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I just remebered a simular problem about 15 years ago

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/15/2008 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
could I have had this that long?  I forgot about it till now. I had been running to the bathroom for months went to Dr and he did stool samples and then nothing happened after that and it got better and I never thought of it again till now. Would I really have had this that long and never had any problems? If so maybe this will also pass and Ill go another 15 years . Is that possible?

Post Edited (mom4321) : 8/15/2008 11:39:35 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/15/2008 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
While i'm no expert, i've been reading of occurances such as these. Some people have a sudden flare up and then can go into remission for days,weeks, months, even years.
Posted 8/15/2008 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I have read that it is possible in a small percentage of people with UC have the initial flare and then nothing else.

I had an episode of chronic D and weight loss about 25 years ago that went away for a long time. Seems like a lot of people post here have had long stretches of good bowel health after their intial diagnosis.
Posted 8/15/2008 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
UC is a disease of flares and remissions. Even without treatment, most people will eventually go into remission. Some people would be in remission 90% of the time, others only 10% and a few would never go into remission without treatment. This is one of the things that makes it so darn difficult to know what works. You have to test any treatment on massive numbers of people to be sure people aren't getting better because of spontaneous remissions rather than the treatment.
Posted 8/15/2008 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
so possibly Ive had it all these years but never knew it . So is the only way to judge remission or not diareha? if it goes away you are in remmision?
Posted 8/15/2008 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
Technically, remission is when you have no symptoms at all. Whatever your normal symptoms - pain, bleeding, diarrhea or constipation - all gone. You feel good and can go about your normal life. Many of us consider a state somewhat less than this as remission. I have no pain, bleeding or diarrhea, but I do still go two or three times a day - a minor inconvenience for me.

There's another measure, which is the appearance of your colon through the scope. My last colonoscopy looked absolutely normal. If the history and the pictures from previous scopes (which showed my red, raw colon walls pitted with ulcers) weren't known, no one would have suspected I have UC. I still have it, I'm not cured, it's just that my medication has controlled the inflammation to the point where I have no symptoms - either subjective (symptoms) or objective (C-scope.)
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