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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/13/2007 10:41 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I have suffered from Ulcerative Colitis since 2001 and have been struggling since really.

I have been fortunate that since July 07 I had been fine, but in the last month things have gone

down hill. I work full time and I am having flare ups when I drive to work, traffic is killing me.

I have tried going in early, but that is not helping at the moment.

I had 3 flare ups on the drive to work this morning, and had to turn round and come home.

Unfortunately I had about a 20 second warning of an attack, but when stuck in traffic there was nothing I

could do. Feeling pretty mortified at the moment, and down about it all. I'm in my early 30's and getting

depressed having all the ups and downs. My sick record is not looking too hot either.

I went to the docs last week and my prednisolone is upto 20mg oral and 20mg Predfoam, and the usual 6 asacol tabs a day.

Have another appointment today, but not sure what the doc will be able to do.

Sorry I'm having a moan, but need to give my husband a break!

Posted 12/13/2007 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Grace, welcome to Healingwell. I think we can all relate to the "commute horrors!". Have you thought about wearing Depends for those moments? I know it's embarassing to even think about wearing diapers at this stage of life but sometimes there are things beyond our control. Some people here keep a bag of goodies in their vehicle such as extra underwear, wipes, toilet paper etc and it can offer a peace of mind just knowing you have the things to clean yourself up if you should have an accident.

Oh and don't worry about the moaning and groaning and never apologize for it. That is what we are here for!
Posted 12/13/2007 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
I got to the point where I literally wasn't hardly able to leave my house for 3 yrs...my husband saw what it was doing to me mentally as it really became depressing for me and then of course severe anxiety kicked in...so we sold my car and bought a van as well as one of those port-o-pots *typically used for camping* and took the very back bench seats out of the van to put the potty back there and have plenty of room to get from the front to the back *the seats right behind the drivers seats are split as well not a bench, so I can walk right from the front seat to the back when I need to use my pot*...things started getting better for me health wise thank goodness so I havn't had to use it in a while (it sure did come in handy at first let me tell ya) but it was the greatest idea to help me get over my anxiety which helped my depression...I think of it as my security blanket...that's an option to consider at least...I never wanted to own a van, I don't care for them but it was either that or my total sanity.

:)
Posted 12/13/2007 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
pb4 -- You have described my dream car! lol That's amazing. I think it's great that you and your husband came up with that solution.

This whole thing of getting stuck in traffic is definitely a big issue. Now that it's really crowded around here for the holidays, I can't count on being able to get home or to a public restroom in just a few minutes.

The only thing that's helped me make it home (and not freak out when I got stuck behind a SCHOOL BUS!) was some soothing music on the radio and a whole lot of deep breathing. I've mentioned in other posts that I took a hypnotherapy class specifically for people with IBS and just going over the meditation in my head while stuck in traffic really helps.

One really great exercise from the class -- sit in a quiet place. close your eyes. Then imagine a place you've been either in the past or recently where you felt completely relaxed. If I sit still and "meditate" on that for a few minutes, I swear that my bowels start to calm down. Of course you can't do the "close your eyes" part in the car!

Grace, have you told people at work about your disease? Depending on how understanding you think they might be, it can sometimes make it easier to know that people at work are not going to be mad if you're late for work. Are mornings your worst time? Is there any way to change your hours a little if you are flaring so that you miss the rush hour traffic? I know that doesn't make the UC any better but at least it might alleviate some of the anxiety about the commute.

Sending you good wishes. :)
Posted 12/14/2007 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
i dont mean to make light of your situation by telling this story (cuz ive been there), but i thought you might get a chuckle out of it...
this happened years ago when i was little...

my grandma also has UC and on the way to lake tahoe with all of us (her grandkids), she had to "go". and when my grandma has to go, get out of the way or you'll get hit! lol

well, the drive to tahoe thru the mountains really has no stop points at all. just a long windy road with a few turns outs.

all of a sudden she veers over to the side of the road, jumps in the back of the minivan we were in, grabs my cousin's barbie box, dumps everything out all over the car, pulls down her pants and craps right in it. all of us scream and jump in the back back seat. smelly!
when she finishes, she grabbed the box, closed it and chucked over the side of the mountain. (yes, i know, we are bad people for littering)

she told us never to mention this again and we went on, while we all laughed in the backseat.
poor grandma.

years later, i have UC and i know how she felt.
now my uncles always joke that they are gonna get me a barbie box for my car for christmas!
Posted 12/14/2007 5:37 AM (GMT 0)
LOL, that's a cute story...if we didn't laugh then we'd cry, so it's good to make light of "accidents" that can and do happen to us..it all goes with the territory.

:)

And thanks Julee :) Having the van has made a world of difference (especially with the port-o-pot in the back for me), I miss my car, it was a 99 ford taurus, but the good news is we sold it to my inlaws (mom and dad) so it's not like I won't ever get it back if I wanted to, but I'm content with my van, it's also a ford, 2001 windstar sport, has a nice fin on the top...real sporty for a van LOL...and it's black, my car was dark blue and I'm glad it's still in the family at least. But hey, the van has come in handy for other things too, like when we renovated my sisters condo, bought some new boxsprings, ect. Everything happens for a reason I guess.

:)
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