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back on pred... lots of questions

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/25/2008 2:30 PM (GMT 0)

Hi,

Well, I'm back on prednisone (20 mg) after 9 weeks of symptom reduced living since my last dose. Since it stopped my flare last time, I agreed to go on the cr*p again. But, I want to figure out what's causing these flares, so I can remove the cause from my life! I have lots of questions and hope that I can get some feedback. If any of you have any insight about any of these questions, please share!

My doc manages my illness by phone. Is that normal?

I was on 2 Lialda/day. I wonder if that was too small of a dose to keep me in remission. The doc increased it to 4 pills/day last night. Colazal gave me bad side effects and reading about asacol not working for people makes me wary to switch.

I know that sugar can cause a flare. What about Splenda?

Would aspirin cause a flare? (since it's a blood thinner?) I stopped taking ibuprofen and aleve. I've been taking aspirin with codeine instead of tylenol. Regular tylenol does nothing for me, so I've been taking 2 aspirin with codeine (total 650 mg aspirin & 16 mg codeine) about 3 times/week for back pain. Would the codeine be causing trouble? I've read that many others take tylenol 3 which has 30 mg codeine. I could get the tylenol with codeine, but got the aspirin by mistake.

Anyone have trouble with beef? It seems like whenever I eat beef, 1/2 hr later, I'm sick.

What about coffee? I only drink 16 oz's/day. Should I cut this out? What about tea? Caffeine?

Well, thank you for the input!

Posted 4/25/2008 3:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Traci! Sorry to hear you're on pred again. I hope it works for you quickly, so that you can get off soon!

Many docs will treat over the phone to a certain point - then they request you come in for an exam. If you've been with your doc for a while, he may treat the initial flare that way, but if you get worse then ask you to come in.

Two Lialda per day is the equivalent of six Asacol per day which is the suggested "maintenance" dose. Some people do well with Asacol but not Colazal. Some are the opposite. Some do not do well with any 5ASA. This disease is very individual and it make take a couple of tries of different meds to find the one that works for YOU.

For some people, diet plays a HUGE roll. For others, it doesn't make much difference. Artificial sweeteners can cause gas, bloating and D. I can not tolerate ANY of them. So for me, I only use sugar when I need it.

All NSAIDs are no-nos. Aspirin causes GI bleeding. However, some UCers still use NSAIDs under close watch of their doctors. Codiene may cause constipation.

When flaring, no steak for me, but I can deal with hamburger. If beef makes you sick, don't eat it.

Caffeine is a GI stimulant. Once again a personal thing. I stick with decaf, unless we're out to eat and I have iced tea. No soda for me right now - flaring and it causes gas pains. Perhaps a food journal would be a good thing for you to try. Write down EVERYTHING you eat and all symptoms you have and see if anything correlates.

Have you tried rectal meds?
Posted 4/25/2008 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you. I forgot to mention the canasa suppositories. I'm on those, too. I'm gonna cut out the aspirin. I guess I need to keep a food diary. I know some safe foods, but still give in to temptation!

Good luck to you, too. I see your on pred now, too.
Posted 4/25/2008 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
Keeping a food journal is very beneficial for tracking your offending foods. You can also go on an elimination diet, limiting yourself to a few foods you know to be safe, then slowly add foods back in and watch for reactions.

Check out stevia for a natural sweetener that doesn't have an adverse impact on the gut.
Posted 4/25/2008 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
Traci, a food diary is a good idea; sometimes it will help you figure out which foods cause you discomfort. But realize that no matter what we do, sometimes flares occur. So don't feel you've failed or done something wrong when you flare. This DD comes and goes as it pleases at times.
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