Introduction

I posted earlier, but I had freaked myself out a bit and didn't do a proper introduction. A friend of mine pointed me to this forum, and I've been lurking for about a week and it has been very helpful.

In June of this year, I started having some funny things. D with some blood, increased frequency. I saw my GP, thinking it was just a bad bout of IBS, and he knew immediately that it was something more and sent me off to a GI. I found a wonderful GI about a mile from my house, saw him, and within a week was in for a colonoscopy. That found the following:
"-inflammation was found from the anus to the sigmoid colon secondary to proctosigmoid ulcerative colitis. This was biopsied.
-Non bleeding internal hemorrhoids
-Marked proctosigmoiditis, likely all distal colitis, biopsies taken throughout the terminal ileum to rectum."

So for 2 weeks, I have been on Asacol 2 pills 3 times per day, and mesalamine enema at night. I have been 100% compliant.

The first week I felt like I was getting better. Last Thursday I had a major increase in D, which continued into Friday, and Saturday I woke up with a headache and nausea. Sunday I was running a low grade (99.5-100) fever, so I said forget it and stopped the meds. Spoke to my GI's nurse this morning, and she said that was the right thing to do and my GI would be in touch with me this morning. I also owe him samples, but I had said on another thread I don't want to just give them sludge to test but if that's all I've got, I guess that's all I've got!

Honestly, I'm frustrated and terrified. I am a litigation attorney, 30 years old, and this could be very, very bad for me. I work at an employer with less than 5 employees, so I have no protection whatsoever.

Welcome! As one that has been newly diagnosed myself, I understand some of the fear and anxiety that can go along with this. I have also done a lot of reading different posts and have found everyone to be helpful and very nice. Good luck to you and your journey for an effective treatment!

meyerlemony, I am also at a small company (less than 25 employees) and therefore also not eligible for protection under FMLA. I would make sure your boss understands what's going on with your condition, keep them posted, I bet it would improve your odds and I'd hope you'd be fine. We've had people here who've been out due to medical issues (a month and sometimes more) and the management is more than accommodating.

I understand your fear of not having coverage as in FMLA, etc...

Do the partners even know of your condition?

You'll have to take into consideration whether it's they are empathetic to health conditions or not?

 

Your job sounds rough. I know with my UC I just can't take stress. The minute and I mean minute I get stressed in any way things start moving and gurgling and it ends up being ugly. Not everyone has that problem. Working from home sounds like a great thing if your partners are ok with that.

Sorry the meds you were given seem to make you feel worse. I hope you get on something else real quick. And as far as the samples go when I gave my first samples all they got was sludge. I'm sure they are used to it.

kazbern - lol...so you know! I tried going solo, and that was a miserable failure. I'm only just entering my 6th year, and the competition in my very, very saturated region is just so fierce.

I'm applying to government jobs, and potentially some attorney law clerk positions. Those have more reasonable hours and the work flow is normal, and less "emergency, ahhh we have to file these motions tomorrow! ahhh!" Hopefully something turns up.

I just spoke to my GI, let him know about the D and headache and low grade fever, and he said that the headache could be a side effect but not so much the fever. I'm to stick with the regimin until I see him Friday morning.

He said the drugs should have started helping within a week, and I feel like they were until last weekend - maybe he's right maybe I did pick up a little bug or something. We'll see.

So, they weren't that understanding... the response you received, and the feeling like you're now being tested by increased workload - it sucks.

I think it's a good idea to look for something else where they won't challenge (your health) as much.

In the meantime, I would recommend you try: adding some slippery elm powder, and also separately the L-Glutamine amino acid powder, also adding probiotics are key.

There are things IMO that you can control, which will have a direct impact on your disease, the symptoms you experience and their severity.

I was able to control my UC into remission through various supplements, probiotics, diet modification, and LDN , low dose naltrexone.

 

For more info on the protocol which has put me into remission, please go to this link: https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=1666318 , and look at the 11th post.

 

BTW, Do you know if your doc checked your vit. d3 blood levels?

I hope you feel better and let us know how we can help you.