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Thought I’d introduce myself

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/24/2017 4:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hey guys! Made a post earlier today but thought I’d formally introduce myself. Was diagnosed with UC ( not sure what kind ) in 2009 at 19. I immediately lost health insurance right after my dx, and just got it back recently. Fortunately, my UC is pretty unsymptomatic. I don’t ever recall seeing blood in my stool, and I rarely go to the bathroom more than 3 times a day. Now that I have health insurance again and am coming up on my 8th year of disgnosis, I figure I’d start the surveillance program and am schedule to need with my GI next week.

Anyone have any experience with this type of UC? Abdominal pain is non existent as well minus the one that brought be into the GI in the first place. Have never missed a day of work or anything. I’m praying that it’s just a mild form of UC, but I guess I’ll have my answers soon.
Posted 10/24/2017 4:59 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome, Iyace!

I have been a member on here for several years, but don’t post too often. I had a similar experience to what you’re describing. I had mild UC symptoms most of my life, but wasn’t diagnosed until my mid-20’s. At the time I was dx, I was having a huge flare... going pretty much nonstop 24 hours a day for a couple of months. Even with all of that, there was no pain and no blood.

Fast forward about 10 years.... I ended up with the worst flare ever, and had terrible abdominal pain. I still never had blood, but it was very painful and missed out on a lot of life. I was in bed basically for weeks at a time because lying down was about the only way to stop the diarrhea.

I said all of this to tell you that symptoms come and go and can change though the years. Just keep hanging in there. I highly recommend maintenance medication. They help keep you in remission and have also been shown to lower your risk of developing cancer later on.
Posted 10/24/2017 5:05 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for sharing! Yeah, I’m under no disillusion about my UC. Hopefully my maintenance medication will be mild since I’ve been asymptomatic for so long, but I guess my c-scope will inform me of that.
Posted 10/24/2017 11:48 AM (GMT 0)
Most people with UC have a mild form. I would make a guess that most (not all) people who post on this site are seeking answers outside of their doctor's offices because medications are not working well enough for them. This site is probably not representative of the UC community as a whole. I will just second what JJ said, a maintenance medication, while a hassle, is important for keeping your disease at bay and reducing your cancer risk. Hopefully you are "lucky" and your disease will just be an occasional nuisance. Perhaps your GI will suggest maintenance meds are not necessary but I doubt it. Welcome to the forum.
Posted 10/24/2017 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
With a formal introduction comes a formal welcome to the forum! I'd say it's a good idea to see a gasteroenteroligist, have a colonoscopy or flexible-sigmoidoscopy done. That will enable him/her to access how well your UC is doing visually and through biopsies. At the 8-year mark your colorectal cancer odds (CRC) do start to increase, so he/she will screen for that as part of that process. It's a good idea to remain on some form of the mild, 90% topical mesalamine medication as a maintenance treatment (lialda/asacol/apriso/canasa/rowasa) as it actually helps reduce your CRC odds. Taking a preventative maintenance medication is a good way to reduce the odds of a future flareup.

Some are lucky and do have a mild and well mannered case of UC and you might be one of them. You're outside of the 5-year since diagnosis mark and usually by 5-years UC would have already gotten more severe and spread in extent, if it is going to (statistically speaking, that's the timeframe with the highest odds of that occurring). Certainly, I wouldn't take your UC lightly though as there's no guarantee it will stay mild forever if completely ignored; could get worse and flare badly. Everyone does flare eventually with a UC, it's inevitable.
Posted 10/24/2017 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome!
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