"Flare-Up" vs "Remission" when living with UC

I have very recently been DX'd with UC so naturally I have alot of questions.  I haven't even been able to see my GI yet but I have been to the ER and had a Colonoscopy.

Compared to others my symptoms seem mild to moderate however being new to all this I really don't know what to expect with a "flare-Up" vs "remission" and living with UC.

My bowels are in control for the most part.  I take a couple of poops a day but my poop is this mushy, rusty colored stuff compared to the good ole chocolate colored Baby Ruths I used to poop.  Ab pain, gas, bloating varies from day to day but is more-or-less always present.

Thx

Are you on medications yet? Do you know how far up your colitis goes?

It sounds as if you were DXed by a trip to the ER and colonoscopy, and haven't really gotten started with your doctor yet.....?

I figure I'm in good shape if the poops are formed, if there are only a few each day and if they tend to come on some sort of schedule so I'm not worried about needing a bathroom every minute, and if there's no discomfort or blood.

There are, I believe, two levels of remission: one is what we perceive, as I described above, and one is remission on the microscopic level, that inflammation has quieted down in the cells.

Flares... they vary person to person, and even flare to flare. Most of mine are first noticeable by a lot of excess gas, then mucus, then blood and increased, less formed, stools. I try not to panic about every non-formed poop, but I try to take action soon when I think I'm heading into a flare, to try to turn it around before it becomes too bad. Sometimes that's easier than it is at other times.