Symptoms at End of Colitis Flare Up?

Hi all--I'm new to IBD (and this forum!). I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Proctitis in May via a colonoscopy; the doc put me on Canasa suppositories, which helped for a month or two. Began flaring again in August; she advised a very cautious diet and switched me to Rowasa enemas nightly and 4 Lialda/day; after a week or two of this, she did a sigmoidoscopy, and said that the disease had extended up the colon (making it Colitis ) but that the inflammation was very patchy and seemed to be receding/healing (the biopsies confirmed this ) .

The careful diet and the meds have definitely improved me drastically. No more belly pain and no more diarrhea. I'm still having BMs more than just once a day, but the lack of pain and the fact that they're always formed is heartening.

I am getting a little nervous about beginning to taper off my meds, though (she wants to start tapering me off the Rowasa next week). I'm noticing a few symptoms this week--small amounts of mucus. Could this be happening because at her recommendation I'm starting to experiment with some foods? Is mucus always a sign that I'm still in a flare? Do I need to let my doctor know that I've seen these symptoms or should I just continue to figure out what foods feel safe and what foods don't?

Thanks for any advice or ideas you can think of!

It's interesting that your GI said you should stick to a certain diet while flaring, opinion is very split as to whether food has any impact on UC symptoms. My GI doesn't believe food effects my condition and I think I agree with her at this point. I've tried so many diets, and I've tried eliminating certain types of foods to no avail, I didn't see any results. I do think your symptoms, if they return, would most like return due to tapering medication. Many people on this board use Rowasa as a longterm treatment.

Have you started to taper at all? My UC seems to have become resistent to many of the medications that are available but it took quite a while before this happened. If you think your symptoms are connected to what you eat, you should definitely try keeping a food journal or get allergy testing to see if you're sensitive to different foods. Many are sensitive to lactose and it can cause their UC to act up. Hopefully you can control it with diet, otherwise you could ask about other rectal meds and use a suppository in the AM and an enema in the PM. That can be a good strategy for keeping things at bay.

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I would definitely tell your GI about the mucus. I guess "everyone" has some mucus with their stools, but when it's an abnormally large amount, that tends to mean inflammation, in my experience.
This disease hits each of us differently. For some of us diet doesn't make a big difference, and for others, it makes a huge difference. I have found that when I have inflammation, foods that normally wouldn't bother me will definitely aggravate symptoms like mucus, bleeding, frequency and consistency of stool. And to add to what NotSoSicklyGirl said, sometimes people can become temporarily lactose intolerant while sick (and that's not limited to being sick with UC.) So... the increase in mucus could just be a sign that one of your recently re-added foods is giving evidence to a bit of inflammation that's still there. A food journal is very helpful!
The colon takes a long time to really heal, so if your doc says to stay on the Rowasa longer, don't be disheartened. The enemas aren't exactly anyone's favorite activity, but the opportunity to put the medicine directly on the inflamed area works so well for so many of us!
Have you considered adding a probiotic (good bacteria... there are many threads here about various ones)...? We all respond differently, but they help me a lot.
One of the ways UC is different from Crohns is that the inflammation is normally continuous, but from what you say my guess is that the "patchiness" your doc saw was because the medications had started to work in spots - you might ask about that.
Again, welcome!