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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/27/2016 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
On 9/20 I had a flex sig that FINALLY showed no inflammation. I had a 4 inch mild patch at my rectum/sigmoid that would not heal for just about 2 years. I was so happy I cried for a half hour in my car.

I was feeling great until last Thursday. My oldest son brought home a stomach bug from daycare about 2 weeks ago. He had D/loose stool for about 5 days. Took another week for his bm's to get back on track. Then my youngest got it - BAD. He has had D since Saturday night. His tiny hiney is raw. We are finally starting to get some form. I tried to use gloves with every diaper change. I'm assuming it will be another week before he is 100%. So I am looking at this as a 2 week thing.

So I started feeling funny last Thursday. Had minor D Thursday (went 3 times) and just loose Friday (went twice). Had my Remicade infusion on Friday as well. The D stopped Thursday. Since Saturday I have had one perfectly normal/formed stool. The only thing I have is a little bit of mucus when I wipe and some minor gurgling. No pain, urgency, blood. So just minor mucus for 6 days. Mucus is usually accompanied by something else during the start of a flare for me.

My GI is convinced I am still in remission and to let the bug run its course but said if I wanted to do a week of steroid enemas and then we can flex to be sure. So I have never had a stomach bug before and I have also never had mucus without inflammation. So I have NO IDEA what to think.

I know a week of enemas can't hurt but I literally just did a 6 week slow, long taper to get off them after being on them for the most part of a year. He said I can do a week and just stop this time.

My head keeps telling me to let it runs its course and to be done with the enemas. Plus this may be the way my body is reacting to getting off them and no matter when I do it I will have some bumps til my body fully adjusts. I am very sensitive to steroids. Then on the other hand I DO NOT want to be stupid and miss symptoms.

I am having a very hard time mentally after this 2 year flare and am working with a therapist for basically PTSD and coping skills. I do not want to react to every little thing and stress myself out but also don't want to be naive. This is so hard and frustrating.

So sorry for the long post. Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Posted 10/27/2016 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
i remember some people here were taking grape seed extract for various bugs
Posted 10/27/2016 6:45 PM (GMT 0)
My vote is it is just the stomach bug that's messing with your bms. As you're not seeing any blood and usually that's associated with U.C. flares.
Posted 10/28/2016 3:40 AM (GMT 0)
You could get a stool test and see if you have anything there. I'm a little confused between associating inflammation with stomach bug. I understand how it could it look/feel similar but stomach bug and UC are different, right?

If you have a bug then antibiotics would be more effective than a steroid enema (I'm thinking).
So it's really guessing game. If it's UC then treat it with UC meds. If it's a gut bug then antibiotics or (as your doctor said) let it run it's course.

I'd personally up my healthy foods (chicken broth) and probiotics and maybe use non-RX antimicrobials (oil of oregano, clay water, wormwood) that have been helpful in the past. But it's really up to you.
Posted 10/28/2016 11:23 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for the thoughts guys. I've decided to do 5 nights of enemas. Wednesday and Sunday this week were supposed to be my last of the taper so I'm just going to do them Wednesday thru Sunday then stop. So 5 nights total.

Ima- gonna up my probiotics and healthy foods too. Hopefully I cover my bases and get back on track. I have nothing else but the minor mucus so I'm hoping it's non UC related but after the rough 2 years I just had I do not want to go backward. Going to give myself another week and if no improvement I'll see my GI for stool tests and flex.
Posted 10/31/2016 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys. So I decided to do a week of nightly steroid enemas. I'm exactly the same. Nothing has changed. One decently formed poop in am. Bit of mucus on tp. No other symptoms. Stopping enemas after Tuesday.

My youngest is finally starting to get better. So this bug is lasting around 2 + weeks for each of my kids before they are 100%.

It will be 2 weeks for me Thursday. Mucus started Saturday so a little over a week. Do bugs usually last this long? I've never had one before but I'm assuming it takes time especially for IBDers to get back on track?

Since the enemas made no difference I'm assuming bug over inflammation. Am I right to assume this and stop enemas? GI still thinks bug and said to stop enemas. Scheduling a flex sig for before thanksgiving in case things get worse or don't get better by then. Going to try and ride it out for another week or so. Can always cancel we said.

I'm just so sad this happened right after remission from a 2 year flare beat down. :(
Posted 10/31/2016 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
I had a stomach bug last May and it took me a month to get back to normal. It was no fun at all. Hope you all get better soon.
Posted 10/31/2016 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
Thaaaaaank you mom. I'm beside myself. This is the worst feeling...the unknown.

Did you do anything med wise or just let it ride its course? Did you have symptoms during the month that you were mending? Only thing I can do is steroid enemas but if they aren't helping I would rather not. Mesalamines don't do anything for me anymore.

My oldest is back on track. My youngest is getting better thank goodness. He had it the worst. Siiiiiigh.
Posted 10/31/2016 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
I added sfRowasa nightly for two weeks, then every other for a week and every three nights for a week.
I had cramping, mucus, smushy stool and lots of gas for two and a half weeks. I kept my diet pretty bland as well. I did run a half marathon at the end of the month without incident, though. This summer I felt great and then got hit with a mild flare up last month. We had a stomach bug go through our house when my car oldest was just 1 year old and it took him well over two weeks to stop throwing up at least once a day. I was still breastfeeding at the time, but that bug was cruel to everyone. I feel like something similar is going around where we are now. I really don't want to deal with one of those bugs ever again.
Posted 10/31/2016 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
I am sorry you're dealing with a bug, but a bug is much better than the UC starting up. I never really deal with gut bugs, if I do, it's like food poisoning and it lasts a few hours and then I am okay. I think you were smart to do the enemas just in case. I guess you have to give it some time at this point to fully clear. I don't know if you should just drop the steroid enemas, maybe do one every couple days until you're back to 100%. That may help you feel less stressed about the UC resurfacing.
Posted 10/31/2016 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
Mom thank you! You made me feel so much better. It's so sad we have to live like this wondering if it's just a normal occurrence that everyone can get or UC rearing its ugly head. I just hope it stops soon. And I've heard of a few bad bugs in my area too. My friends child goes to same daycare and brought home the same bug to her house. Sad it makes me feel less crazy lol.

Nssg thank you. You are right a bug is much better than a UC flare. I've never had a gut bug or even food poisoning. Knock wood. So I had/have no idea what to expect. And I was thinking the same thing about the enemas. Doing one every third night or something til it clears and I'm not having issues. Will keep me less stressed for sure!
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