Ok here goes. I hope I am using the forum properly. I am a 47 year old married man with children, and one grandchild.
3.5 years ago I was diagnosed with UC, I can’t remember how far exactly up the colon and for how far, but I was immediately put on Salofalk (6 pills a day) and used Cortifoam for about one month started tapering off at the end to a low dosage. I should say that I had been diagnosed with prostitis in 1997 and had undergone quite a few antibiotics over the next several years on and off. I do have relatives that have had or have UC. A great grandfather, an Aunt, and a cousin all on my mother’s side. However I wonder if the stretch of antibiotics kicked off the colitis.
Here is my problem now:
I have been doing fairly well with my UC over the past 3 years up until I had a routine colonoscopy in March, of which the results showed no inflammation, or polyps, and biopsies showed no inflammation. I was told UC was in remission and may never come back. Unfortunately the surgeon that diagnosed me 3.5 years ago moved to another town. The new surgeon suggested that I should wean myself off of the Solofalk all together and that I didn’t need any medication at all. So I went from 5-6 pills a day down to 2. After about 3 weeks of this I started to have more bleeding than usual, and that increased to the point That I had to consult my family Dr. (primary care for UC). My family Dr totally disagrees with the advice given by the surgeon and told me to go back up fast on as many pills as I need (up to 12 a day) to settle things down. Also I was advised to eat yogurt 2 x a day. My symptoms have been lots of blood in the stool and loose blood, some bright red, some darker with a foul smell. Considering with this is abdominal pain just above my belly button? I am also having bouts of frequent BM’s and then constipation?
What I am looking for is to see if I am alone with these symptoms or is it common given the fact that the Salofalk was dropped so low