New here, want opinions/advice :)

Hi Everyone!

I am new year and find it very interesting to read all your comments, questions, experiences etc about your battles UC..seems we are all in the same boat at one point or another..

I have a quick story t hat I would like some comments on. The things I take are below in my signature..

I was dx in Aug 2006...was started on the first line stuff Salofalk (same as Asacol here in Canada)...that worked ...and kept me in remission until Feb 2008 when THE BIG ONE hit right after the birth of my son. my pregnancy was great. So up until then I believe I only had the one flare that I was dx on.

So in Feb 2008 I was flaring big time..but no diareah and not alot of blood..just 20 30 40 trips to the washroom with urges..and only a little bit of stool and a little bit of blood would come out..i would have rectal pressure as well. I was started on 40mg pred and started to taper after 3 weeks..managed to stay good for a month after getting off the steroids..and again it returned..same symptoms...so I was started on Humira.  Humira was a dream come true at the beginning..but I have never really felt "perfect" since my pregnancy. Due to getting all kinds of illnesses and not feeling to great on Humira, I decided to get off it..

I did my last injection a month ago. At that time I was going 3-4 times a day, mostly in the morning and after lunch, no blood, but always urgency. As soon as I went off Humira I started the VSL and changed my diet to not eat red meat, reduced dairy and refined prodcuts etc, along with the fish oils etc etc.. I am now at 1-2 BM today that are usually only in the morning and nothing for the rest of the day except a bit of gas.

The only thing is..the urgency. it is never just a normal Bm feeling. There is ALWAYS urgency. Never diareah and very seldom any blood..may be a few streaks here and there but its the urgency that will not go away.

So..what do you all think? Will this urgency always be there? do flare ups really last for two years??? I mean, I feel ok..not perfect..but am getting on with life, and this is definitely not keeping me indoors by any means..its just that morning urgency. 

When I was initially dx it was "universal colitis" which I guess is colitis throughout the whole colon. But through all my research on this illness it really sounds like my illness is really more at the bottom of the colon..my symptoms do not lie ;)

I am not on prednisone at all any more :).

I Did try the salofalk enemas and found they really really hard to hold in and very uncomfortable to insert. I could not even do it myself.

I am taking VSL 3 which I have read is one of the most potent and powerful probiotics out there.

I thought that the fish and flax oil were supposed to help inflammation?? :S now im confused lol

I heard its hard to heal at the bottom but is it possible that it takes over 2 years?

Yes it has been two years. I had my son in Dec 07 and the big flare as I call it started Feb 08.
I have not had many quiet periods since then..prednisone is the only thing that really kicked the entire thing for a bit..but I hate that stuff..and humira never really did kick that urgency feeling at all. Yes I was told the bottom is the last to heal..so do you think if I did something topical there for a while I would be ok?
HOw long would I have to do tihs? and what is the difference between the suppository and the enema?

I used the enema..
I am almost inclined to do nothing about it though as I feel fine except for urgency in the morning and some lower back pain pressure here and there..
do you think if I get all healed up down there with topical meds things will be better? or will I then become dependant on those?

so do you all think this whole time the bottom has not been treated?
i just do not want to become dependant on another drug...

Thank you..I will inquire about this with my GI. Are they expensive?
Do they cause any local irritation? Will I have to stay on them indefinitely?

My doctor says that most of his patients go to a maintenance dose of the Mesalamine enemas or suppositories (2 times a week) but some don't need the maintenance dose. So I think whether or not you end up staying on them or get off them will depend on your colon. I was diagnosed July 2008 after my December 2007 baby and I was on Mesalamine enemas every night until my first big flare that started 12/26/09. Weeee... I never got to a maintenance dose and sometimes I doubled up with a Canasa Suppository in the AM for 4-5 days to get little flares under control. In retrospect I think my colitis has been getting progressively worse since my diagnosis. But, I was doing nothing but the prescription meds to try and encourage better health. My doctor is one of the "diet doesn't matter" guys. Anyhoo, if you can't do the Mesalamine Enema, you might try the Canasa suppositories but there is no generic (at least in the US) for Canasa that I am aware of. So your insurance might cover it but you'll probably have to pay the pesky brand co-pay. I think the suppositories are eleventy billion times easier to hold in. In fact I used to put my AM ones in and go about my business no trouble. So, that's my... what is that like 50 cents on the topic. lol :o)

I'm not sure what that one is. The Canasa is 1000mg. Maybe someone else knows? And I totally understand your hesitation! Are you thinking you would rather try some natural remedies to get that last bit healed?