I am new to UC please help

The Asacol might help. It will take a week or more to see a noticeable difference. You should also use mesalamine enemas (the same drug as Asacol except delivered from the other end). UC involves the rectum and sigmoid colon, and the oral meds don't really reach there effectively.

If you can achieve a solid remission you should continue using your meds. This is the best way to prevent future flares, but it is not a guarantee. It is very hard to predict the future of your disease. But we do know that some things can make you worse: taking antibiotics, getting a viral infection, a lot of stress - these things are really unavoidable, so it's good to have your GI as a regular doctor and keep in touch.

In addition to the mesalamine (oral and rectal) you should be taking a probiotic (many people here use VSL#3, which your GI can prescribe), an omega-3 supplement (I use flax seed oil) and probably vitamin D.

Welcome to the forum.

"I lived my youth by eating and drinking what I wanted when I wanted and now I am paying for it."


if you wanna keep thinking that, feel free - but the truth is, your rambunctious past probably had nothing to do with it -


oh, and welcome abroad newt !

how long before Asacol starts working?

If it's been 2 -3 weeks I would have hoped you would see improvement by now. Give it another 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees with this disease.

is it the right drug?

there are no guarantees. I guess you will find out. At least it doesn't seem to be making you worse.

can I keep this job that I love since I have UC?

Hopefully so. Apparently you can still do it now so that's a good sign and hopefully you will get better with treatments. UC can get unexpectedly worse but again that is not guaranteed.

Will UC get worse over time?

It can get worse over time or it can get better overtime. Most definitions of UC say it is a chronic lifelong disease with periods of flares and periods of remissions. The best advice any of us can give you is that when you do find something that puts you into remission then you need to continue with that forever, no matter how many years you have been feeling well. Stopping the treatment usually causes your UC to return and when it returns it often gets harder and harder to treat so the goal is to never have another flare by taking meds for the rest of your life. Steroids are one med that should not be taken indefinitely so if you do ever wind up using them make sure you continue taking maintenance meds forever.

When I get into remission how long can I expect it to last?

Again, no guarantees other than if you quit taking your maintenance meds you are almost guaranteed to have another flare at some point and it is often worse than before and the meds that worked before often won't work again or work as well. That's why it is important to keep using those maintenance meds forever. UC is always there in the shadows just waiting for you to let up on treatments.


Anything that will control the pain (my major issue) ?

Hopefully when you get your UC under control the pain will also be under control