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Flaring again...time to move on??

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/30/2021 1:39 PM (GMT 0)
I started a biosimilar medication to Humira at the end of June 2020.
From August 2020 to December I was completely back to normal.
However in December I started to feel the telltale signs that I might be starting to flare (gurgling stomach, softer bowel movements, nausea, back ache, bloated) so I started taking suppositories in the morning and foam at night which helped stop the flare from escalating but hasn't quashed the symptoms completely. I have some good days where I feel I'm getting somewhere and then I have days like today where my stomach is so sore and I just generally feels unwell.
I only have 1 bm a days, sometimes 2, they are formed but v.soft and no blood thankfully, some urgency in the morning but its controllable.
I'm going to ring my GI during the week but I'm just wondering if Humira isn't working for me anymore, should I move on to something else?
Also do some people find when they are flaring that their stomach feels worse than their bowel, I often feel that way.
Posted 1/30/2021 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
I-2 BM, semi formed with no blood sounds like remission overall or very close. Maybe you have a mild amount of inflammation if you have some urgency in the morning, but it definitely doesn't sound like a full flare. Get a fecal calproctecin test to see what your inflammation looks like. Some people also have IBS on top of UC when in remission that can cause stomach pain, nausea and bloating even when inflammation is good.
Posted 1/30/2021 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
I dont know and suggest regarding the humira and ilk, but it does sound as though your inflammation is limited to the rectum. And yes...you are having the exact same symptoms as I would have when flaring. Maybe upping to mesalamine 4g enemas nightly at this point in conjunction to the steroid foam daily. You could also ask for an antispasmodic... dicyclomine is what I use.

q
Posted 1/30/2021 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you both for your replies and suggestion.
I decided to look back over my medical notes and noticed when I was first diagnosed my GI noted that I had H. pylori-negative gastritis, she put me on Flagyl for 2 weeks and I went from having the symptoms of severe pancolitis to being 90 percent recovered and stayed that way on 2g Pentasa granules for 2 years.
I'm wondering now if I'm having reoccurring bouts of gastritis and this is why I often feel like I have more stomach issues than bowel and blaming how I feel on my UC.
Might it be worthwhile suggesting a course of antibiotics to my GI?
Posted 1/31/2021 6:04 AM (GMT 0)
It's possible and you would probably need an upper scope for diagnosis. Worth asking for the meds tho.

q
Posted 2/3/2021 10:40 AM (GMT 0)
Just got off the phone from my GI. He also thinks my issues are stemming from my stomach so he's sending me out a prescription for Nexium (or similar), also a kit to test my stool for inflammation just in case and I've also to get blood drawn too.
But overall he wants me to stay on my current meds, take the new meds he's sending out and then they'll see me in a in person clinic in March.
Finger crossed I can get back to where I was a 2 months ago.
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