There is really no average time to see improvement but if you don't see any in 30 days you should re-visit your GI and discuss what other meds to try. In the meantime you really should be using rectal meds such as mesalamine enemas at night and Canasa suppositories during the day. As many here will tell you they make a positive difference. You should be able to call your doc's office and ask for an Rx to be phoned in. Not rocket science. many docs don't Rx them because their patients don't want to use them but they should if they want improvement.
After using the rectal meds for a week or 2 come back here and tell us how you are doing.
about
your family: just tell them that you hope your UC will be like your Mom's but there are no guarantees. If they give you trouble (I was gonna say "crap"
) then get a copy of your colonoscopy which has color photos of your inflamed colon and show them it's not in your head, you've got an Inflammatory Bowel
Disease called Pancolitis which I doubt your mother had. There's a big difference.