Been a long time since a flare.. now that I'm in one I got questions!

Hi there! I don't mean to brag but its been years since I have been in a serious flare. I feel like I'm in a flare now.. I had a great summer.. and probably played a little too hard lol Lots of camping, 4 wheeling and some drinks. Now I think it's caught up to me.

about midway thru the summer I was feeling like my Asacol wasn't doing the trick anymore so my Dr switched me to Salofalk. I don't hear or see of this much...

Is Salofalk popular for UC?

Since then I was up and down but now I am REALLY feeling down. I have rarely had D.. always been constipation for me.. now I am starting to get soft movements, about twice a day.. but the pain is really getting me. Lots of right sided and front abdominal pains, my lower back is killing me and sometimes its hard to walk. Which is tough since I am a letter carrier !!

My main question today is..

I have lots of neck and upper shoulder pain. Is this UC related? Also, the last few weeks I have weakness in my legs and lots of muscle aches and its like I am just "body tired." Is this UC realted as well?

I am going to get ahold of my family Dr today and see if he can squeeze me in this week. Maybe get a referral again to a GI Dr.. I stopped seeing my GI years ago cuz I was symptom free.

Any info / reassurance would be wonderful.

:)

It's great you've been in remission for years. However, Uc does eventually flare for all of us though (just the nature of uc, unfortunately).

Yes, Salfolk is a popular and commonly prescribed medication for ulcerative colitis. A number of regular posters here use salfolk.

When flaring, some do experience extra-intestinal manifestations elsewhere in the body. Joint pains is reported by some patients and it can get worse when uc is flaring. Sulfasalazine is an anti-inflammatory uc medication that helps with joint pains, I'd ask about it, might be better than salfolk in your situation.

I'd encourage you to get a referral to a gastroenterologist as soon as you can. Flares tend to get exponentially worse, when left untreated. So I'd ask about emergency spots in the gastroenterologist specialist schedule, to be considered for cancelled appointments, etc. Luckily, uc wise, your symptoms are fairly mild.

As a generalization, fatigue and joint pains are more common symptoms during a uc flare. Certainly bring both symptoms up when you get your appointment.

A few possibilities:

1.) Your joint pains could be entirely unrelated to your uc, and just normal arthritis due to aging, work, etc.

2.) about 25 percent of uc patients experience extra-intestinal manifestations. We have uc which is an autoimmune disorder (a haywire immune system that attacks us) and that immune system can turn on our joints, eyes, many other things causing inflammation and troubles. That can mean a second autoimmune disorder, sometimes they come in 2's or 3's.

3.) It can mean extra problems only when flaring, some have issues that worsten only when flaring. And I'm leaning on that at the moment since it's in tandem with uc flare symptoms. If so, then as your uc gets better, your joint pains will as well.

4.) Our medications can also cause joint problems, and it's listed as a side effect. You recently switched medications, so it's plausible. That's less likely with the mild anti-inflammatory medications like salfolk though, then it is with more hardcore iimmunomodulators and biologic medications.

I'm taking 500mg three times per day currently. And I'm in Canada with a good health plan. What would the enema you suggest do to help?

Your symptoms are all indicative of a UC flare. Like others have said, get some help sooner than later.

Good Luck !