Stress, flares and a couple of questions

Hi Everyone

I am a new member to this forum and appreciate the feedback from others who have this pain in the (you know what I mean).  I was first diagnosed with proctitis about 4 years ago after a very stressful occurence in my life.  High doses of Colazol seemed to calm the fire and I was flare-free for about 2 years.  about a month ago yup.......you guessed it ........more nasty stress for an extended period of time (about a month) and it's back again with a vengeance.  Don't know if everyone's experience is the same but stress seems to be the trigger for me and I'm working on ways to deal more effectively with that.  I have heard that digestive enzymes are recommended for colitis since there is malabsorption of nutrients in the gut.  Any comments on experiences with this?  What about HCL? 

I just added a title to your post

Post Edited By Moderator (Red_34) : 9/27/2008 8:05:15 PM (GMT-6)

Hi...stress can definitely encourage flares, but remember that we tend to not recognise early symptoms of flares and wait till it gets to the point where the decision to start/increase meds or call the doctor.

You should be on rectal meds...Colazal really isn't enough.

How many Colazal are you on?

Digestive enzymes can encourage diarrhea and increase of bms when starting them...just because things are getting broken down more quickly. The also can cause gas....
Not that it's a bad thing, just that you may have to try a few different ones.

You should be on probiotics.

How far up is your UC?

When was your last visit with the doc?

Welcome to the forum!
quincy

Amazing what stress does to our bodies - emotionally and physically.  I take a multi enzyme as well as a mega probiotic and psyillum tabs and it seems to work for me.  I began my flare mid-may 08 and now I am mildly flaring.  Hope this helps you!

 

Gigi1227

Although stress does not cause IBD it sure as hell causes my flares!