how can you tell between a hemmie and a uc flare?

It's hard to say, you should really report any changes to your GI and have your GI check your butt out to know for sure what's going on so it can be treated.

:)

It sounds like a hemmie situation. If you're starting to flare, you will likely feel discomfort higher up & start passing mucus in addition to blood. However, it's best to check with your gastro-- especially if you have to keep straining to expel all the poop, as you described above. You might need some diet modification or more fluid intake to make your stool easier to pass. I take Colazal, too, & find it can be very dehydrating at times, which then also affects bms. Steamed veggies, yams in particular, have helped me to overcome that. It's also possible to have bloody reactions to Rowasa even though one has used it successfully in the past. Hope you'll be able to sort this out ASAP. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently recovering from flare in sigmoid colon)

You can take a look yourself firstly....yep.. squat over a mirror.

q