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does this sound like an uc flare or an ibs flare?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/12/2011 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hi ,

Since before Halloween i have been having constipation followed by diarreah. This is not my usual flare pattern. Usually i have joint pain , fatigue and increased bm-8-10 a day. I have already increased my Canasa about 3 weeks ago. I have seen some improvemnt but have lost about 15 pounds and am basically eating rice, chicken and soup. Everytime I add "normal" food after feeling good for a few days the diarreah starts again. I don't go right after I eat but usually 5-7 hours after a meal. My co worker said she thought it sounded more like IBS, which she has. My doctor said to take Konsyl ( pysyllium husk) which i have been taking. I have also asked for bentyl, but the weekend came so hopefully I can call my dr. tomorrow. I don't know if I have both uc proctitis and ibs. I also started taking VLS #3 again about 3 weeks ago as well. I am really tired of eating chicken and rice. Any ideas? Should I increase the Asacol also. Right now I am in the constipation stage, since I had diarreah last week.

Posted 12/12/2011 1:59 AM (GMT 0)
that was my story for many years, and many others have the same situation, I'm sure.

One thing I did was try a gluten free diet to see if that would alleviate some of this, and it did. But I still had motility issues. My GI recommended I use a mild laxative to keep things moving, and that's what I'm doing these days. I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what dose of miralax works best for me. I'm down to about a 1/4 dose every other day to have a bowel movement every other day. No diarrhea in a long time.

HTH
Posted 12/12/2011 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
You ask a complicated question and one that can really only be answered by you.
Could it be IBS? sure and your doctor would probably agree because medical people don't connect food to UC.
I feel differently because diet mod. has improved my UC so greatly.

I really don't have an answer but the first thing that popped into my mind is that perhaps the rice is a cause of your C.
D can be caused by many things including food.
It is really hard to sort out what foods cause what reactions, especially when there are many hours before a reaction.

When my UC was in it's worst flare I identified the few foods that didn't make things worse and that sounds what you've done also. Have you tried taking a stool softener to break up the C? Or tried adding some soluble fiber foods?

Good luck.
Posted 12/12/2011 4:29 AM (GMT 0)
if i was eating chicken and rice, i'd be backed up for a week. try eating more fresh fruits and greens to get things flowing. i think whether u have ibs or proctitis isn't really an issue. they both cause gut/colon problems and need to be treated in the same manner. the ibs will eventually cause the inflammation in your bum if you have to squeeze all the time.
Posted 12/12/2011 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
sounds more like IBS to me. sometimes UC and IBS go hand in hand.

just avoid the offending foods, try to keep a food journal and see what puts you faster on the throne then avoid it...
Posted 12/12/2011 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
sounds like an obvious flare to me....

q
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