Getting up throughout the night

Hello, new poster here

I have been diagnosed with UC and have been on a flare up for 3 months. I am really struggling throughout the night and on a morning. i typically go to sleep around 2am (Finnish work at 1am) but by 5am i am waking up sweating and urgently needing to go to toilet 2-3 times before i get back off to sleep. When i wake up for the day i will spend the first 2 hours going back and fore to the toilet and then this will leave me tired for the rest of the day.

i have cut out dairy and wheat from my diet and have noticed an improvement (no/less blood in stool). But is there anything else i can be doing??

should i be....

-Eating before bed / not eating before bed
-eating / avoiding certain foods before bed
-taking one of my medication in the middle of the night? and should i have food/snack or just water.
-taking any other medication or supplements?
and responce would be great :)

Currently taking...

~ 800mg Mesalzine 4x daily
~1 multi vitamin/iron

I have foam enema but i have tried them 3 times and can keep it in for 2 minutes. any advise or experience with this too

Hi Dan and welcome to the forum.

1.) I'd check with your doctor and see if your Mesalazine dose can be increased. You're currently taking 800mg X 4 which is 3,200mgs a day and the maximum is often 4,800mgs (although dosing varies a bit between specific brands so always check with your doctor or pharmacist and get a new prescription with your new dose).

2.) You should be on a rectal-route version of Mesalazine (salofalk, pentasa, or canasa) for the best results, either a Mesalazine foam, enema, or suppository.

3.) If the above doesn't work then you might want to ask for a steroid prednisolone/prednisone pill, foam, enema, or steroid. As they're quick working and can help you with your symptoms.

Mornings are always the roughest for us, as that's when our bowels are the most active. Sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night as well. It's best to treat the underlying inflammation and then you'll have a much, much easier time with your overnight sleeping and mornings.