I'm a little confused about some symptoms!

I take Canasa every night for 2 weeks out of a month and then it's every other night for the remaining 2 (ideally this is supposed to be the regimine).  Because on my last cscope the doc said I still have inflammation in the rectal area but the rest of my colon looked good.  So he told me to use the Canasa to keep the inflammation under control.  When I try to take Canasa every other night, I get D the morning after the night I don't take it. So then I go back to every night and I feel fine - no d, no urgency and fairly solid bm's.  I can't seem to get on them every other night.  Now if I read all those websites right, isn't D typically associated with inflammation in the sigmoid area and not rectum?  So if this is the case then why would I get D if my inflammation is only rectal? I didn't think that Canasa reached to the sigmoid or does it?  Because truly, I feel fine, normal and all that when I'm on it every night.  Oh and it's been like this since April and I keep forgetting to ask my doc about that because I have some other health issues going on at the moment that we are focusing on.

I think it's a toss-up as to whether sigmoid colon or rectum most affects D-- inflammation in either place can make us truly miserable. What I find really annoying, as I've written before in other threads, is that we in the U.S. STILL cannot get 5-ASA rectal foam, which would be much more convenient to apply & retain than those blasted Canasa suppositories that can ooze out, making a greasy mess. If you're getting results from them, though, then it's probably better to take nightly to avoid D in AM. It sounds like they are really doing helpful duty in the rectum, which is where the urge to eliminate reportedly comes from. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC; currently on 3 X 3 Colazal daily for July flare in descending colon, which is responding)

Considering the rectum is about 10 inches long, it would probably depend on how high in the rectum the inflammation is as to what the symptoms are.

If you were continuing to have more frequency rather than diarrhea in the morning/once a day...then I'd be thinking it would be higher.

Stress, hormones, food and fluid intake can also influence how stuff comes out and how fast it travels in the colon.

Was it actual diarrhea water-like or very loose stool?

Could you up the colazal maybe..or are you on the highest dosage?

Consider a fibre supplement to bulk things up a bit...that will ease that a bit and not have you focus on that too much considering all you're going through at this time.

Can the doc maybe prescribe you some steroid suppositories to use in conjunction to help get the inflammation down?

We are all different and for each of us, the unpredictability can certainly give us a turn to worry.

Hope this is only a short-term thing.

quincy

Not every UC patient has a 10-inch rectum! I was surprised to hear from my gastro a few months ago that the colon of UCers tends to shrink lengthwise over time. I knew about the narrowing issue, but did not realize that the disease process also can affect overall length of the organ. Sort of better NOT to know some of these things ... (???) Well, I really can't be bothered worrying about THAT, too! / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC; currently on 3 X 3 Colazal daily for July flare in descending colon, which is responding)

Sherry..I can relate to the left sided pain with fibre supplements.although, I've only tried metamucil. I only use it during flares with diarrhea, not daily.

There's one with inulin that's been suggested as a good thing for the colon...I think it's fiber choice or fibercon. I'll have to do the research. The ones with methylcellulose might also be a good choice since they are more "hypoallergenic"...

Make sure you read all ingredients and not take any with artificial sweeteners that can irritate or cause gas/diarrhea, etc.

Oh, another one I have read is acacia...I think someone else is using that one as well as a bulker.

quincy

FYI all concerned: in U.S. Stony Field Farm yogurt lists inulin as an ingredient in its products. I noticed that Sara14 put SFF yogurt in her tag-- she can probably advise on possible effects/benefits. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC; currently on 3 X 3 Colazal daily for July flare in descending colon, which is responding)

Hi...it seems the info varies depending on what/where it's found. It seems the rectum according to some is 8 - 10 inches..unless that means rectum going into the sigmoid....others are 4 - 6 inches. Seems a big descrepancy..so pick a number. No kidding Old Hat, that not everyone's is 10 inches. I should have rechecked before stating that info obviously..eeks!

It seems that the colon measurement can be 4 - 6 feet..so, I guess it's age, stature, body shape, m/f etc that determines the size.

All of the measurements I will assume are by how it sits in the body..not stretched out..which would be much more.

I read the small intestine is about 20 feet...so, that's a long way travelling during digestion.

quincy

fiber choice is the one with inulin....good luck!