Do I have to try prednisone?

Hi there:
I have read quite a bit but never posted, so hello. I was also diagnosed with UC four months after the birth of my child, twelve years ago. I had a really hard time believing it, and really only had one or two small bumps in the road until this year.

Last year, I had a colonoscopy and they found a polyp. It was not cancerous but was serious enough that they scheduled another colonoscopy this year. This year, I had a colonoscopy in April. For about a month afterwards, I had terrible trouble with Hemorrhoids. It turns out that I have an internal hemorrhoid, and I think that they colonoscopy bothered it.

I take 400 mg asacol twice a day usually.

In June, I started to get mucous and blood. I was eating a lot of popcorn then. (I didn't have popcorn for about 10 years, but for some reason decided that it was OK to eat this year. Wrong. I think it hurt my colon.) So around the 23 of June, my whole colon shut down. At that point, I called my doctor and he prescribed 4 G mesalamine enemas. I did those for four weeks and it didn't help, so I went back. They then prescribed four asacol pills, three times a day. (I usually take 6 a day) And they also gave me hydrocortisone enemas. It's been two weeks, and things seem as though they're getting better, but then I hit a rough patch.

For example, I will go to the bathroom twice, and (oh dear, I don't even know how to talk about this!) it will seem close to normal, but then the next day I will have a sense of urgency about 7 times, and nothing will happen.

I just went to Hawaii for a week and ate Papaya every day. I felt the best I'd felt there for about four days. No blood, getting better. Then I blew it and ate a taco with raw cabbage. (The whole diet thing is new to me and I don't really understand it but I am avoiding raw things!.)

BTW, about a month ago, a friend whose daughter has Crohn's came by and put me on a diet of no grains, no milk products (except for homemade yogurt) for a week. All cooked veggies. I lost three pounds, but it didn't help the symptoms much (sigh).

Oh. One final thing, and this is weird. I'm 51 and going through menopause. As a result of that, I am having about 15 migraines a month some months. My pain doctor tested me and said that I have zero progesterone in my system, so she put me on bioidenticals for progesterone. She gave me 100 mg a day and it KNOCKED me out. (This was exactly when the GI problems started.) I slept for a month and had no idea what hit me. about a month ago, I cut the dosage in half, and yesterday I cut the dosage in half again (down to 25 mg). I am tempted to just stop taking it, but now I have to balance the hormones also (sigh). So ... any advice? Do I have to just go to prednisone?

Sorry that this is so long. It's been a less than stellar health year.

thanks!
c

currently taking: 400 mg asacol pills: 4 pills, three times a day
100 mg hydrocortisone enema for two weeks
before that: 4 g mesalamine enema for four weeks
....

Have you looked at the possible side effects of prednisone?
I never agreed to take it and have reached the point where my colitis is under control.
In my opinion, you can experience improvement through changing your diet (mostly eliminating lactose and gluten), taking supplements (e.g. probiotics and slippery elm powder) and using less dangerous meds for maintenance. I have taken generic colazal (basalazide) every day since I was diagnosed. Also used mesalamine and, occasionally, hydrocortisone enemas for years with no harmful effects.
I also use transdermal LDN.
To get info regarding diet and LDN, read the 11th post under Resources. InSoFla describes a protocol that does not involve dangerous drugs.

People I know who have used prednisone have experienced osteoporosis as well as other side effects. It is astonishing to me that doctors are so willing to prescribe drugs of this kind but deny that probiotics and other natural remedies can be effective.
It takes time to see the results of diet changes, etc but I think it's worth being patient.
I hope this info is helpful.

moretoastplease, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you're having problems. I was diagnosed after the birth of my 1st child, too, although it took my stupid GI a year to scope me (and even then, he only did a sigmoidscope).

And! I'm also in the midst of perimenopause. Well, perhaps menopause at this point. Hot flashes and all. The perimenopause part lasted about 5 years for me, and most of it was not fun. The crazy hormonal cycles really mess with your gut, and it is very hard to untangle what is hormonal changes and what is IBD.

I agree with fruitgirl that tenesmus sounds like your biggest issue, not blood or mucous or diarrhea. And, by the way, there is no problem discussing any of the most personal details here. Everybody poops, you know, and the people on this forum poop more than most. LOL.

about problems with the raw food - it may be that it is just raw cabbage that bothered you. It is worth exploring. Cabbage is a notorious gas producer for many people, even those without IBD.