Posted 7/27/2014 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
A bit about me :)
I was diagnosed with UC when I was 12 years old (22 years ago...you can do the math). I've lived with it and dealt with it through all these years simply by pushing through and walking around with symptoms.
about 6 years ago I started having flares that could not walk around with and would put me down for weeks/months at a time. Two per year. I'm sure you all know how the time table works. about 2-3 months of pre-flare symptoms followed by light bleeding, followed by heavy bleeding, then pain, then I'm on the couch for 4 weeks or so (if I'm lucky). I end up losing about 50% of my year.
The only meds I've been given during a flare are Prednisone, which is a nightmare for me. In fact, I will do anything to avoid taking it. I recently went on my dream vacation and was flaring the whole time. I decided not to be upset about it and simply considered it "part of the adventure." The last couple days I was bed ridden but I was happy to have gotten as far as I did. I had my doc prescribe me prednisone before I left and not even flaring in Europe was not enough for me to take it.
Well, I finally submitted and was on a 3 weeks regimen (60mg) which did nothing for me. Finished two days ago and will NOT take it again. I went to the ER two weeks ago and they game me hydrocodone and sent me on my way. The CT scan showed "mild inflammation" which if you consider how much it takes me to simply take steroids, you can imagine how bad the symptoms have to be to get me to actually go to a hospital. I was surprised and not really relieved by the results. The pain meds gave me a bit of relief but ultimately just gave me a week long high.
I'm still really sick and unable to work but I do not know what my options are. I'm thinking of just going back to the ER and staying until they do something. I'm also getting migraines twice a day for the past five or six days. Can anyone suggest a medication that I can ask the doctor for when I go back to the hospital? I've been on the max amount of Asacol for a few years now but that's it. As I'm writing this I realize all I'm doing is trying to find an excuse to not go back to the hospital...SMH.
4.8g Asacol daily