fare after 5 years

Hi All,

I'm back here after 5 years of remission. Long story short. I had my first flare, the day after giving birth to my first child in 2013, I was put on mezavant and prednisone for remission and once the remission achieved was on mezavant as maintenance. But had frequent flare ups and put on imuran 3 years later didn't get stable remission. Then I became pregnant with my second child which put me into complete remission in 2017. I had another child in 2020 and no postpartum flare until now a sudden flare. I don't know what caused the flare.. very disappointed because my GI said that my UC possible burnt out when I last saw him. I have a feeling Dust allergy might have triggered the current flare. I have number of questions,
1. I think my GI always wanted to put me onto Biologics. Should I move to biologics? How long it normally works for people?
2. Is there anyone noticed environmental allergy triggering UC flare. Anyone did allergy test before?

Hi Sweety,

I never heard of UC "burn out", or cured for that matter. I went through 5 year intervals with no flares, but remained on maintenance 5ASA which probably kept it at bay. Over time, through some stressful periods, I've had flare ups.

I do have seasonal allergies beginning about age 40. Now in my early 60's, dust, tree, grass, perfume etc are adding to this mild flare I've been in for at least 6 months. I've never tested for allergies. It's obvious when .I sneeze outside, stuff up around air conditioning etc. I take Allergy control pills daily now, and they do help me. Who knows if allergies contribute to UC flares?

Sorry I Can't help you on the biologics. There are several others on HW who can advise on that.

There is no burn-out or cure for UC...but some have nice long remissions.

Inflammation happens over a period of time, many times without us realising the symptoms until they are more obvious. Then we believe it came out of the blue...it does not.

Were you on any meds at all, or not while in remission?

My always first suggestions are mesalamine oral and rectal retention enemas.
Dust allergies wouldnt be a cause of your flare...I hope you're on an antihistamine for them tho.

Let us know how youre doing and what the doc has rx'd for you.

q

Congratulations on your expanded family, Sweety! RE allergies being possible cause of new UC flare, I think they can be if they disrupt your sleep many times. At least in my experience, inadequate sleep for a week or more would usually precede a flare-up of UC. Good that you're trying to nip this latest quickly. Hopefully, you can get back to remission without needing major med changes-- my best wishes for that. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)

Thanks Old Hat. Yes I do believe interrupted sleep can lead to inflamation.
Quincy, they have tested me manytimes for Asthma but the results didn't show asthma. the doctor also told Adult asthma is difficult to diagnose. I insisted doctor to test for dust mites because I felt I've been coughing more if I exposed to dust. Then the blood report showed high anti bodies to dust.