Rowasa question...just diagnosed with UC

Good morning, all - First-time poster. I've been reading through some of the posts here and you all seem to have very helpful comments.

I was just diagnosed with UC this week - I've had 4 flares (including my current one) between 2001 and now and finally FINALLY got up the nerve to go to a doctor, get a colonoscopy, and start managing this thing. I'm 29 years old. My UC is mild, thank goodness. I have lots of inflammation and ulcers in the upper end of my colon as well as in my rectum. I'm awaiting the biopsy results on those.

A few months ago, I changed my diet to cut out processed foods (because during flare-ups I would get very bloated, bad gas pains, and bad D) - I now eat only natural or organic (well, 85% of the time). It has been a tremendous help for my body - I no longer have an upset or bloated stomach while flaring. So now I only deal with the frequent urges to have a BM and, of course, the bleeding.

I've been prescribed Rowasa enemas (doc said 2x/day for 2 weeks --- although, after reading this board, I will probably opt to stay on them for maintenance, tapering to 1x/week after I get into remission), and I'll also be starting Lialda soon (1x/day - I sent my Rx for this to our mail-in service, so I should receive the pills in a few days).

So I have a few questions for you all:
1. I used Rowasa for the first time this morning. It went pretty well (not as bad as I thought!); however, I was only able to "keep it in" for about 3 hours, although the directions say to do so for 8 hours. Is this a big problem? I'm hoping this will be easier to do as the meds start to work.

2. My colonoscopy went really well, but the post-scope has been the worst part. I get a double-me-over kind of pain sensation when I get the urge to have a BM (which for me is every 2-3 hours - even if there is no real BM but just blood/mucus). This started 2 days after the scope - so my guess is that because I had biopsies of ulcers, now that stuff is moving through my colon again, it's irritating the ulcers? I don't know. But has anyone else experienced this? Will it go away soon? I told my doc and she wasn't too concerned. The intensity of pain is reducing, at least, but I'm still having them every 2-3 hours (waking me up in the middle of the night many times). Sigh.

A lot of docs prescribe Rowasa for a few weeks and then tell the patient to stop them completely. Most of the patients then have a recurrence of symptoms once the Rowasa is stopped. I have been using it for maintenance for about three years. If I stop using it completely, the bleeding returns. While not in a flare, I have been able to taper the Rowasa to 1/2 bottle every fours days. While in a flare, I use 1/2 bottle every day or every other day.

I use 1/2 of the bottle because a full bottle gives me incredible diarrhea (this has happened with a lot of people on here).

Thanks for the comments, everyone! It's good to hear that my 3 hours with Rowasa is a good start. I'll take my first night-time dose tonight.

Quincy - I'm not on Asacol, but I'll be starting Lialda soon (just waiting for it to arrive via our mail-in Rx service). My doc also wrote me a full year's Rx for Rowasa for me, so I'll be able to get the refills easily as I need them.

I go back to the doc in about 2 weeks for my biopsy results / follow-up.

I'm happy today because those nasty waves of pain I mentioned earlier are barely noticeable today --- last night I slept the whole night through!!! First time since Tuesday night - very exciting (especially considering my Husband and I were out of town staying with friends).

I look forward to getting more good ideas on this forum. Wishing you all good health!