Hello everyone-new kid on the block here

[nc bri]

Hi, just wanted to drop a line of greeting. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis several months ago, after starting to feel bad about 9 months ago. It seemed to come out of nowhere, although in hindsight I guess I noticed a good bit of mucous leading up to it but didn't really think anything about it because I didn't have any symptoms. I've been put on Colazal( 9 per day) and Mesalamine(1 enema per night), and they sometimes seem to help, and sometimes not.
My symptoms (and I'll try not to get graphic!) are mainly urgency- I'll wake up, and soon after breakfast suddenly have minutes to get to the bathroom. Then, a couple of more times during the day I'll have the same urgency issues, where all of a sudden I'll need to go and will need to find a bathroom pronto. Some days, usually the worst ones, I'll feel like I need to go several times after I go in the morning, but I don't really need to. I'll just strain and strain for a while, and it doesn't really do anything except wear me out and leave me feeling irritated inside. This usually seems to correlate with eating things I shouldn't the night before, or imbibing in too much alcohol.
I also have fevers- many days after going I'll feel like I have a low-grade fever for several hours, just kind of a headache, slighty achey and light-headed. Days when I "strain" the most I feel more feverish. Back in the fall, when this was all new, I would get them very badly about once every couple of weeks. Usually it would come after really needing to go bad in the morning, and then a couple hours later I would start feeling more and more feverish. Sometimes, I would get the chills like crazy! I would start shaking, crawl under 5 blankets and the dog, my temp would go up to 102+ in a few hours, and then the next day I'd be relatively fine! I thought I was going crazy. Since starting on the meds I haven't had any bad episodes of chills and high fever, just more low grade feverish-ness. I used to take ibuproferin, but read on here last night that thats a no-no. So, do these sound like normal symtoms for colitis sufferers? I haven't read much on here about people having fevers, but I'm pretty new yet.
Also, about 15 years ago, when I was in high school, I had stomach ulcers for a couple of years that just went away on their own- could they be related? Maybe just recurring ulcers that popped up in a different place?
Well, sorry about the long post, I'm just trying to figure this all out and I feel fortunate to find a community like this to help me do that. A great day to you all! (Or y'all as they say it here in North Carolina!)

 

[Nancy Lee]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I know most of us here are in the same boat
and we're all trying to be helpful to one another
with answers to questions, diet tips etc.

Please relax, enjoy your time here, read the forums,
and perhaps make some new friends.

Once again....
Welcome~Nancy

 

[callypat]

Hi Nc,

Your symptoms sound exactly like mine. I was diagnosed with crohn's a few months ago after a colonoscopy and blood work. I've had trouble with ibs for years, usually when I've eaten a large greasy meal. Eventually that turned into more and more urgency and it didn't even matter anymore what I had eaten. I experimented with eliminating different foods for a while to see if that would help, but nothing really seemed to help consistantly. Finally, I went to a GP who sent me to a GI and here I am. I am now on humera shots and imuran. I'm having the same kind of urgency that you are describing pretty much as soon as food hits my stomach. I usually only have about 1 minute if that to get to a bathroom once this hits. After that I have what I call the spasms, I have to go back in time after time for hours and just strain without much result except for sometimes a kind of sandy looking mixture, and sometimes white floaty stuff (sorry for the graphic). These episodes wear me out and leave me weak and achy. I hit my bed as moving around seems to make it worse. I never eat when I am out in case I have one of these attacks. I don't have any advice for you as I too am trying to figure all this out. I just wanted you to know you are not alone. Is there anyone else out there who goes through this?

 

[Cara Fusinato]

Welcome -- I noticed the part about "in hindsight". I felt the same way about my symptoms. I had symptoms after my gallbladder removal . . . and they could be symtoms of gallbladder removal . . . or not. And so, years later, with no sign of an ill in sight, boom. Welcome to the Crohn's community. Hang in there, welcome to the board, and feel free to post, ask, rant on anything.

 

[D Bergy]

Hello nc and welcome to the forum.

I have not heard of fevers being part of UC but I certainly am not an expert on the varied symptoms. I wonder if you could have some kind of infection. Have you asked your doctor about these symptoms?

D Bergy

 

[nc bri]

Thanks for the responses. I did tell my doctor about the fevers and he didn't seem all that concerned, so I figured it was probably just a normal symptom. I'll have to talk about it at the next doctors visit. I think he might want to change me to Prednisone, but he said he'll let me decide whether to go on that or not. It's not an easy decision!
Have a great day-

 

[nc bri]

Onto the pred

Well, I visited the doc today and he started me on prednasone. 40 mg per day, stepping down 5 mg per week for 6 weeks. Hopefully this will help, and if anyone has any "words of wisdom" to help with taking it and reducing side effects it would be appreciated.
Thanks again

 

[mikeyarmo]

Welcome nc bri!

Prednisone is something a lot of us have a love/hate relationship with. It can do wonders in a short period of time to reduce symptoms. The problem comes with some of the possible side effects and the time it takes to taper your dosage down (5mg per week is about right, and some people have to go slower than that). Side effects can include emotional changes (being more angry or frustrated), weight gain and urge to eat, a puffy face, and inability to sleep in addition to other things.

Do not get worried or stressed out by any changes you feel after going on the drug. A lot of different side effects are normal, and we are here if you have any questions.

 

[old hat]

Thanks for the responses. I did tell my doctor about the fevers and he didn't seem all that concerned, so I figured it was probably just a normal symptom. I'll have to talk about it at the next doctors visit. I think he might want to change me to Prednisone, but he said he'll let me decide whether to go on that or not. It's not an easy decision!
Have a great day-

Diarrhea with blood and/or mucus, abdominal pain and fever are the most common symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis. The fever is part of the abnormal immune response that causes the inflammation while the disease is active. It commonly happens during acute episodes just as you describe. It's not neccessarily indicative of any sort of infection. An abnormal immune response, in this case to our own tissues, causes fever the same way as a normal one against some invader. Several things can cause fever including an autoimmune response (us), trauma, hormonal imbalance, too much sun exposure, hypothalamus damage, silicosis(not really a concern here), reaction to anesthetics or other factors.

Here is an interesting artice I stumbled across about fever, autoimmune responses and a protein called IL-1beta at the U of Michigan website
http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0506/Jan16_06/24.shtml

 

[vikkytoria]

Hi NC!
I've been on Prednisone for about 2 months after being diagnosed with Crohn's (im a newbie )! and i have all the side effects i think, mood swings, swollen face, putting on 3 pounds everyweek (i lost alot of weight prior but still!!) i also have a funny fever, my stomach will ache then i will have a hot flush then chills then hot again! all whilst my stomach aches, its not really pain as such. but personally i think Prednisone has done wonders for me, i dont have the urge so much though im down to taking 3 5mg tabs a day and as im going down and down i feel as if im just going back and back. i started on 6 5mg for 18 days and go down 1 tab every 7 days, this is with no pain medication as my silly doctors cant give me anything as anything i requires is of consultant level and cant see him for another month yet! eerrrr hospitals, doctors and the nhs really wind me up! but anyway, as i was saying i think Prednisone may benefit you on the front of the urges you get and maybe the fever as i think mines gone down slightly but not a lot, just think non of the side effects are long term and doctors dont usually like keeping you on steriods anyway.
hope i helped!
Vicky

 

[alitammy]

Hi NC
I also suffer with UC, and have the same symptoms as you in the mornings, and sometmes-although not everytime when food hits my stomach, I thought it was just me. I do not experience fevers though, well not so far as I know the temperature is 50+ here, so it's a bit difficult to tell!!!!
I am taking Melesaline-Salofalk enemas and tablets, somtimes it's works and other times not. I dofind a low residue diet helps too.
Sorry can't be much help to you, but just wnated to say hi.

 

[kskitt]

im on prednisone and i have found that it worked briallantly when i was on the high dosages, but gradually as the dosages have been reduced (5mg every 5 days) the pain has come back, luckerly not as bad as it was, but still there. I dont find that i get the urges, but my mum also has chrons and she does get the urges in the morning, but she has had it for 30 years so has got used to it.

 

[Kev]

Well, if you've got bleeding, muscus and discharge, and aren't watching the 'residue' content of your diet, you are basically triggering your colon to empty itself more than it should.. factor in that these fluids (blood, muscus & discharge are also acting as a natural diurectic - like, instead of pumping an enema into yourself, these fluids build up as one internally - and you know what an enema does) How do I know? been there, done that.. had to tear up the teeshirt and use it as a TP substitute (kidding!)

Seriously, you need to watch your diet.. restrict/watch your residue, perhaps even watch your fibre intake.. This is something you should talk to a IBD nutritionist over