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Longest flare yet and now Im throwing up

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/13/2012 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone I am a 21yo college student with colitis. I have been flaring since September not having a solid bowel movement or even one with out blood in it for this amount of time is extremely disheartening. I am currently taking 8 asacol HD, one mesalamine enema, 2 cups of slippery elm bark powder tea, 2 vsl #3, Digestive enzymes with every meal, a multivitamin and lacto fermented sauerkraut and kimchi daily. I have not committed to a restrictive special diet I am trying to understand common ground between all of the recommended diets but am finding many contradictions. I am very tired don't want to do things except read and rest. I am a senior in college attempting to earn a BFA in sculpture. This semester I had to take 2 incomplete grades because I was not able to keep up with work load with my low energy. Last night I began vomiting this is the first time in this flair that I have had any vomiting. This morning I threw up yellow bile. I do not know what the cause of this is but i associate it with my initial flair which lasted several months as well. I believe there must be a way to manage this disease I just havent found what will work for me yet.
Posted 12/13/2012 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
sounds like the meds you're on now just aren't strong enough. maybe you need to try 6mp, remicade/humira, prednisone? i hate recommending them because i hate meds, too, but they do help some. if even adding one can get your life back on track, it's worth it.

i throw up a lot with flares, too. usually with my bowel movements so depending on how many bm's i have, that's how many times i'll throw up. it's always bile and a little food. my doctor's reasoning behind this is "your colon is sick and that makes your stomach sick, too." makes sense to me since when he looked at my stomach, it was all inflamed.
Posted 12/13/2012 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
it might be important to make sure the slippery elm and the asacol are spaced a few hours apart. slippery elm coats and asacol works topically.

it might help to have a few hydrocortisone enemas to get the flare tamed - or a prednisone taper.

I think diets help a lot by eliminating lots of foods. when the friendly gut bacteria are depleted some foods become hard to digest. But, diet does seem to help some people in more complex ways, and not help others.

I think the 6 VSL#3 capsules add up to less than one DS sachet. I was taking one or more DS sachets, and after a while, I had to use less because it made a kind of milky smelling diarrhea. I think I was over-populating. you might try a short VSL vacation to see what happens.

how long between flares?
Posted 12/13/2012 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
I have taken 6mp and did not react well worst nausea I've ever experienced I have a strong appetite and no matter how sick am never too nauseous to eat but this stuff had me repulsed by food. I have an appointment on the 21st and if things aren't better by then I will ask to start a round of prednisone. I hate the mood swings and toxicity of the steroids but haven't every had a problem getting into remission quickly with a round and haven't used them in over a year so probably the good out weighs the bad. I really hate the pharmaceuticals and would really love to throw them out the window or bury them in a hole.

Honestly I would not be in so deep if i would have paid attention at the more subtle stages and acted then instead of waiting for things to get too bad I couldn't ignore it anymore. I weaned off all medication in early spring and made it through spring and summer symptom free and med free then with increased stress of school I got sick and have only been back on meds for a month. I don't know why but every time I go into remission I quit taking the pills I think its a combination of denial and just wanting to feel in control. I don't think i'm going to do it anymore at least until I make it a few years with out a flare I just want be in long term remission
Posted 12/13/2012 11:02 PM (GMT 0)

DBwithUC said...
how long between flares?

about 1 per year most common in fall sometimes in spring usually under 2 months in duration. I guess this one is unusual because the amount of time I was not medicated.
Posted 12/13/2012 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have not committed to a restrictive special diet I am trying to understand common ground between all of the recommended diets but am finding many contradictions.

A good start for dieting is to avoid gluten for 3-4 weeks to see if it helps alleviate some of your symptoms. After that you can do the same for dairy. I believe that gluten and dairy are common food allergens.

After that you may want to experiment with some of the major diets, but I prefer just keeping a food diary to isolate any allergens I need to avoid.
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