I've had Ulcerative Colitis for 5 years now. I've been on Asacol ever since I was diagnosed. Currently I take 800 mg 4x's /day. Up until about 4 months ago I was in remission with only a couple very small flares. Three months ago I started having bad flare ups - bleeding, diarrhea, etc. In September, my doc put me on a month of Prednisone, and my symptoms were gone. Then a few weeks later I got another flare. Went back on the Prednisone for a month - got better. Slowly started eating real food again...Now I'm having another flare after being off the Pred for about 3 weeks. Do I need another med? Am I doing something wrong? Doc says next step is a steroid enema because he does not want to keep loading me up with steroids and since the Colitis is only affecting the lower part of the colon. I really don't want to do that. Any advice from anyone who had multiple flares in a row and found some solution. Do I need to be on a Low Residue/Fiber diet forever??? I do have a horrible habit of overeating when I feel better too...I'm not sure what to do.
Consistent flares after 4 years of very few and infrequent problems...
- Thread starter mirakt
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Steroid enemas would probably help you and the good thing with them is that very little steroid actually enters the blood stream, so you don't have the same negative side effects of weight gain, moon face, etc., like you might get with oral steroids. You may need to go to the next level of daily medication such as Imuran or Remicade.
As for diet, only you will know what is going to work for you with food. If you do better on a low-residue diet, then you will probably need to stick with that whenever you are in a flare.
As for diet, only you will know what is going to work for you with food. If you do better on a low-residue diet, then you will probably need to stick with that whenever you are in a flare.
Thanks 2thFairy. I'm just so frustrated and don't know why I keep getting the flare ups. I was on Imuran for a while, but I really want to avoid the Immunosuppressents if possbile...I only have one working kidney too, so I try to avoid the really heavy meds...thanks again for your reply.
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I know what you mean. I had a flare that went on for almost 2 years. Imuran was just starting to show promise when I developed pancreatitis and had to stop it. I then started on Remicade but it just never really worked for me. I did use steroid enemas for awhile and this stopped the bleeding and slowed down the diarrhea, though none of the other symptoms. I've used mesalamine suppositories and enemas, and while it did nothing for bleeding or diarrhea, it did help with cramps, rectal spasms and some of the tenesmus.
I hope you will be able to find the right combination for you. Having only one kidney does make things a bit more tricky with all of this.
I hope you will be able to find the right combination for you. Having only one kidney does make things a bit more tricky with all of this.
