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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/4/2015 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all-

The only drug over the past 6 years to get me feeling decent was Prednisone....but since I cannot take that anymore due to the side effects I am weaning off and have been on Remicade for almost a year.  Got an immediate response but it started to fade, so my GI added Methotrexate.  I have felt 90% or better since I started MTX in December.  There are still some days though that I have pain in the lower left quadrant (I also have endometriosis and they found it in on my lower left side through laparoscopy) and I see some white mucus on my stools occasionally.  I never see blood and I only go to the bathroom 5-6 times per week.  Do others here still have pain and occasional mucus but consider themselves in remission?   Very confused at times when I get the pain and/or the mucus out of the blue but no other symptoms...just curious what your thoughts are on this topic...

Posted 3/4/2015 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
I would say that if you don't have blood, and you don't have urgency, and the mucous you do see is always on stool (ie, no mucous sharts) then that is a pretty solid remission.

Everyone has bowel pain occasionally. What kind of pain are you talking about?

Mucous is normal also, especially if you are constipated. If your stool is pebbly and/or dry, please try to drink more water, take more soluble fiber, get more exercise to get your stool to a Bristol 3 or 4.
Posted 3/4/2015 7:26 PM (GMT 0)
If you are having small stools or pencil stools, you might have rectal inflammation on a minor scale....one won't necessarily have urgency depending on how much involvement of inflammation you have. It can be dealt with using rectal meds, maybe suppositories of the mesalamine kind rather than steroid if you can use them.

I also suggest fibre supplements....I've found adding Metamucil capsules (process to increase the amount) with meals is the best.
You might also consider an antispasmodic (I use dicyclomine)....it could help with your cramping.

q
Posted 3/4/2015 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Healing is a slow process, it took a full year for me to reach remission with remicade. Having 5-6 bms a week sounds like close to a symptomatic remission, to me. Keep at it, and you're last few pesky symptoms might just go away as well. Good luck,
Posted 3/4/2015 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
That's what I was thinking, kazbern. I am just seeing mucus on the stool. I know when I start to get mucus coming out by itself then I am gearing towards a flare! The pain is very hard to describe, it is almost in my pelvic region lower left, way below my belly button. Just feels like a dull ache constantly.
Posted 3/4/2015 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, forgot to say that my poops look perfect most of the time (snake like, perfect brown color and not thin) except for the occasional white mucous that shows up on one of the snakes! I have noticed a trend that every time I eat chocolate or drink a hot cocoa I pay for it the next day...hmm....
Posted 3/4/2015 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, the pelvic pain mystery!

I had a lot of pelvic pain during my years of active IBD. I had no endo. My GI just kind of shrugged when I mentioned the pelvic pain.

In my remission I never had pelvic pain. Just this past winter I had a bit of a flare and guess what? Pelvic pain. So if you still have that, I would say consider it a symptom, but endo makes it all so much more complicated. Are you doing anything to treat your endo? When was your lap? Did they clean up your pelvis? Are you taking BCPs?

if you are sensitive to chocolate, I am so, so so sorry, LOL.
Posted 3/4/2015 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
I know! This pelvic pain is crazy. I have it when I'm in remission (the colonoscopy looks decent) and also when I'm flaring..there is no rhyme or reason. They found a blood clot when I was first diagnosed so I cannot take combination BCP. I started Progesterone only BCP 3 months ago in the hopes that it would help. I have to say that the pain does not happen as often, but it still does. My GYNO recommended Lupron but that sounded scarier than the pelvic pain. I got my lap in the summer of 2012 and they said they cleaned out the endo they found, but that it could always come back. Good times. If the pain was the only symptom I had to deal with, I would be a happy girl. Just hope the pain does not lead to other symptoms. Hard to tell since I don't know for sure where the pain is coming from!

Yeah, the chocolate thing sucks. I keep testing the boundaries and getting the same results. The next day I feel awful!
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