What a great website! I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s different experience with UC and feel so much better in doing so. I seems like it’s a disease so hard to understand, predict or control. The vagueness’ of the medical profession does not help either, they’re still not sure if it is an autoimmune disease, or an immune response to bacteria. So basically the symptoms are treated but not the cause, but there seems to be too much guess work and experimentation in treatment rather than a proper plan of action to properly and safely manage or cure this disease.
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis Jan 2010 after a 7 day hospital stay for severe symptoms. I was treated with prednisone initially to settle my flare up and have been on mesalazine 500mg x 6 tablets a day. I take my medication religiously and found that it DID NOT keep my colitis in remission, I have flare-ups continually that range from mild to moderate. I currently have a moderate to severe flare-up and I’m going to see my GI in 2 weeks yet again for some feedback. I have taken to the internet to inform myself on the disease, as others have done, because my doctor did not advise me or guide me as to what I should and shouldn’t eat. Generally I find spicy food (I love chilli but have had to avoid it :( , caffeine, and any overindulgence all trigger a flare up or make it worse.
I read that there is bacteria called Fusobacterium Varium present in the large intestine that may contribute to or be the cause of a flare up and UC, it seems a high percentage of UC’ers have a high count of F.Varium when the disease in an active flare up state. Also mentioned was some patients having success with an antibiotic combination of amoxycillin 1000mg tabs, vibromycin (doxycycline) 100mg tabs,
metroniazadole 200mg tablets, another thing I’ll be asking my GI about.
I’ve aslo read that probiotics VSL#3, primal defence, Mutaflor have given some relief from symptoms, also slippery elm and Boswellia Serrata, I think it’s worth some reading on the above and asking your doctor as I will be doing. At this point I would try anything that would settle my symptoms and provide some relief.
-Lauren
All of the posts from “Annonymous UC” are from ulcerative colitis people who anonymously submitted stories or Doctor Reviews, medication, supplement reviews etc… I post all these stories to the site, but they’re different from my own personal stories so hopefully this account makes more sense:) -Adam – founder of iHaveUC.com
