Diet and Prednisone Questions

Hey Everybody! I'm 25 years old and was diagnosed with UC about 4 months ago. I am still learning a lot about the disease and had a couple of questions for everybody here.

Background Information
I am talking 2 Lialda per day (1 in the morning and 1 at night). about a week and a half ago, I started to have an awful flare, causing A LOT of trips to the bathroom (yesterday I was there 15 times+). There seems to be more blood than usual, but I find it difficult to actually quantify the amount of blood (it is, however, bright red).

Questions

My doctor told me to up my Lialda dosage to taking 2 in the morning and 2 at night; additionally, she told me to get on Prednisone, taking 3 pills once a day for 10 days, then 2 pills once a day for ten days, then 1 pill once a day for 10 days (not sure how much that is b/c I haven't picked up the pills yet).

SO! I did some research online about Prednisone and it scares me to death! People talked about all of the awful side-effects (weight gain, hair loss, insomnia, etc...). I haven't found too many people that are glad they had to take the drug for anything, including UC.

What are you thoughts on the drug?

Additionally, I asked my doctor about diet, and she said that I shouldn't change anything. She told me to just watch what I eat and see how I react to it, but in her opinion, it probably wouldn't matter much anyway

What do you guys think? What have you done!

Thank you so much for your help! This forum has been great so far! I've learned a lot.

I agree with Qunicy.

Your dr should def try you on rectal meds.  Thank God that has never been my GI drs first choice of meds.

I have had UC 19 years and only reluctantly this year agreed to take Pred  during a stubborn flareup- however once I weaned off prednisone within 2 weeks I flared again.  I decided that rather than go on pred again I would try to see what helped others- which is when I found this forum (thank god!!)

My Gi dr always has this to say about diet: If it bothers you dont eat it, she doesnt think much of altering your diet. She thinks diet has very little to do with it. 

However, best thing I ever did was a food symptom diary: try it and see what bothers you, and then eliminate it. 

adding fiber and probiotics has helped me alot also. 

good luck!

oops- meant to say in my post, thank god prednisone has never been my gi's first choice of meds

I am grateful for prednisone, but I am always sad when I have to take it because I know I will gain weight. But it is worth it because it works to get me out of very difficult flaring.

The other weird side effects are just... weird. And temporary, for me. My bones test strong, even after taking it for flares for so long. I do strength training, it might have helped.

tshipp
I took Entocort, a synthetic steroid similar to prednisone, with fewer side effects because it works only in the colon and not throughout the body (I was told). I felt great on it, had reduced symptoms and limited side effects (bruising).

So if you haven't started the prednisone you should ask your GI about it. If he/she says "no, that's for Crohn's" find another GI because it is being used by UC'ers and your GI doc is underinformed.

Now, my symptoms returned after ending the course of Entocort but perhaps you will have better luck. I felt like Superwoman while on it.

Diet: all doctors (OK 90%) think diet doesn't matter. Why? Because no one (I.E.drug companies) is funding studies on diet modification. Why? Because there is no money to be made.

Diet modification has put me in remission. Full remission. Drugs never did that for me except temporarily.
It can't hurt, it could help. It's not easy. It takes will power and determination.

Best wishes.

In addition to mesalamine enemas, there are hydrocortisone enemas that don't have the side effects of oral steroids. If I were you I'd see where there increased dose of lialda plus the rectal meds get you before you do pred. Just as an FYI 30mg is a low starting dose and the taper your doctor suggested is really fast. I can't see a course like that one helping much, but you never know. Everyone seems to react differently. I'm in the same boat as Erin, seem to be stuck at 20mg and I do not feel good on pred. at all...