18 year old with Ulcerative Colitis -- miserable and thinking I need to go to the hospital

You sound like you're at the point when I usually decide to go to the ER. I agree that lots of meds is no fun, but you've got to do something to get into remission. Once you're in remission you can start treating yourself with more natural supplements and diet. Don't wait until it gets any worse; go to the ER. The longer you wait, the longer it will take for you to heal.

That being said, what medications are you on? Have you tried the rectal meds? The immunosuppressants? There are alot of treatment options out there, and with the right one you should be able to get things under control. Hang in there and keep us posted!

Laura

Dear Sick and Tired -- it's easy for a doctor or someone else to "not believe in pain meds" when they are not the ones in pain. You are a heck of a lot younger than my husband and maybe age has something to do with this as well but there needs to be some kind of pain management administered to you. You might need a different doctor with a better bedside manner working for you and your best interests which is also trying to get you in somewhat of a comfortable state. I've said it before "we treat our animals better than we treat humans sometimes"....it makes me crazy.

It is just awful when you are in this bad of a flare with no light at the end of the tunnel. The light is there - it just takes time but in the meantime it is so difficult to deal with. This disease does not get the respect and attention it deserves because people do think that you just have a bad case of D or stomach cramps and take an OTC medication for it.

The ER might not be a bad idea. You need to be put in a comfortable state and maybe get lucky and get a doctor who can do more for you than what is currently being done. Take care - I'll remember you in my prayers. Keep us posted and hopefully you will get some relief real soon.

Dear Another UC Wife,
Thank you so much for the support, you don't have any idea how much that helps. I really believe that in order to get remission started, pain has to be eliminated. Even after reading responses to my post to my parents, they still only think in the long run, not right now, in the moment when i'm actually in pain. Do you think it would be a good idea to take myself to the ER, or would that be to rash? I just really don't know what to do at this point because no one is listening to me. I feel like I have to be sobbing in tears at 3 o'clock in the morning to get any response. I don't know what I have to say to get them to take me to the Emergency room. Any advice?

I'm sorry you're going through that. I agree with Laura. Do what you can, take what you need to, to start feeling better right now. For me, Rowasa enemas were a life saver! I know just how miserable you feel. But, don't just give up and rely on taking drugs the rest of your life, if you don't need to. There is no exit strategy with prescription meds. I also had many doctors who said changing my diet wouldn't make a difference. They were very wrong, for me. I don't know why, but we put more faith and trust in drugs to help cover the symptoms of our diseases than to at least experiment with something simple and side effect free, like...changing our diet. Doesn't help everyone, as I read here on this forum, but I know of others here who have been helped. Geez, you're only 18, and you deserve a better life! Doesn't everything we eat go through our digestive system, where our UC manifests itself? If food didn't affect people, then why do we get a "buzz" when drinking alcohol? Changing my diet (an antifungal program) was the only thing that helped me get well again. For me, my UC symptoms had a fungal etiology. (Were you ever on antibiotics?...a probable source of fungal overgrowth) I'm not saying that changing ones' diet will help "everyone", but knowing that fungal overgrowth can manifest as UC symptoms, I would at least give an antifungal program a try, if I were you. It is not a magic pill or potion, but a conscious lifestyle/diet change, at least until you get better...if it is  afungal condition you have. You won't know until you experiement. However, right now you need to get relief for your symptoms. Do whatever you need to do to do that. Please don't discount changing your diet, until you have actually tried it and found out whether or not it can help you. You are so young.........Only you can decide whether it is worth it to try. Take care...........

Kim :)

I'm really sorry for your predicament. For starters, I'd try to find a new doctor. You need to have a dr that is on the same page as you as far as your treatment. This disease usually doesn't go away overnight, so you need to have a good working relationship with your doctor.
I canned my first doctor for something similar. My original doctor had a terrible bedside manner and wouldn't let me try and taper the pred for a second time after I had a flare. My current doctor is open to my suggestions about my treatment.
I think in order to achieve remission, the inflamation needs to be eliminated. Have you been on prednesone?
Most people hate it, BUT, it usually helps. .

Hey there!

I can offically atest to how you feel. I was diagnosed at 15, and I'm 18 now and in college just like you. Don't even think twice about missing class to go to the hospital. Your health absolutely comes first and its a medical reason, so you professors have to cut you some slack. I know how you feel about just wanting it to go away. It took me two years to finally get it under control and its was rough getting there. If you feel as though your GI isn't getting you anyway, go for a second opinion. My mom and I found that if you aren't happy or satisfied you have to push until you get a little more understanding. I've been through it all. Trust me, you'll get there. I promise :)

I'm really sorry to hear about what you have been going through. It is very difficult, as well all know. But harder too when you have to justify going to the ER when you know that's what you need.

Here are three suggestions... take them if you think they will help, ignore if you like. :)

1) Maybe the Canasa suppositories are too hard to use when you are so imflammed. I mean literally, they are hard as opposed to the liquid or foam enemas. Ideally, you could ask a doctor to prescribe small amounts of Rowasa, Cortifoam, and Cortenema. Then you could figure out whether one of those will work better for you. (The Rowasa would be the best because it doesn't have steroids, but the others might be more effective for the short-term to get this under control.)

2) Try to find the best and most compassionate doctor you can. Do you go to school at a university with a med school? If so, that would be a good place to start. One thing I do when I'm looking for a doctor is to treat it like a research project. That way, I force myself to investigate every option, not be shy about it, and keep going until I find the right doctor for me. You can call other doctors who you like and ask them for a GI suggestion. That's one good way because often compassionate and competant doctors will know who THEY would go to if they needed a GI dr. This is a pain in the ass to do when you're feeling like crap but it's worth it if you can. Maybe you can find someone to help you?

3) Try not to let other people determine whether you need to go to the ER or call a Dr. This one is very hard to do. But maybe you can remind them that if they are ever in pain or need medical care you would not assume to know more than they do about how they are feeling. (Of course, this may not be easy with family, it's an emotional subject.)

Hang in. You are very strong for being able to deal with this.