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Posted 2/4/2014 11:51 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone been in a flare ( right sided ) but not lost any weight or not had diarreha but constipation instead?

I am noticing now that I'm in my 14 th year of uc that my symptoms are changing.

Has anyone else that has uc for over 10 years noticed this too..

Any information would be great :)
Posted 2/4/2014 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
We actually have quite a few members who say constipation is more of a problem for them than D. I am not one of them but it's not entirely uncommon. I lose a lot of weight when I flare up, probably becuase I go to the bathroom a ton and I don't eat much. If I stayed with my normal eating patterns, I probably wouldn't lose weight either but I would spend so much time on the toilet, I don't see how I could eat normally.
Posted 2/4/2014 3:42 PM (GMT 0)
"I am noticing now that I'm in my 14 th year of uc that my symptoms are changing.

Has anyone else that has uc for over 10 years noticed this too"


I've noticed a lot of things change in 10 years, not just my uc :-)

and usually, not for the better :-(
Posted 2/4/2014 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Since my UC is mainly left-sided (after the initial pancolitis was tamed), I've never really had liquid D. Just mushy, huge, frequent stools. The one UC symptom I would've welcomed was a little bit of weight loss, but I never lost weight from it. I still have to fight for every pound I lose.

We do have quite a few people with C rather than D; it apparently isn't that uncommon.
Posted 2/4/2014 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
It all depends on where your flare might be limited at that particular time.

You mention right sided, so basically, that's pancolitis, correct?

What meds are you on?

There are degrees of inflammation and it pretty much follows a particular pattern. If your meds have most of your colon controlled, but not your rectum, you'll have constipation if there's any inflammation there.

Now, just to say that many of us also have IBS, and constipation can be an issue as well.


q
Posted 2/4/2014 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
I have had UC for 17+ years and the symptoms and remission periods...have pretty much not changed. Agree with others though...some have constipation. Mine is mostly left side and manifests as wt loss and D
Posted 2/4/2014 8:17 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes I wonder what the true definition of constipation is. Is it more of feeling like you have to go and can't or more along the lines of you really do have to go but can't? In our case is it an inflamed colon which makes us feel like we have to go but don't really have to? How does diarrhea fit into this? One would think that if you have diarrhea most of the time then how could you possibly be constipated, ever?
Posted 2/4/2014 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I've had bouts of constipation with active disease. I did have diarrhoea most of the time, but when I wasn't having diarrhoea I was struggling with constipation. For me, it would usually begin by not being able to go at all. This would last from anything from a couple of days to a week: the longer it lasted for the more horribly uncomfortable I became. Meanwhile I would have regular and strong urges to go, but couldn't: the stool had become hardened and impacted. TMI alert: I could even feel it in my rectum, but it was like it was stuck and didn't want to budge. A couple of times I had to use suppositories: the rest of the time, Miralax and gently coaxing it out bit by bit worked.

I bet you wished you'd never asked now... >_>

Anyway, physically I can't explain why that happened. When it was over, it usually returned to diarrhoea. It happened a lot in 2009/10 time, and I started taking Miralax semi-regularly, but in 2011 my symptoms took yet another turn, and I never had that kind of constipation again after that.

Keep an eye on your symptoms: when they change, it often means your disease is changing as well.
Posted 2/6/2014 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your responses they are muchly appreciated.

Quincy

I was first diagnosed with left sided uc in 2000 but as the years pass my gastro dr and I are noticing that the uc is get worse with each flare.

Last April I was admitted to hospital with what I was told was uc all the way around and was at risk of toxic megacolon so I spent a very lengthy time in hospital on many nasty drugs.

I am currently on the following meds
Pentasa 2 grams a day
Azathioprine 150 mg a day
Vitamin d. 4000 a day due to extremely low levels
Frusemide. 40 mg a day ( for breathing and leg pain)
Seritide inhaler. 2 puffs a day. ( for breathing issues)

The last 2 drugs I was given as I was having problems breathing when walking and talking. My legs felt tight to my knees as if someone was squeezing them with pain.

My dr thinks this is due to the long use of steroids which maybe affecting my kidneys so I am now off to see another dr for this..

But back to the constipation.

This has been a major problem for me since my last really bad flare in April last year.
I continually get right hand side pain since the flare and feel as if something is stuck there. I am also tender in my tummy when the dr touches on the left and right side..
But my gastro dr doesn't seem too concerned about it as he said my colonoscopy last September showed no signs of active uc so I should be in remission for a few years..
Well why the pain, mucos, blood on stool only, nausea and constipation if nothing is going on.

Oh and the dr said because my crp levels are fine them I'm fine it doesn't matter about all the other symptoms..

So now I'm just waiting for the time bomb to go off once again and watch their faces go oh! You are sick even though you don't look sick :(

That's what the emergency room dr said to me
" you don't look sick enough for it to be you uc"

Am so frustrated with all the gastro drs here and its of 400 kilometres to the next gastro dr :(
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