Confused

[jcavs88]

Hello,
I am new here and new to having Colitis. I am lost by all of this and confused about what it is.
I went in to have a colonoscopy due to minor blood in stool, and when i came out, the doctor told me I had colitis and I need to take Mesalamine. I was still out of it from the meds so never understood what I had or why I was taking Mesalamine. I went and saw that doctor and he told me it was minor but I had to take the meds or it could get worst.
I am not trying to down play Colitis because I have read what you guys are going through and that is scary and I am sorry to hear about it. But if I don;t take my meds can it get worse? I am not happy taking pills for the rest of my life, I am a baby like that and don;t want to depend of meds for everything. I would much rather try other things first.
I am pretty big into lifting weights and my diet is a good amount of protein with small amounts of carbs and fats, the only thing I take that is bad for me, is a pre workout drink (loaded with caffeine).

So i guess my question are,
What can I do to help stop "flare ups?
Will not taking mesalamine make things worse?
I want to switch to Azulfidine but does that really cause infertility?
What foods should I say way from?

Thanks for reading and listen to me complain.

 

[Angrybird]

Hello and welcome to the forum hun, I am pleased you have joined us as there is a lot of info and support here from a wonderful group of people.

With regards to meds docs only tend to prescribe them if they a needed so I would say that is best to take them and speak to your doc before stopping them. From what I have been able to find the Azulfidine can cause male infertility but stopping the med seems to reverse this side effect.

If you would like to at least look into alternative options such as diet do check out our diet, exercise and sups forum for some info about this: http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17.

I hope you can find a treatment plan that works well for both the tum and for you.

AB
xx

 

[David]

Hi there and welcome to the forum

First off, I'd ask your doctor exactly what kind of colitis you have. Ulcerative Colitis? Crohn's Colitis? Or another form.

With that said, yes, it can absolutely get worse if you're not very careful and even then, despite that. But if you stay on top of things and even better, are proactive, that's going to reduce the chances of it getting worse. Take this VERY seriously and start to educate yourself. We're happy to help with that process in any way we can.

I wish you all the best.

 

[SarahAnne]

No one likes the thought of having a chronic illness or having to take pills for the rest of their life. I was diagnosed at 19 after being sick forever. My mom remembers taking me to the ER for things that were probably Crohn's related when I was as young as 2. I had surgery 6 months after I was diagnosed. After the surgery I started to feel better, stopped taking my meds and pretty much just pretended the Crohn's never existed.

Bad, bad, bad. I'm paying for my youthful idiocy now. I wish someone, anyone had stressed to me how serious it is to take care of myself when I wasn't flaring badly.

Talk to your doctor about options you have. Taking pills every day sucks. Getting an obstruction, perforation, abcess, or surgery sucks even more.

It sounds like you are already on a good track with the exercising and diet. The people here on this forum are amazing and willing to help, answer question or just listen if you need to vent. Good luck to you and welcome to the forum!