Although several years earlier I'd had a couple of episodes of diarrhea which were suggestive of UC, I had my first indisputable bout of it in the Summer of 1998. I'd been to a rib burn-off and next day started a watery, crampy diarrhea which I connected with the event, naturally. After three days with no improvement, I called my then primary care physician who put me on a course of Cipro. When after a week there was no improvement and the diarrhea had turned bloody, I called him again and he requested a stool sample which I provided right away. At this point, I'm in the john 15 times a day, getting weak, increasingly unable to work, and a little frightened. The stool sample uncovered nothing out of the ordinary so my doctor arranged for a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy, performed several days later, showed severe pan-colitis, and the gastroenterologist prescribed - of all things in the circumstances - 3600 mgs of Asacol! Of course, the Asacol did nothing for me, I'm in the john 25 times a day at this point, its all blood, I'm quite weak and I'm more than a little angry. So a week into the Asacol, I called my primary care physician again and gave him my opinion of the gastroenterologist to whom he'd referred me. He then ordered me admitted to a well known, local teaching hospital and into the care of a nationally recognized IBD specialist.
At the hospital I was placed on IV steroids and an antibiotic whose name escapes me at the moment. I was given potassium as my levels were considered to be too low and I was scoped for a second time with the verdict: fulminant pan-colitis. It was at that point that the colorectal surgeon began his daily visits. But, God be praised, I began to improve modestly in about
10 days, was spared the surgeon, and, after three weeks, was released on 40 mgs of prednisone. After a taper of roughly two months, I was placed on 4800 mg of Asacol, eventually reducing this dose over time to 1600 mg, the then maintenance dose. I remained in remission thereafter for 12 years, but have been in the midst of a mild flare for several months with no diarrhea or cramping but some very obvious rectal bleeding. At the moment, I'm on 3600 mg of Asacol and two, 1000mg Canasa suppositories a day. Sadly, the bleeding has not responded despite this treatment.
Trust me, I will never again allow my situation to deteriorate to the degree it had in 1998 without demanding oral steroids. I honestly feel that the hospitalization I'd undergone back then could have been avoided if my primary care physician had acted more decisively and gotten me to a competent gastroenterologist earlier. A good two weeks were wasted unnecessarily while he dithered and referred me to an incompetent specialist. Needless to say, he's no longer my family physician.
Post Edited (Captain Ca-Ca) : 1/22/2012 10:30:33 AM (GMT-7)