it.

Your support is great and Quincy your correct I do take a lot from the forum, even when we argue lol.

I will come around to this chronic illness in due course, the denial/anger/annoyed stage will pass I am sure.

Just grateful for now, all is good, lets hope, along with all you guys that this remains the same for everyone with the illness.

I think I need to deal with my own chronic illness, rather than living in denial about that.