Severe Flare - Weight Gain and Suggestions Please

I hope the Xeljanz works. At least that one works quickly and you don't have to wait months like most of these other meds.

Mrs Brady
I’ve had meltdowns at my primary care docs office and at my GI office. You cannot wait any longer and need to see doc ASAP to switch meds. Xelanz works fast according to others so it’s a good choice. All of the drugs have potential side effects so don’t worry about Xelanz. I wouldn’t wait till appointment! My doc would never let me wait while in a bad flare!

Hi I have been going through a severe flare as well. Started off with loss of appetite and vomitting as well which was never experienced. My albumin went down to 1.3. Things that helped me:
1) Emetrol take that to control the vomiting it helps me hold down food for sure
2) Eat salmon I ate salmon at least 4 times a week and now my albumin is 2.6 5 months later
3) Have Ensure Clear it has no milk
4) Have non-fat greek yogurt it has a lot of protein

Hope this helps!

I had repeat stool studies done, everything is negative. I have come to the conclusion that entyvio is not working and my next med is Xelzanz. My husband and I had a very lengthy and frank discussion this evening regarding having my colon removed. If I cannot find a medication that works I am okay with this route. I cannot consistently live on the edge of being hospitalized. I have never in my 7 years since diagnosis been this sick with UC. Thank you all for your comments, it truly helps me feel that I am not alone in this journey.

I have never tried Zofran. Emetrol causes me no side effects and I take 5ml minimum dosage few times a day it really controls the vomitting and helps take some food down the throat. I have been in a flare for 5 months and started off with throwing every time I ate. Emetrol resolved the issue until few weeks ago I have started vomitting again. But do try it. Also as I adviced earlier to take some non-fat greek yogurt. I hate eating it so I make buttermilk out of it. Add some water and salt to it. It really helps with the protein intake.

I get it, it is depressing dealing with chronic illness. I hope today is a better day - I really do! I have used both zofran and bentyl but never emetrol so I can't say which is more effective. I had okay luck with zofran for nausea but not much luck with bentyl for cramping and pain. If you're really down you should go see someone. Sometimes the pred in combo with these health challenges can become too much to mentally handle. I hope the pred gets you back to stable so you can get going on a new drug, and get into a long, long pred-free remission.

Hi everyone, just wanted to give a quick update. I was taking 50 mg of steroids for nearly 2 weeks with no improvement. I started hemorrhaging early Saturday morning and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital for a blood transfusion. They put me on Solu-Medrol, 40 mg every 6 hours to try to stop the bleeding which has slowed down but has not stopped. I had a CT scan on Saturday that did not show any perforation. Early this afternoon I had a flex sig which shows severe inflammation despite the high-dose steroids. I plan to meet with a colorectal surgeon while I am here in the hospital. My GI is also working on insurance approval for Xeljanz. They are moving the solu medrol down to 20 mg because they are concerned with such a high dosage with a non-response. Right now I am playing it day by day and hopefully after meeting with the surgeon can make an informed decision. Any advice is most certainly welcome.

Thanks. I have heard from the GI at the hospital as little as three days and from my GI as little as two weeks. My biggest fear right now is that it will not work and I will be burning more time again waiting for a response. I also fear having another incident of hemorrhaging. That honestly scared me half to death.

I'm actually glad I'm here as is my husband. I just never thought that could happen. As much as I hate being in the hospital I know it is the best place for me to be right now

Thanks, I'll take all the prayers I can get. I really hate that we are all suffering with this wretched disease.

Thanks for checking in. I had surgery on Wednesday with a total colectomy and ileostomy. After meeting with the colorectal surgeon I determined the best course of action was to remove the colon. it was an extremely tough decision, however, I truly feel it was the right one for me. The surgery was tough, 6 hours. I must say though, the following day I immediately felt better. I was released from the hospital yesterday and I'm working on adjusting. Please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming.

Thank you so much for your reply. It helps to know that complete strangers are thinking about me. I am very happy with my decision. I just needed to get on a definitive road to recovery. I could not continue to be in and out of the hospital as sick as I was.

Thanks!