UC in the Golden Years

Meet Lani:

I was diagnosed with UC 18 months ago at the age of 65. I quit smoking in February of 2011 and started having problems in April of that year. Gastro Doctor feels due to history I have had UC since my late teens but nicotine in cigarettes kept it under control. It has been all down hill from there. I am retired now after 40 years as an Accountant, working the last 10 years in the non-profit sector. So far my golden years have seemed a little more grey/brown as I feel restricted by my UC in the things I can do and as always having been an active person this is frustrating. I would love to do volunteer work but I never know when and where the dreaded UC will strike.

I have been married for 47 years to my High School sweetheart.

Some more about me:

I am a crafter and love to quilt and knit. I am also an avid reader of both contemporary fiction and non-fiction. I love to garden in the summer and have a small greenhouse so I can enjoy my flowers all winter long. I have two dogs who I spoil rotten. My husband and I love to travel and camp (when I can get away from the bathroom long enough) and have a small motor-home so we can take the dogs with us when we travel.

Symptoms:

Frequent bloody loose stools. Stomach ache/heartburn. Don’t like being to far from home and a bathroom because when urgency hits I have to go NOW!

Colitis in the Golden Years

I have been on prednisone since June of 2011, as high as 60mgs. and as low as 30mgs. but never off of the stuff. Plus I am now on Remicade and Canasa 1000mgs., 40mgs of Prilosec and of course the dreaded Prednisone at 50mgs. My face and upper body are fat and I feel like a bloated toad. I am still having flare ups and stomach problems and just don’t know what to eat anymore. Too many conflicting opinions and diets. Does anyone out there have a diet that works?

My family has tried to be supportive and most of the time it is okay, but I do get frustrated and snappy sometimes which is not me. I think it is the Prednisone. The Prednisone side effects are something else. I have dry eye and since the Pred I can’t see out of my left eye and am on drops everyday, my taste buds are gone and I have acne at age 67. I have bouts of insomnia, where I am up every hour looking at the clock and have strange dreams. Then during the day I will be sitting and reading or knitting and just doze off for 10 minutes or so. If I would have known all the problems I was going to have I would have never quit smoking. My sister is always trying to find new things for me to try but sometimes I just don’t want to think or talk about it anymore. The internet is both a blessing and curse as it is so hard to try and figure out what is good info sometimes and what isn’t. This site is the absolute best one I have found so far and I have read the book Feeling Crappy to Feeling Happy three times when I get really down and depressed. It makes me laugh.

Colitis Medications I’ve Tried/Trying:

The predisone worked at first and gave me mega energy but now it just seems like I need more and more just to maintain. I don’t feel the Prilosec is working at all and the jury is still out on the Remicade. I think the Remicade helps for the first 3-4 weeks but then the loose stools and some blood starts to appear again along with the frequency of bathroom runs. I am also taking 2000 units of vitamin D3. I am not to sure what the Canasa does, I think it is for rectal bleeding.

I am now seeing my second Gastroenterologist group as the one I originally started with did not treat me aggressively enough and being all new to UC I was not pushy enough as to my treatment. I ended spending a week in the hospital in September of 2012 with frequent (up to 30 times a day) bloody stools, dehydrated and low potassium. I am currently on a low residue diet and miss salads, fresh fruits and raw vegetables. I feel my diet is very unhealthy but don’t what to eat and would love to find a Dietician that knows something about UC.

written by Lani

submitted in the colitis venting area