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Covid omicron variant and ulcerative colitis

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/23/2022 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,

It's been a while since I have been on this forum. The contributors have been amazing.

A few days ago I had probably the worst flare to date. This time there was no buld up or warning. Also there was extremely sharp pains to the sides of my abdomen which wouldn't stop until I had diarrhoea, Something that only happened when I was first diagnosed.

Literally 24 hours later the flare stopped and I had a sore throat, fever and shivers....

Yesterday those stopped and had a horrifically bad 18 trips to the toilet full of blood...and watery diarrhoea

This morning I took a covid 19 test and I'm positive. My wife went to the pharmacy to get more dioralyte (Dioralyte is a UK brand - oral rehydration for diarrhoea). The pharmacist told me there is a national shortage. Apparently covid omicron has diarrhoea and gastric problems as one of the main symptoms.

Today is not as bad but im still experiencing abdominal pain and diarrhoea (8 times so far)

Anyone aware of this or experienced this?? Any help or advice would greatly appreciated.

Peace and Love to you all
Posted 1/23/2022 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
There are online recipes for homemade Gatorade or Pedialyte / Dioralyte.

Some reports have Omicron as more gastric related symptoms than pulmonary.

I would ring up your GI’s office tomorrow and ask for guidance to treat your “flare”. It could just resolve itself after your infection is gone.
Posted 1/23/2022 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, I will do.

Appreciate the advice
Posted 1/23/2022 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
I'm with keith.

Having colitis can make any infection that affects the bowel worse in intensity but it doesn't necessarily mean you're having a flare up.

It will likely calm down as your covid infection clears up.
Posted 1/23/2022 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you guys, I was starting to loose hope this morning. Really appreciate your input on this
Posted 1/23/2022 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
Considering you're positive and have gastro symptoms...I suggest you use the enemas nightly regardless. Having gastro symptoms while being sick could set inflammation in motion. As well, probiotics are a good thing.

Is Paxlovid available to you?

Keep us updated on how you're doing...

q
Posted 1/23/2022 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
I currently have covid but i can't tell if I have diarrhea. I have no colon so it's always diarrhea anyway.
Posted 1/23/2022 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
Andreita..Just what you needed on top of what youve been through already.
What are your other symptoms?
q
Posted 1/23/2022 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
I recently had covid and it did make make a current minor flare much worse. Luckily I got an Inflectra infusion after I recovered and my flare stopped.
Posted 1/23/2022 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you quincy,

I will do. I have wait and see how this develops over the next few days

quincy said...
Considering you're positive and have gastro symptoms...I suggest you use the enemas nightly regardless. Having gastro symptoms while being sick could set inflammation in motion. As well, probiotics are a good thing.

Is Paxlovid available to you?

Keep us updated on how you're doing...

q

Posted 1/23/2022 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Haley,

That's reassuring to hear that I'm not the only one in this position
Posted 1/24/2022 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
Just a quick update, spoke to the hospital ibd team today, they confirmed that it is highly likely that omicron is the cause.

They told me to continue with my usual treatment (Mezavant) and take Enemas (I haven't taken any due to the soreness of so many Toilet trips a day)
Posted 1/24/2022 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hope you feel better soon.
Posted 1/24/2022 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you
Posted 1/24/2022 11:15 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Andreita..Just what you needed on top of what youve been through already.
What are your other symptoms?
q

I no longer have symptoms but I did have a fever for 2-3 days and a cough.
Posted 1/25/2022 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
Andreita...good you're feeling better.

q
Posted 1/30/2022 11:03 AM (GMT 0)
I'm in hospital now, went on Friday to a@e as the pain was too much. I was going almost 20times a day with nothing but blood coming out of me.

The doctors said that they have seen alot of ibd patients. Omicron hits the Digestive track hard whilst the other varients hit the lungs.

Currently on steroids and morphine for the pain. I'm taking vit c and d3 as well and my usual Digestive enzymes.

Staff are great here but sadly very over stretched. Wait time for a&e was 8hours when I arrived on Friday 14.30
Posted 1/30/2022 11:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Deen

I'm so sorry to hear you're suffering like this. I hope the meds will kick in soon and you'll feel better.

Out of interest, have you been vaccinated +/- boostered? (asking this to get a feeling for my own risk factors)?

take care
Posted 1/30/2022 11:46 AM (GMT 0)
Nope, the ibd playing up has hit both groups according to the doctors I spoke to, ibd is a tricky one as its difficult to spot any patterns, the covid only lasted a few days for me and symptoms were gone in 48hours. It's the UC which went crazy and didn't stop
Posted 1/30/2022 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Deen, best wishes and I hope you're starting to feel better in hospital, from a fellow Londoner!

I tested positive for Omicron on 31st Dec, but fortunately didn't flare up. I did have a deep pain in my lower right side, in the caecum area (where I have a patch of UC) the day before I tested positive, and I wonder if the two could possibly be linked.

Anecdotally my IBD team saw a subset of patients flaring from their 2nd dose of the vaccine, so I wouldn't be surprised if both the vaccine and the virus can potentially trigger a flare in some people. Again, anecdotally the people in my clinic who were flaring tended to be just on mesalazine type drugs, with their UC rumbling along, not well controlled. It didn't tend to be the people on monoclonal antibodies.

This is anecdotal info of course, so it's not possible to draw conclusions from it.
Posted 1/30/2022 2:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hey UCyousee, thank you for your kind wishes. Always good to hear from a fellow Londoner esp when it comes to hospital treatments.

Sounds like you dodged a bullet and all the additional suppliments that you take seem to be working. This something us uc folk are often ridiculed for but I swear by my suppliments.

Worth mentioning I was stressed at work for the last 2 months so that probably dropped my immune system somewhat.

I think you are pretty much spot on with your observations from what I can tell but as you stated there isn't enough data to draw a conclusion.

What the Gastrointestinal team at my local hospital said that in the last few months the number of ibd cases has skyrocketed so there is a link there but what, how, why... We don't know.
Posted 1/30/2022 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
Really sorry to hear you're in the hospital. Glad they're managing your pain and hope you improve and get to go home soon.
Posted 1/30/2022 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Sara, I appreciate your kind words.

Feeling better today so it seems the cocktail of morphine and hydrocortisone seems to be working
Posted 2/1/2022 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
That's good to hear! Hope you get to go home soon.
Posted 2/1/2022 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
Bless you. Hopefully they should discharge me today. On a side note it's quite troubling that all the serve is microwave meals... Not good for people with damaged guts
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