Posted 10/13/2009 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
I've been to this forum before, but I think I only posted once or something. I've never really introduced myself. It is comforting and informative to read everyone's posts. Mostly, it's just nice to know I'm not alone. Today, I'm feeling very alone with this so I thought I'd post.
I was diagnosed a year ago September with Ulcerative Colitis. I am almost in medicated remission, but I have to take 2 Lialda/day and a Mesalamine Rectal Suspension every night to achieve that. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. I'm 36, single, and my hair is so thin and brittle from all the mesalamine I wonder if anyone will ever think I'm pretty again. In addition to the hair problem Lialda gives me a daily headache, memory loss, and dampens my mood and energy. I think it might make me depressed, because once I went off of it to try Colozal and felt really happy and high energy for two weeks until the UC returned worse than ever and I became very tired. Tried Asocol, but I went back on Lialda two months ago. Feeling low and mildly tired the way I do, I don't get as much work done as I used to and I'm not making close to as much money as a result (self employeed). My UC costs me over 1000/month. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my house, or worse, not be able to afford medicine or doctors.
I'm struggling to stay positive in this cloud of Lialda. I think the most important thing for me to do right now is find a new doctor and get off Lialda cause I feel like it's ruining my life. I would almost, almost, rather have the UC symptoms.
Does anyone know a great UC doc in Minnesota? I know Mayo has a big department but how do I choose among their 10 UC specialists? Any advice on finding a good doc?
Thanks for listening.
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Lialda 2/day
Rowasa 1 nightly
B Complex, ProBiotic, Multi, Fish Oil, Vitamin D 5000, Curcumin, Boswelia, No dairy