Questions....

Hey all,
I'm new to this forum and i just wanted to say hello and thank everyone for posting all their experiences- both good and bad. It has really helped me understand more of this illness.

I was diagnosed with left-sided UC in 2007 (small amounts of blood in stool). My doctor put me on a enema for a bout a month then prescribed me 800 mg of Asacol twice a day. Since i have been on that i have had no trouble. And as bad as i hate to admit it i really never gave anymore thought about UC because it never interfered with my life. I was actually thinking of taking myself of the Asacol. Then about a month before Halloween of this year I started seeing blood on the toilet paper and before i knew it i had diarrhea and blood all the time. I made an appointment and my doctor placed me on 10 mg of Prednisone twice a day and he also increased my dosage of Asacol to 2 pills 3 times a day. I have also scheduled an colonoscopy.

My question/concern is i have been on the Prednisone and increased dosage of Asacol for 8 days and the frequency of my BM's have gone from 10-15 to about 5-6 and the urgency is nowhere near as bad, but the blood is still there. In the bottom of the commode and on the TP (sorry if thats to much info). Is this normal to still be bleeding 8 days after the fact?

I apologize if this sounds like a silly question but like I have said I have never had any issues with this disease since diagnosed and treated over 7 years ago and guess seeing the blood kinda freaks me out a little. So any input would be very much appreciated.

Also in case anyone is wondering I was diagnosed 1 year after I quit smoking. I also believe that this flare up i am currently experiencing comes from taking glucosamine tablets for my knees. I started noticing the blood about 7 days after taking glucosamine.

Anyway I'm sorry if this post is a little long-winded I have never posted in a forum before.

Thank you all again and God bless.

Welcome Hcu. It sounds like you are actually having some improvement as you stated less urgency & less trips to the bathroom. So it would seem you are headed in the right direction.
The blood is indicative of the inflammation that is present. As inflammation decreases so will the blood. If your inflammation is lower down, then enemas ( I have used cortenemas ) and/or Cortifoam will help the symptoms. I know this aspect very well as during this flare that I am in ( Since August ) I became severely anemic. Thankfully the inflammation has gone done considerably. I am also on Entyvio infusions.
The best thing is now for you is to have that colonoscopy so the DR. can see exactly where your issues are.
Wishing you well.......

Sorry...Don't Know much about glucosamine......