Proctitis Help

Welcome. I know for me it took awhile for the bleeding to stop. I never had cramps or pain either.

Thank you both for your help. I suppose I just need patience, you just assume after a week or two you should see your symptoms get better.

I am trying to remain stress free aswell as we had to postpone our wedding a few weeks back as a result of the ongoing virus, I think stress definitely triggered it. I’m taking vitamin D and a probiotic also.

Is there anything you would recommend with diet for ulcerative proctitis? My consultant says it’s nothing to do with diet but I wonder.

Thanks

For me with the Mesalamine enema it usually takes about two weeks for the bleeding to stop.

I forgot to mention that usually my doctor puts me on enema twice a day untill the bleeding stops then once a day.

Thank you so much for your reply! I’ve moved from the suppositories to the enema’s and yesterday I started taking the oral Saloflak also so I will take both enema and oral. Will the oral help if my inflammation is limited to the rectum??
The bleeding has been ongoing since March.

Good to know these things take time and definitely can be frustrating but nice to know I’m not on my own.

I’m fortunate that I don’t have cramps but the bleeding can be quite severe sometimes so hopefully after time with these meds they should clear up.
I have no problem retaining the enema so I hope that’s a good sign. My first BM this morning I did get the urge and it was loose-ish stool but no blood. The bleeding seems to be appear after the morning it’s like the medication wearing off.

Thanks so much 😊

Hi Quincy,

Thank you so much for your help.
I was diagnosed via colonoscopy in April. On my report I received back my colon is normal, inflammation was limited to the rectum.

Sometime before March I was only going to the toilet maybe twice a week and had a tiny bit of blood on TP the odd time I put it down to a cut as I used to strain a lot but looking back I presume this was the start of it? Didn’t think I was constipated as I had no pains and felt good.

No I’m actually in Ireland 😊 My consultant here prescribed Saloflak. Maybe the enema’s can take some time to work? It’s just frustrating because I have a fear it will get worse hoping it won’t.

Thanks,
Suzanna

Loud rumbling gas is common for us during flares. Sounds like a jungle down there for me sometimes, even hear monkeys and pumas if you listen closely. Totally normal for us, should get better as you heal.

Thanks so much Quincy and ipoop for your help!

I now have a new dilemma since last week unfortunately, I’ve been having quite a lot of diarrhea out of nowhere I actually felt the Saloflak was really working for a few days then diarrhea and spasms/discomfort started happening before I had a BM.
Still experiencing it nearly a week on, struggling with it a bit as I thought things were looking up. I also am now finding it difficult to hold in the enema’s to which as I advised earlier had no prior issues. Do you think the enema’s are just not working now? I also take an oral Saloflak.

My GI prescribed me Pred if the diarrhea doesn’t get better. Should I take this or hang tight??

Appreciate any help as I’m totally new to this thank you 😊

Hi ipoop,

Thank you so much for the detailed info! It’s extremely hard to know what to do as everyday my symptoms change with this disease. I’m going to try and do another enema tonight and see how I get on and may add the Pred (I’m hesitant to add).

Can your flare get worse even though your already in a flare and treating it?
My gut is telling me the enema’s are making the stool watery but maybe I just need to wait for it to heal again!

This is my first flare and finding it impossible to get out of 😔

I will keep you all updated how things go!

Thank you so much

"Can your flare get worse even though your already in a flare and treating it?".

Yes, under treatment of a flare results in the inflammation spreading in extent and severity, which produces worse symptoms.

And just remember that healing isn't a linear path from flare to remission, with daily, stead improvement. Rather healing is like a rollercoaster ride full of surprise ups and downs. Normal to have a really good day immediately followed by a really bad day. Infuriating but normal. Looking at bm to bm or day to day comparison is meaningless a there's such wild variation. What you need to do is take a week to week look at your progress, ask yourself: "on average are my symptoms better, the same, or worse than last week?" If you're heading in the right direction you can say there was a sign of improvement, maybe less pain, blood, bms, or better consistency. Attaining a remission is going to take a month or three, no knowing for sure. Patience is key, being pragmatic about where you're at and what's working or not is key. As is contacting your gasteroenterologist to let him/her know about your progress or lack thereof (check in every 4-8 weeks at least).

If you're up crap's Creek without a paddle, pred will make you feel great again rocketship fast. Pred's colloquially called the devil's tic tacs for able reason, as most of us get side effects on it. It might give you temporary mood swings, increased appetite, insomnia, nightsweats, moonface etc. We all have a love/hate relationship with the dreaded pred. When I've taken pred it's been because my flare is worse than anything my pred side effects can do.

Steroid enemas or the budesonide oral pills (Uceris, Entocort EC) are a lot better on side effects. Maybe worth about asking about if pred worries you.

Hi Guys,

The diarrhea has been 2/3 times in the morning and 2/3 times around 8/9pm also I was getting up a few nights with it. I spoke to my GI yesterday and she advised me to start the Pred to try and get to calm down the flare as she said it sounded like it could be getting a bit worse and it’s being ongoing since April.

Weirdly enough I did start adding in the suppository during the day and felt during mg the day I was good. I also used it last night instead of the enema and I slept straight through and had more of a loose stool than diarrhea. I don’t know why but I feel like the suppositories work better than the enema, I know it doesn’t make sense.

I’m taking 3G oral Saloflak, my GI did say sometimes it can take up to 8 weeks for the orals to kick in, I’m only on them two weeks! When I look at the bigger picture I feel worse the last two weeks than I did back in April/May when I just started medication.

So I’ve started the Pred today wish me luck 😊

Hi Quincy,

I’m on my 5th week off enema’s and they seem to be worsening my symptoms, I did see an improvement for a few days after three weeks initially then I started getting diarrhea and pains. I’ve been on suppositories since the end of April also.

They’ve prescribed me two months of the Pred, every week I taper off a tablet. My GI thinks I should start it as I’m getting up in the middle of the night with BM’s and finding it hard to hold the enema’s where originally I had no issue for weeks with them.

What you think?

Thanks for your help..