A.M. problems

[bk1579]

Hello, I have been taking 9 asacol and 40mg of prednisone for several months now. I actually just started with the asacol, but didn't really see any improvements in BM's. Still lots of mucus/blood, so then my Dr. put me on prednisone. For a week or two after the pred, I was pretty much back to normal (not much cramping and as close to normal BM's as I have had in many months). I went back to the Dr. and he told me to start to taper off the pred in two week increments. Shorty after, it was back to abnormal BM's. I'm trying to figure out if it's the food I eat as I still haven't figured out what really bothers me yet. The one thing that is SO annoying is that in the mornings as soon as my feet hit the floor, I have to run to the bathroom. All it is for the first 4 or 5 times I go is mucus and blood in a very small form of Diarrhea. (sorry for the details, but want to get my point across). It's like I dont have any control over that. It just comes out!!! Might I add, it's not a lot of blood but enough to call it bloody. After a few times of that, then I an have a somewhat normal BM. My question is, does anyone or has anyone had this problem? I suppose the asacol is doing absolutely no good? I've rambled enough, just wanted some feedback on this. Thanks

 

[Jeff D.]

Keep a food diary they save your life. Make sure you log absolutely everything. Have you talked to your doctor about going on a liquid diet. It can help your intestines by giving them rest.

Best of luck. After a month of food diary you should know most foods.

 

[Kev]

Hey Bk1579.. When I was bleeding, I had the same problem.. sometimes it was lots of blood, others not so much.. Now, my thought process was that, overnight, blood would pool, then act as a lubricant or a diarrhetic... hence the extreme need to go (I sometimes had accidents in the AM - those I referred to as 'spontaneous diarrheas).
Once those passed, then the rest of the day my BM's would be more 'normal'. I still had bouts of diarrhea, but at least I had warning and some controll over them. Then I got my bleeding under control. The secret for me was smoking.. the nicotine seems to reduce the bleeding. I'm not suggesting you start smoking. The evidence on it is really BAD.. smoking kills, IBD don't. and it interferes with meds for people with crohns, yet helps people with UC control the bleeding. Go figure.. Nicotine patches might help.. but even that's pretty drastic. We smokers are not trying to convert non smokers. most of us, like myself, would prefer being a non smoker.. Anyway, the nicotine patch is a pretty hare-brained scheme. forget it..

I did (am still doing) the pred thing. Pred worked for me, and continued to work until after I came off of it. I am also on salofalk, another form of asacol.. But after I tapered off, my problems came back, and despite going back on pred, it just simply didn't work as well the 2nd time out (at least not yet). so, now i'm on pred, and just starting imuran, and still taking salofalk... the game plan... taper off the pred, ramp up the imuran, and continue taking the salofalk.. hopefully, shortly i'll be off the pred, but the longterm looks like imuran (5 yrs plus) and salofalk. As for what Jeff advised, that's the best advice you'll get. Keep a diary.. watch what you eat.
There are plenty of sources of info on what diet works best for varying types of IBD.. see your doctor, or consult a dietician, or see some of the online sources, OK

Let us know how you make out... Give the meds time to work, and see your doc..

 

[bk1579]

Thanks Kev...I go to the dr. tomorrow and am curious as to what is next...I'm back to where I was in the beginning of this, but worse I think...I'll update when I get back from the dr...Oh, and I do plan on getting some books and things and doing some more research on a good diet plan...I eat pretty healthy for the most part...I've been reading a lot on this forum for some ideas too...This is a very helpful place to get info...

Have a good day

 

[pb4]

Morning BM frequencies are very common for IBDers...I'm allergic to Asacol myself so I havn't enough experiance to tell you if it controls bleeding or not...I use the alternative route aka natural route and found bee propolis to stop all my bleeding, mucus and pain...and it's alot cheaper then asacol and so long as you're not allergic to bees there are no side-effects...like anything, what works for some doesn't work for all and that includes the oral RX as well, not just the natural route.

 

[D Bergy]

There is a couple of thing that people can be allergic to that are not real obvious.

I have a friend who is sensitive to anything with yeast in it. He can eat a Pizza with a thin crust, but a thick crust will make his guts cramp up. He was diagnosed after many years with Celiacs Sprue by an alternative health care provider. I would never even think of yeast as a allergen. The odd part is Celiacs is supposed to be an allergy to Gluten in Wheat and some other grains. None the less it is yeast that gives him the problem.

Members of the nightshade family such as potatoes and tomatoes can cause a reaction in some people.

MSG in many restaurant and processed foods. I seem to be somewhat sensitive to this.

A Pizza can be the perfect allergic food since nearly everything in it can cause a food sensitivity to the right person.

Hope you can find a culprit among your food. Jeff's idea of a log makes it much easier to find connections. I have done this for treatments in the past. It is amazing what you forget if you do not write it down.

Good Luck

D Bergy

 

[bk1579]

Went back to the dr. today and I have to go back to 40 mg of pred... I wasn't happy about that considering I eat everything in sight when I take it...I stay hungry!! He mentioned Imuran or remicade as another source of treatment to get it into "remission"...Nothing for sure yet...He went over all the possible side effects of both meds and nothing was very encouraging...I'm going to look through the posts here to see what others have to say about either of them...I'll go back in two weeks and see what he has to say...Thanks for the advice everyone...I'm going to start a food diary to see if I can figure out what bothers me.