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Posted 3/25/2010 8:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I am 28 and diagnosed with mild/moderate ulcerative colitis in Nov.09. I was put on asacol 6 pills a day with some enemas. It seemed to help for a few weeks but then symptoms came back (diarrhea w/blood). After finding a new GI, I was put on asacol 8 pills a day +enemas. Still didnt help. I just finished 5 weeks of Prednisone at 50mg for the first week and tapering each week 40/30/20/10. She wanted me to take Imuran also, but I didnt take that because of the side effects I heard about like cancer, skin growths, and others (why take a drug that might give me cancer, I'd rather have my colon removed the get cancer). During prednisone, my stool was immediately hardened and normal. I experienced trouble sleeping and extreme bloating/constipation at the higher doses. It was like I didnt even have UC! Wish I could take that forever. I am also taking 10 pills of asacol a day now. I am 1 week off of the prednisone and yesterday I experienced 2 bloody diarrhea's. My family has a stomach bug causing 3 of them to have diarrhea and another who puked. I am sure I caught the bug since my stool gradually softened and turned to diarrhea.

I am in the process of accepting a new job with a 3 month military fitness training. The job will be paying $75k a year with exellent benefits and large pay increases. If I am in a flare, I will not be able to complete the fitness training which in turn will cause me to lose the job forever. Could the bloody diarrhea just be an effect of this stomach bug? Will I return to normal movements when the bug is gone? I am extremely angry at the world right now, I put faith into god praying for remission so I could complete training and get this job.. but I dont think I will be able to accept it now since I only have 2 weeks until I start the job. I am ready to give up on everything. I cant believe this is happening to me, especially at this time of my life.


In the past I have dealt with anxiety/panic attacks, but I seemed to have controlled them mentally and do not experience them any more. I do have alot of stress in my life. I have another GI Dr appointment coming up and was thinking about getting xanex to help with my stress, do you think that would help me with UC?

So many question, but little time right now. I'll be back on here to ask and talk more with everyone.


What I am currently taking:
1 multi-vitamin
1 calcium/Vit D supplement
2 VSL3 pills
1 Culturelle probitoic
1 Digestive Advantage probiotic
1 fish oil
10 asacol
Posted 3/25/2010 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi h8life and welcome to healing well! Please don't hate life! I promise that it's totally possible to have a great life despite UC. I was diagnosed a little over a year ago, and had an absolutely horrible first flare. However, I'm also getting close to being in remission for a year now, and my UC doesn't affect my day-to-day life at all (save taking meds, but that's not a big deal to me). Also know that a lot of the members on here likely struggle more with their UC than the bulk of the population that has UC.

It's definitely possible that you got the tummy bug. However, are you not on the enemas any more? If not, I strongly encourage to add them again. They really do help a lot!

If your bleeding continues and your symptoms get worse (or don't improve) despite adding enemas, you might want to discuss another course of prednisone with your GI. That was a pretty quick course, and a lot of people with UC need to taper more slowly.

Editing after I read your post again:

Since it sounds like you really need to get your symptoms under control quickly, I think it's definitely worth speaking to your GI about starting pred again right now.  Part of the reason I used it to get into remission was because I had a two-day-long job interview coming up, so HAD to be well.  You seem to be in that same situation, only your situation is longer and more strenuous than mine.

Posted 3/25/2010 9:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi h8life, and welcome to HealingWell. People have to take meds for all sorts of ailments; ours just happens to be UC. Would you be willing to give meds another try? If you read through the posts, you'll become aware that what works for some doesn't for others, and it can take a while before you find the right combo of meds to help you achieve remission. Some find remission quicker than others, some never do and go the surgery route. I know it seems like life is a bummer right now, and I can remember being in your very same shoes. I was flaring badly, and up for a great promotion. When I passed out from being so sick, my boss asked me how my illness would affect the department. That's when I decided to go with Remi, and it was strictly my decision (working alongside my doc) but it truly gave me my life back and I've felt well ever since. Again, my story, but as Fruitgirl said, you can have this illness but still continue to live life. Take care -- I know you are on a rough road right now, but I'm hoping reading through some of the posts on here might give you some ideas about how to battle this illness and continue on with life.
Posted 3/25/2010 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
My doc said if the first cycle of prednisone doesn't work, she insist i take another course of prednisone along with imuran. So, I assume when I go in for my Dr visit, she will give me a script for them. I will take them, but I am freaked out about the long term sides of imuran. If I developed a side effect worse than UC, that dr better find a place to hide devil -kidding. I haven't been taking the enemas because the 2nd day I started prednisone, my movements were completely normal. I just started the enemas yesterday, and will be taking them once a night.

I understand people have worse symptoms and experiences then I do, but it just seems the world is crashing down on me right now. Plus, having this rare job offer and having to possibly turn it down because of this disease, kills me. I wish I could take prednisone and accept this job, but the job does not allow use of this medication and my Dr. said "Do you want to have a heart attack?? Using prednisone during military physical training is out of the question. Prednisone is like adrenaline". So I guess if this isn't just a stomach bug I will no choice but to decline the job.

Since the prednison worked so well with me previously, if needed again I will ask for a lighter dose. Maybe start off at 30mg and taper from there until imuran kicks in (6 weeks).

There has got to be a cure for UC. It doesnt just magically appear and start destroying our insides. Something caused it, and someone needs to figure out what did it. yeah
Posted 3/25/2010 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
      And if I may add....yes, ask your doctor about Xanax to control your anxiety.  My GI doctor wouldn't prescribe them, but my family doctor did.  I do not have the stress that you have, but when I do have some stress, I find they do help.
      I agree that you had a pretty fast taper too.  Whenever my doctor puts me on a 10 mgm taper per week, I find that my symptoms come back with a vengeance.
Posted 3/25/2010 10:49 PM (GMT 0)
Honestly, I think you should give the combo of Asacol and enemas a chance to work...because they can! You might want to ask about increasing your Asacol to 12, which is the "regular" maximum dose. As for moving on to imuran, I personally think it's a bit soon for that. Also know that even if you have to go on imuran, the chances of developing cancer are very, very, very low. UCers use much lower doses than transplant patients do (imuran was originally developed as an anti-rejection drug for transplant patients), and most of the data related to imuran and cancer are for doses used with transplant patients.

As for a "cause" for UC, like a bacteria or parasite, it's highly unlikely. UC is generally thought of as an autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis. It's just genetic bad luck that leaves us predisposed to getting it, and something triggers it. It my case, that appears to be childbirth.
Posted 3/27/2010 2:07 PM (GMT 0)
I previously explained my family was going through a stomach bug and I was wondering if that could have caused a flare up in my UC. Well yesterday and today my stool has been fairly formed without any blood! I have been taking the enemas nightly and I think that may have helped. As of right now, I am accepting the job offer in hopes of remission. Thanks for giving me a place to vent and speak my thoughts, and also for listening to me. I will definitely come back with more stories and experiences with my disease. I pray for life long remission and a cure for other who cannot achieve remission.
Posted 3/27/2010 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Great news all around!

Just remember that to stay in a nice, long remission, it's important to stay on your meds, even if you feel great. I've been in remission for coming up on a year, and there's no WAY I'll go off of them. I've heard a lot of stories about people doing that, only to not have the 5ASA meds work any longer, and having to move on to stronger drugs.
Posted 3/27/2010 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
That's excellent news! I'm glad you found us, and do come back to share your stories with us. I second what Fruitgirl says, I stay with the Remi for maintenence purposes, even though my last scope in August showed it clear of ulcers and polyps. Good luck with the job!
Posted 5/11/2010 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
hello- my wife suffers from UC, and when its bad ... its bad. We haven't found an answer but I do know that the large amount of asacol she was taking wasn't doing the job. A years ago she she started taking lialda instead and it really helped her. I just came across this site with many types of treatments. Asacol seems to be the old treatment and the new ones do the same thing but need fewer. The only problem is that the cost of the newer drugs is higher.

Hope it helps someone.
broms

(Sorry, but I had to remove your link per forum rules)

Post Edited By Moderator (fruitgirl) : 5/11/2010 2:35:02 PM (GMT-6)

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