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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/4/2017 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
I am in the middle of a bad flare up and traveling to Florida on Monday.. yes not the smartest idea but thought some sunshine and a few days of complete R&R might help. I live in Canada so very limited right now on sunshine and I am a Florida girl at heart the boyfriend thought a few days away might help me emotionally. Travel insurance cost me more then my flight ( crazy )

I usually have 10-15 BM a day of just blood maybe sometimes a little diarrhea its the urgency that I am concerned about. My kids told me to buy some depends just in case I cant find a bathroom at the airport right away or on the plane.
Its not a pretty picture put there have been a few times in the last few weeks I didnt make it right on the toilet and it looked like a murder scene in my bathroom ( scariest thing in my life) the gas makes the blood go everywhere. I cant have that happen at airport sad

Has anyone had to wear depends in situations like this...

47 year old mother of 4
serve flare up since June
was in remission for 9 beautiful years.
Starting humira when I get back.
still on prednisone and oxycodone for the pain.
Posted 11/4/2017 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
i wore pads on planes with plastic briefs. depends are mainly for urine and dont do much for bloody mucus.

i also took imodium the morning of the flight and ate very low residue the day before

where there is will there is way
Posted 11/4/2017 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Are you on top dosage of pred or tapering?
Ask the doc for rectal steroid foam retention enemas to add to the mix.

You might consider taking low dosage imodium for your flight just to slow things a bit.

Hope you enjoy your holiday.

q
Posted 11/4/2017 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
Steroids might help quickly and be worth taking to get you feeling better for your trip - you will enjoy yourself and relax more if you're not going 15x a day. The only way I could get through a flight like that is to strategically limit food intake for a few days. That will likely make you miserable though and it's no way to live. I have a generally low appetite and I don't get cranky without food. I agree with the others though, depends, change of clothes, wet wipes for clean up if the worst occurs, ziplock bags for anything dirty if the worst occurs, Imodium, bentyl (if it helps you), prednisone/uceris if it's an option.
Posted 11/4/2017 10:42 PM (GMT 0)
Avoid eating 12 hours before and until the flight. Take imodium an hour before leaving. Wear depends. Ask for prednisone at a dose of 20-40mgs a day.
Posted 11/5/2017 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you everyone for your reply... I have now tapered down to 15 mg of predisone and yes taking cortifoam enemas every night also. Will try the imodium for sure and just might wear a pad or two.
Regarding food I am limited on what I am eating drinking about 4-5 ensures a day and I usually have one good meal a day. More then anything I am worried about how much blood I am losing which has increased over the last few days ( no idea why ) my hemoglobin is down and my fettin was at 9 when the doctor said it should be at 20. Wish I could decrease my BM
I just want a few days away without running into major problems

ps is anyone on oxycodone for pain and is it that bad to take maybe once or twice a day ( 5 mg ) ??
Posted 11/5/2017 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
Ive been there. Ask your doc for a note and pre board to get a seat right next to the bathroom. Ive never flown on an airline that didn't honor the doctor's note for UC, usually they are very understanding and don't even ask to see the note. Flying can be stressful but having just this small amount of control helps a ton and there is warmth & sunshine on the other end. Best of luck!
Posted 11/5/2017 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
My preference is to sit in the back of the plain. Two reasons, (1) there are 2 bathrooms and (2) you don't have a whole plain full of people watching you get up and run to the bathroom every 30 mins. Also the front bathroom you can't "form a line" at.

Another tip. Tell the flight attendant what's going on so they know if you get up and go to the bathroom when they want everybody seated it hopefully won't cause any problems.

Preboarding is good if you're flying an airline without assigned seats. I usually fly southwest and upgrade to the early bird pass so I get exactly the seat I want.

Have a change of clothes easily accessible.
Posted 11/5/2017 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
"I have now tapered down to 15 mg of predisone"

Did you do better at high doses? Ask your doctor if you can temporarily up your dose for just this trip to make it more bearable.
Posted 11/6/2017 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Good idea regarding the prednisone might go back to 20 for a bit. And my seats are already assigned its pretty close to the bathrooms>
Posted 11/6/2017 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with the sentiments shared with others. Best bet is eat a bland diet a few days prior to your flight. (I wear a diaper too just in case).

If you can snag an aisle seat near the bathroom, it is perfect so you won't have to climb over people when the time comes.
Posted 11/6/2017 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
You've gotten a lot of good advice above. Anxiety creates a self feedback-loop, once anxiety gets roots it grows exponentially until what we dread ends up happening. Best you can do is be as prepared as possible for the worst case scenario for peace-of-mind. Take reasonable precautions, bring an emergency cleanup kit (a big ziplock bag consisting of extra tp, change of underwear, wet wipes). If you're as prepared as you can be, then the run-away train of anxiety likely won't get a full-head-of-steam, and lead you hurtling off of the tracks!

Sweet boyfriend to book a trip to FL though. If only he knew the extra stress traveling during a bad flare causes though lol...

In case the anxiety starts building when boarding the plane or other inopportune times (which is when it always happens), here's some tips:

Tips for coping with stress and anxieties:
www.stress-relief-exercises.com
www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessons
www.healthyplace.com

Three Minute Mindfulness Meditation Video
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDflnqo0TQs
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2_UfFIszkY
Posted 11/7/2017 7:23 PM (GMT 0)

valli1234 said...
Thank you everyone for your reply... I have now tapered down to 15 mg of predisone and yes taking cortifoam enemas every night also. Will try the imodium for sure and just might wear a pad or two.
Regarding food I am limited on what I am eating drinking about 4-5 ensures a day and I usually have one good meal a day. More then anything I am worried about how much blood I am losing which has increased over the last few days ( no idea why ) my hemoglobin is down and my fettin was at 9 when the doctor said it should be at 20. Wish I could decrease my BM
I just want a few days away without running into major problems

ps is anyone on oxycodone for pain and is it that bad to take maybe once or twice a day ( 5 mg ) ??

With crackdown on painkillers, GIs can't prescribe anything more than Tramadol. No GI unless he's a surgeon should be allowed to prescribe Oxy. I used to take tramadol for UC pain, would help some not much.

Oxy may help more but as mentioned (at least in the states) good luck getting a prescription for that stuff.
Posted 11/7/2017 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think the painkillers are "bad" to take, though I personally am allergic, but it is not a treatment for this illness. It may mask symptoms or slow the bowel, help with the pain, but the real goal is to get you better so you don't need pain meds. I agree with Bull, GIs really shouldn't be using pain meds for treatment of UC, perhaps in the case that a person has tried and failed all available treatments, and is waiting for surgery.
Posted 11/14/2017 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Well I made it there and back. Thank you for all your suggestions, I was able to talk to the flight attended right when I boarded and explained my situation and they were all understanding, even allowing me to use first classes bathrooms they also bumped me up to business a little more leg room. The flight there was rough with my colitis but on the way back I took 2 ativans and slept most of the way.
Posted 11/14/2017 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
Sweet!
Posted 11/14/2017 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
I'm glad it all worked out so well! Surprised at how accommodating the flight attendants were... what airline was it?
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