Right, gastro appointment went well. He said that normally, he treats flares with a flare dosage for at least 6 months, if not 12 months, and only encourages patients to gradually reduce medication back to the remission dosage once they've been in remission for some time. Not 7 days. But you all knew that
We discussed 5-ASA enemas, but he didn't think mine was severe enough to go down that road at this stage, but did suggest I increase my suppository dosage to 2000mg per day. Steroid foam enemas aren't an option because (and I kid you not) there are none in the country at the moment. (I'm beginning to think I picked the wrong country to live in when I got UC, as that makes us sound like some third-world nation).
He wants to see me again in 2 months time, and we can re-evaluate treatment. I did ask about
the remote chance that this may not be flare, but may be something else. He said based on my symptoms and the fact that I did respond positively to the flare dosage, it suggests it probably is just a flare, but that you can never be sure without further testing/procedures.
So I've got a 3 month script
for the flare dosage of 4g per day, and will be seeing him in two months, so can discuss how things are going.
Looking back at the notes I made and the dates, I did improve a lot on the flare dosage. The only reason why I went backward was because I reduced my dosage (as I was going to run out of meds otherwise). I've been back on the flare dosage for 5 days, and today my symptoms have been FAR better. I even had a BM today that began with a dry fart... Something I haven't had for weeks.
My gut feeling is that I'll continue to improve on the flare dosage without being forced to taper off so soon. It's good to know I'm under the care of someone who understands how to treat this thing.