205 Colitis Depression Responses

In February 2013, 439 people participated in the Depression and Ulcerative Colitis Survey.  The final question ( question #8 ) allowed for participants to submit their own personalized responses to an open ended question about depression. 205 of the 439 participants in the survey answered the optional questoin #8.

The question and responses are listed below:

If you have any thoughts about depression, how depression affects you, how UC correlates with depression, or anything else on the topic, feel free to share your thoughts below.

• UC in itself is difficult to deal with on a day to day basis. I am not open about the issues that I face with those around me, including family and coworkers. During a flare, I experience a hopeless anxiety 24-7, especially at work.To compensate for this perception, I end up putting in 15-20 hours more at work. The stress and lack of rest leads to more difficulties with my flare up. It becomes an endless and hopeless cycle that not even my wife knows about 100%.This distribution helps identify those facing the same issues, but locally I feel alone in the battle.
• I count my blessings. I’m happy to have two feet and two legs, some do not.
• I feel depressed when I continuely don’t see progress in my healing. Been on scd diet for almost 4 months and almost no positive change. What to do? That’s hopeless.
• It’s easy to miss out on all kinds opportunities because of illness, so it’s easy for someone to feel that they are not living a fulfilling life. I guess it’s kind of corny, but I always try to find that one door that opens when another door closes.
• I had been depressed before my UC, but this is different. With UC there is no cure, there is nothing I can do about it. People can be depressed because there is a relationship problem, not being able to get a job..etc., but this depression is on-going, because I cannot do anything about it, as UC sticks with me. The doctor who keeps telling me that there is no cure, even if I do operation I wont be free, I cannot go back to work because I cannot commute (which I am taking care of it at the moment by finding the new place and such), and I never know what may happen to me. I am in remission but I have ulcered spots. I get neckach that causes me nausea and headache, which never happened to me before my UC. I believe I would not be deperessed if I can be cured from this UC. The thoughts of having surgery, j-pouch, if j-pouch doesnt work, the thoughts of not knowing, not being able to plan things for my future, really sucks. I decided to get second opinion from the hospital who does j-pouch surgery just in case if I have to have it done since I was so bad the last summer.
  I talked to this famous university hospital I go to regarding a possible treatment of Fecal Transplant. My doctor (not surgent), basically loughed at me talking about it, but the reality of the fact is that Fecal Transplant I am sure is the key to fixing the UC over the stupidly dangerous medications, after my own research. Basically what it comes down to why the Fecal Tranplant is not in main stream is the stupid medical doctors who know nothing about this disease (my doctor admitted to me that “In the current medical field we dont know anything about this disease” !!), keeps denying the possibility that fecal transplant may be an idea, just because they cannot prove it chemically, biologically and the idea of putting “Poop” is different than medicine. I wonder when our so called cure will be there while our doctors know nothing of about our disease. I believe a lot people would be depressed just because of these stupid doctors because even for C-Difficile some doctors would grab a strong anti-biotics like Vancomicine over more naturla Poop method because poop is not a chemical or medicine the doctors are trained to use (other than medicine in their mind, its nothing even if it works, now who would change would change these doctors attitude? Patients who have UC have power to change but not pharmaceautical companies.) The modern biology is a way behind when it comes to knowing the gut bacteria and balance. Until we change how our medicine works, a lot of people would be more depressed and losing colons with J-pouch or illeostomy.
• Stress is a huge factor in my UC, and the main trigger of my flares. Once I’m in a flare, it is impossible for me to get back to remission without big dietary changes and Prednisone, which depress me. Vicious cycle!I’ve just started trying yoga, and I love it. Not only does it stretch parts of me which aren’t used to being stretched, I find it clears my mind. I enjoy hiking (when I’m not in a flare) as well, for the same reasons.Also, I try to not keep anything bottled up inside emotionally. I think that has a huge impact on the severity of my colitis at any given time.
• I had my first episode of serious depression when, in a short space of time, both my parents died of cancer, I had a miscarriage and I had my initial problems of UC (without it being diagnosed as such). Looking back, I think the depression was predictable but others around me did not recognize or understand it. The most common reaction was “get over it” but when I did hit rock bottom, my sister initiated counseling for me and that was a godsend. I also had anti-depressants for a very short period of time. Oddly enough, this helped me a great deal when later I was diagnosed and discovered I had something which was serious and not going away in a hurry.I also have a lovely, kind and thoughtful specialist who has been supportive and chats as if he has all the time in the world although quite obviously he doesn’t. He encouraged me to think for myself, to consider what I want and to take control of my own health and direction. I very rarely feel “down” now in any real sense but when I do I feel I know how to deal with it. This is a truly wonderful feeling and a huge change from when I was first diagnosed about 13 years ago. In the last few months I have been virtually symptom-free.
• my husband diagnosed with UC for 2yrs and has never gone into remission. He has not accepted that this is happening and needs dealing with so we, as a family, can move forward. His lack of acceptance and lack of insight into the illness fuels his depression and makes him moody, irritable, worthless and useless. I thank God he is now able to do volunteer work, it is helping him to be less depressed as he does not sit around and have time to think about being sick anymore.I had depression years ago. Helping others (i’m a nurse) and focusing on hobbies, a pet and exercise helped me until God fully healed me. No medication or depression since 2007.
• It’s not so much that UC makes me depressed/anxious, it’s just that when I’m sick I’m much less able to deal with other stressors in my life. When I’m in the middle of a flare, I feel so caught up in trying to get well that everything else goes to the back burner. This, in itself, leads to more stress because most of what I set aside cannot wait. I notice also that when I’m flaring I have a much shorter fuse, obsess more and feel just…grouchy! My husband always says I have a “right” to feel depressed, but it always feels very selfish.
• when I was first diagnosed with UC and had frequent hospital stays I became clinically depressed which became worse over the 2 years following. I didnt realise I was depressed (being 17) and it wasnt until friends said that it wasnt normal how I was feeling did I realise I needed to see a doctor. with the help of drugs and behaviour and mindset changes I recovered from Depression within 3-6 months. Although when I have a flare up and am verging or admitted to hospital, it get really really down and low and feel like there is no hope and that I get an overwhelming fear that I may die from this one day.
• During a flare I get very depressed thoughts of never feeling normal again weigh on me. I tend to have a lot of pity party’s with myself then I get angry with modern medicine and the fact there’re clueless about UC.
• Being diagnosed at 70 years old I have to be thankful that I didnt have to deal with this when I was much younger like so many people.
  Normally my UC acts up when my feet hit the floor in the morning so as long as I dont have to leave the house for a couple hours I am free to enjoy most of the day. In January I was diagnosed with C-diff from antibiotics I had taken for sinus and bronchitis infections. When I took in the stool samples and got the call from the doctor I felt the bad news was I had c diff and the good news was it wasnt my UC. At that point I couldnt leave the house as most of my time was spent in the bathroom. I got really depressed thinking it was UC and had to live this way. I took the metronidazole medication which was terrible and left a taste of rusty nails in you mouth 24/7. I have been off it for couple of weeks. Had to go back to Dr. today and he thinks I might still have the c diff so tomorrow I drop off more stool samples. Right now the diaherra I have is in the morning and some nights so that is more than my usual.
  Thank you for all your helpful information on UC.
• the days that my joints are hurting are the days I feel depressed and don’t feel like doing anything. Just set and read. I hope when I quit taking the medicine i’m on now that the joints will quit hurting and I can get on with my life.I feel most depressed when my UC flares to the point I can’t work and/or be there for my family. I can’t say that depression ALWAYS corresponds with a flare (and vice versa), but they definitely seem to be somewhat related. The most effective way I have of dealing with both issues is to rest and allow time to pass; I know that’s not always possible for everybody but it seems to work for me. Thanks!
• I am a very “up” and optimistic person, always seeing my glass half full. However, when I’m having a flare-up I am less patient, worried, and panic about getting it back under control. My UC definitely brings me down.
• I think stress plays a role in my flares, and then since i’m stressed AND sick, I think that causes me to feel depressed. Feeling depressed is stressful, and I think that probably prolongs the flares? I’m currently taking prozac and tapering from a low dose (25 mg) course of prednisone, and feeling really great after a bad flare in December.
• I don’t think I experience depression very often or to a great extent. I am more likely to be anxious, and that was something I dealt with prior to UC. I certainly have anxiety about the logistics of bathrooms and concerns with traveling or situations that could come up in the future. I like this quote by C.H. Spurgeon, and I have it in my bedroom, “Anxiety doesn’t rob tomorrow of its sorrows, it only robs today of its strength.”
• Weariness. Lethargy. Apathy.
• I get down or depressed when I think my UC hasn’t changed or gotten better in almost 10 months now. Then I remember that it really has gotten better since starting SCD and finding other people on line with the same issues. I am able to golf and attend social events as long as I plan ahead, which might include not eating before going out. I have had IBS for probably 30 years, but the UC is new in the past two years. IBS was more predictible for me than UC, so there are a lot of adjustments and new rules to follow. I do a lot of self talk to get me out of any feelings of depression. I look for the achievements instead of problems. I was most depressed when I thought I would be on drugs for the rest of my life. I have never taken drugs other than antibiotics and this was a major problem for me. Once I decided that I would not take these drugs (Asacol and Prednisone), I felt more in control and definitely less depressed. I haven’t traveled very far by car or plane in the past 10 months and I really miss that. I did a cruise, but that was easy with the availability of bathrooms everywhere on ship. Only got off the ship in one port though, but I still went on the cruise–and I still got off at one port. My desire to do things over-rides my depression that tells me I can’t do things. My husband is super supportive and helps me always see the brighter side of things. I have lost over 25 pounds since starting SCD and that is fantastic for me. Who knew that this annoying-sometimes debilitating disease would be the only thing that would lead to weight loss? Thank you for this website and bringing people together.
• when im having a bad flare it feels like i focus on the pain and loo visits and nothing else. i feel hopeless by not being able to do the normal things like just going for a walk with my family. i would start out and a few minutes later would have to go back for a loo visit. i feel anxious at these times that life will not get back to normal and what is the point. when its really bad i have these thoughts that maybe something more sinister is going on and that im really ill. its an awful feeling and usually passes but at the time it seems like it never will
• It’s easy to get down when you’re in a flare but I just try to remember all the good things I have going on in my life and focus on that. This is an ugly disease but you can’t let it get the best of you.
• When I first got diagnosed six years ago, prednisone pushed me over the edge into a depression I have never really shaken off. U.C. does not cause my depression and it doesn’t make it easier, but it doesn’t really effect how I feel. Just keep chugging along with each day.
• Depression does creep in when you are having a flare. The feeling of hopelessness comes in and you just feel lousy. You want to go out and be social and eat and drink but that feeling of you know that you can’t just depresses you.When you are in remission or close to you do feel like you are on top of the world again.
• Sometimes Xanax helps.
• my depression is definitely related to UC. It’s a scary disease and can leave me feeling confused, hopeless and worthless. I just picked the best choice above “empty” but there are many more feelings as well. I think being isolated and not being able to do the things I want/need to do on a daily basis are part of it. Every task carries so much anxiety with it. Such a miserable feeling being so anxious all the time.
• My condition of UC, I believe, was caused by taking anti-depressants. My depression may be more closely linked with being gluten intolerant. Now that my diet is gluten-free, I have more energy that allows me to be more involved in life instead of just going through the motions.
• I don’t know if i’am suffering depression, but some day’s you ask why me
• It is hard to get through some days but i just think of the things i can still do, and the of the people who support me during these hard times. And this seems to help lift my sprits each day. I have a great wife, a good daughter and son-inlaw, and grand kids that make me smile everyday.
• The only time in my life I was clinically depressed was after my heart attack in 2004. I was diagnosed with Chron’s disease in 1980 and I still don’t know how to spell it. My problems with Chron’s never did affect me as far as depression. I guess I was young and did not really know how to feel depressed or identify with it. After the surgery, I spent about 2 months convalescing. Ten feet of my small bowel and 6 inches of my large bowel were removed in the surgery. The company I worked for gave me the equivalent of a desk job where I did very little except answer the telephones and tease the secretaries. I have had at least 4 flares every year. I was told the older I got, the less intense the flares would be. I have found that to be true. All my life I felt that I was in fairly robust health and did what I wanted to do as far as anything physical. I went mountain climbing, caving, water skiing, bowling, played baseball, rode and raced motorcycles. I am not going to tell people that if they don’t, their pain is in their head, because it isn’t. Since I was 19 years old, I have had pain every day. Sometimes I had pain meds, sometimes I didn’t. The times I didn’t, I foolishly took massive amounts of aspirin and acetaminophen. Fortunately, I now have a doctor that gives me the pain meds I need. If your doctor won’t give you pain meds or you have to beg for them, get another doctor. The fact is, with UC and Chron’s the pain is physically visible. By that I mean it can be seen in the soft tissues of the body. Sorry for the diatribe, but I just felt that I needed to explain why I am not depressed about having Chron’s. I am anxious to learn of others’ responses to this survey.
• For me it is a vicious cycle. The colitis is defiantly the cause of my depression and the depression escalates the flare. I know this but have trouble pulling myself back out. Mostly I feel like a big baby. I have a family with three young boys who need their mom. I spend most of my time in the bathroom and almost no time being a mother anymore.
• i just feel sad all the time, nothing anyone can do helps, just want to do nothing anything just go to sleep.
• I feel that if you are susceptible to feeling low or depressed before you had UC then it become much worse when you are flaring. I find that when I am going through a flare all the pain, cramps, the meds and just trying to get through the day will make you depressed.
• I feel my depression is more anxiety about whether my colitis will flare-up to the point where I will be hospitalized again, and have the doctors threatening to remove my colon again – which is NOT an option for me. I am extremely thankful to have made progress back to some normality. When I’m having two normal BMs a day depression never rares its ugly head, but when I’m bleeding (which is the case right now) then unfortunately melon collie starts to set in. I follow The Paleo Diet, and this has brought me back from the point of where the doctor said if I didn’t have my colon removed I was going to die! Well I didn’t, so not have much respect for their opinion now. This also contributes to some anxiety as I’m now doing this solo, as the doctors don’t want to help due to my refusal of surgery. I feel that being depressed doesn’t help the healing process, but when your bleeding that doesn’t help the anxiety. Just a viscous cycle with the ride that is ulcerative colitis. Really, when I’m fully in remission I can honestly say no depression. Unfortunately in the last fourteen months remission doesn’t seem to last more then a few weeks, so it’s an up and down journey. Thanks for you great site, it really has help me. Just sad to read so many people having their colons removed prematurely. Bogus! I hope I can bet this as I’m positive diet is the answer (and meditation with a good attitude) and I’m sticking to my religiously. Thanks again.
• i get horrible thoughts how this happened to me? I think of the days i was always in stress with looking after sick people at home, all the time hospital home for the past 17 years taking care of the sick n taking part in their sickness i fell sick my self. I am a very sensitive person always caring, loving n especially i lost hope when my husband met with an accident i under went lot of stressful situations cause he was everything to me. By Gods grace it took him 8 months to recover he is fine now. But i still hv that horrible scene in my mind which is troubling me. My UC symptoms get worse then. In my case it is only stress which is causing problem. started with acidity in the beginning n was diagnosed for dyspepsia were i underwent a endoscopy. treated for 3 months as my worries n stress factor increased i had indigestion problems loose stools. Got treated for the same but was not diagnised for UC. i had a feeling that i am experiencing some discomfort in my abdomen with gastric problem when i was stressed in feeling depressed. after 4 months i had a few sprays of bloody stools n i underwent a colonoscopy which were so clear without any symptoms of UC. After another 5 months again i had a lot of mucous n bloody stool. Again i underwent a colonoscopy which showed UC developing in my rectal area n large intestine. According to me stress is the cause of acidity which if not brought to control may cause UC as in my case which definitely will lead to depression n this problem will aggravate to the maximum.
• I use to feel very guilty when I am sick. Somehow, by not blaming myself for UC, I start feeling better. Music helps a lot. At times, I write something. Sometimes, I close my eyes. and let the feeling pass away.
• I was diagnosed with depression and panic disorder 3 months before I was diagnosed with UC. I spent one month in hospital with UC when I was first diagnosed and my mental health deteriorated significantly during this time. I have now been out of hospital 6 months and do not have the time or money to see a therapist (although I probably need to) because my UC costs $500 per month in medications, scans, doctor/GI specialist visits etc and I am trying to hold down a full time job.
• i get depressed when in a flare my energy levels get low and i feel low too i jhust loose my bounce! its definatley related to my uc as im usually bubbly but go flat during a flare
• well; i fel that UC has robbed me of the once bubbly and vibrant person that i used to be. i used to live a full and happy life; always laughing; smiling and active in my sports and training daily; now i am always too sore to do anything and it affects me on an emotional level. i feel like a caged lion and it builds up serious anxiety in me. i feel worthless and as if i am not good enough for my fiance; when we met; i was a totally different person; full of ambition and drive and succeeded in pretty much everything i set my mind on; i now feel like a 30 year old man trapped in a 60 year old mans body; the emotional stress this has caused for me is unbearable and i dont speak of it all that often as i dont want to ruin my fiance’s day daily; i want more for her!!!
• For me it helps when I use my energy to complete a project. It may be taking care of my horse, cleaning a stall, brushing, feeding, watering etc. I like working in my garden, planting weeding, making it look nice. I like to cook great tasting meals for my family. I feel best when I can accomplish something. I have been a pull myself up by my bootstraps type person. I hate wasting a day just feeling tired, sick and in pain.
• my wife starts weeping.
• When I was first diagnosed with UC, my depression was (I think understandably) much worse than it ever has been since. My being suddenly harnessed with this supposedly life-long disease was almost unbearable at the time–especially for the fact that the symptoms began during my honeymoon and that I was at my peak althletic and endurance levels of my life when it hit. After my nearly six-week stint in the hospital, I had lost almost 30 lbs, all of my muscle mass and, for a person who regularly climbed above 14,000 feet, being unable to climb even three steps on a stairway after I was released from the hospital was pretty brutal. It took about 3 or 4 months to get my UC under control that first time, and I saw my depression lifting somewhat the more I got back to my normal life activities like going to the gym (very gently due to the Prednisone side-effects) and being able to socialize without feeling like I was going to sh*t myself every five minutes. Then the first flare-up arrived and, like many of you have experienced, I thought I was going to die–or wanted to due to the cramping, constant hovering over the toilet, nausea, weakness, etc, etc. Depression re-enter stage left. Thank goodness for my wife who also happens to be a psychotherapist with a specialty in trauma. She helped me to not only learn about the disease through her constant research on UC, but to learn about myself and how to incorporate this condition into my own life AND our life together as newlyweds. That I didn’t need to be embarrassed by my UC, feel guilty about my UC, be angry with myself for somehow contracting UC–that UC did not have to define me. Sure, it was likely to be a BIG part of my life for the foreseeable future, but with a doctor whose treatment I trusted and a diet that assisted in the healing process, I could very possibly get back to something closely resembling myself pre-UC. I’ve gotten there. Since being diagnosed in late 2009, I’ve experienced 3 serious flare-ups and was “upgraded” (ha!) from a ‘moderate’ to a ‘severe’ case having had ulcers over more than 75% of my lower intestine. Going through a number of medications over that time, I’m now on an every-two-months dose of Remicaid which is working very well, and my doctor and I think that I’ll be a very good candidate for fecal bacteriotherapy later this year (allowing the Remicaid some time to heal the ulcers to reduce later cancer risk), and will use a fecal sample from my youngest son for the treatment (healthy bacterial flora that can repopulate my diminished intestinal walls and will be–obviously–similar to the bacteria that my body would produce on its own due to similar DNA). We’ve both been keeping up with the research on this simple procedure that is showing incredible success with treating C. difficile colitis to the point of remission, and many of the authors are expressing a great deal of confidence in fecal bacteriotherapy having the same outcome with UC: full remission. Potentially finding a silver bullet for this disease has given me a great deal of hope for eventually being symptom-free and in complete remission. Moving forward with that idea, that confidence that it could, one day, be gone is what keeps the depression at bay these days. That and regular exercise. I cannot stress how important exercise is to all of us, but especially those of us who struggle with these myterious maladies that we cannot always make sense of. Exercise though? Well THAT I can make sense of: I exercise, then I feel better. Makes sense. I wish all of us long life, patience (at least most of the time), and a cure.
• unfortunately I became depressed because of chronic injuries that I sustained at work I was severely depressed it was during this time I started flaring quite bad until I was that sick I ended up in hospital. I believe being under stress suffering from anxiety and being depressed due to my injury contributed to me having my sever flare but it may have been the best thing that happened to I say this because my support person who was helping me with my work related injury notice how sever my depression was this particular day I was referred to see physcologist although I did not want medication I eventully started it (never feel bad if you are offered medication you are not weak) also did CBT and was seeing an exercises physcologist, these all helped me a lot help me deal with my depression and chronic pain but unfortunately the damage was done for my UC and that is when I ended up with my sever flare a few months later and yes my depression started to get worse again due to trying to deal with my mortality and this disease.How do I deal with my depression now I found talking about my injuries and my Ulcerative Colitis with others has helped me and others understand what I go though. I also try and do things to make me happy and not worry about the small things in life, although I have my down times I now I am feeling like this and do things to keep myself from being trapped in the dark hole again, like ring a friend to talk to, doing something nice for myself getting my hair done etc., and accepting who I am as a person. I do hope this has helped any one out there that may need any help if depressed.
• I have lost faith in the medical community as it is becoming more and more obvious that rather being an auto-immune disease of unknown cause a large percentage of the U C cases are caused by the medical community with the overuse of antibiotics and the failure to recognize the role c-diff plays in spreading the infection and the resulting colitis. Having been treated with almost all of the pharmaceuticals including 4 courses of flagyl and vancomyocin I have been able to go backwards 4 1/2 years to realize my U C was acquired in the hospital while being treated for kidney stones . Looking forward to the readily available fecal transplant now, as the only real hope of getting rid of this dreaded condition.Do I get depressed that my life has been turned completely upside down and that there are 14,000 people who die of this every year ! ?…… You bet !!
  Adam’s sight is a major help in avoiding the hopeless depression that strikes about every two weeks ( it is definitely good to be able to commissurate with fellow suffers
• My digestive health and my well-being are inextricably linked. When I pass a good stool, my day is invariably better, filled with more positivity and happiness. I am certain that depression and UC for me is a chicken or egg problem, and I am trying to break the cycle. Wish me luck!
• I think that UC correlates with depression because dealing with the symptoms of UC, sometimes on a daily basis, is very depressing. Experiencing pain, frequent diarrhea, rectal pain, and side effects from medications due to UC can produce similar symptoms as depression. For example, because of my UC, I sometimes feel very hopeless, sad, anxious, fatigued, helpless, and/or worried. I am not able to work right now because of my UC which has been financially stressful. I try to stay positive and I try to take it one day at a time. Also, if there is a day I am feeling ok, I try to do something fun.
• I have not been told officially ‘you are depressed’, but when I explained my situation/symptoms, I was prescribed anti-depressants, so I guess that fits the bill. I find, at least at the moment, that there’s really no winning for me – I’m either sick and depressed, or I’m on the mend – and therefore on prednisone – and depressed, partly because of a natural inclination, I suppose, but also because of the psychological side-effects of the steroids. It sucks, but hopefully after my current course of pred I’ll stay ‘healthy’ (well, as close to healthy as I’ve been in years) on infliximab!
• Depression effects me very badly – it effects my work life and my home life. It causes me a lot of stress and that can also make my colitis worse which then makes me more depressed. When i am in a flair I feel vey helpless and that makes me really depressed, especially when I can’t see my way out of the flair.
• I became depressed when my wife of 15 years found someone else in 2006. Never getting help, I threw away my business (sold and then blew the money) in 2009. After my “well deserved” (haha) sabatical of almost a year, my new business venture did not work out and I started having digestive issues on Thanksgiving night, 2010. I thought it was something I ate. Well, the chronic diarrhea was relentless, but I didn’t have health insurance until Jan 2012, and was diagnosed with UC then. After a year of trying the mediaction protocol, firing a GI, finding a Naturopath, and diet, nothing has worked so far and I’ve started Humira injections Jan 4, 2013 after finding a new awesome GI in the fall. I am seriously considering surgery this summer if the injections don’t help. 27 months straight of active symptoms, never remission. I’m not “cut it out, let’s move on” with my life, oh no no no. I feel like I could write a book about lots of related material, but
  I’ll stay on topic here about depression lol.Although I had serious depression before disease developed in my body, extreme stress and the Standard American Diet (SAD) brought this UC on. My depression has gotten worse because of UC, but is getting better with hope that this will be resolved, one way or another. But for what it’s worth, everything happens for a reason AND I KNOW THIS WILL HELP SOMEONE. Through the joy of devouring information this past year about this disease and much related, I can tell you I have hope that I haven’t had in a very long time. Business is up, my kids are awesome, 2013 is my year!!I am 42, male, and first in my family with anything like this, digestive, autoimmune or otherwise. I’ll say what’s helped the most is making money again and getting back on my feet. As a man, providing has always been very important to me. I absolutely should have never neglected my wife and worked so hard. Because of that , I shut down. I reasoned that working hard caused my failed marriage and the depression took over. Then I lost everything and ended up on my mommy’s couch within three months of active symptoms. Me, her, three kids every weekend and half the breaks, one bathroom. So yeah, depression snowballed after divorce and disease. It wreaked havok since I didn’t get help. Also, get on your knees and fight like a man. Everything will turn around. It’s ironic that the first thing we should do is the last thing we do. I wish I could get the last 6 1/2 years of my life back back.I would say overall, depression is far worse than this disease. It actually helped cause it in my life. Adam, thank you for all you do and I’m sorry if this is so long!
• I went to see a psychologist for a couple of months and it was great. I didn’t realise that being told I have a chronic disease would be so hard to accept and she pointed out that I was grieving my old life. When you’re really sick and can’t see past that it can be quite overwhelming at times and made me anxious, sad and angry. Adam and this community really helped me stay positive when I was sick and I can’t thank you enough.
• Sometimes having a way to calm yourself is worth taking another drug for a few days. I have used an anti-anxiety med, Xanax, to help me when steroid tapers or flares create excessive anxiety, restlessness, or fear.
• I was diagnosed at age 15 – never have been depressed in all my life until now, at 44 – I’m more angry now than depressed. For so long i just accepted UC as a cross I had to bear, but now I’m just pissed off that maybe I’ve come this far ,just to have it thrown in my face that the very medicines I take (Humira , methotrexate and Lialda) may cause cancer down the road……..really? As if having no control over my UC isn’t bad enough?! I’v got a 6 month old grandbaby that I want to be around for and although I’m doing really well right now, who knows how long it will last? Guess I need to get on some antidepressants, huh??!
• I take a prescribed anti depressant / anti anxiety medication. Family doc says it should help with the UC to keep me unstressed and calm, but sometimes I wonder…. I get anxious alot and depressed that I’ll never be “normal” again. It’s a vicious circle with me, stress and depression trigger flares. The UC effects every aspect of your life (or it seems) and I get sick of being sick all the time which depresses me. I also get tired of taking meds all the time. In my case being depressed definitely affects my UC.
• I was diagnosed Oct 2008 & have been in pain since. The pain depresses me, it is debilitating! I do not want to continue living like this. This is not me. I am happy, carefree, active… That’s who I was. Now, I am nobody :( I hurt. I am supposed to start Humira this week. If Humira doesn’t work, I’m done for. What kind of life is this? I’m 51 yrs old. If I don’t get back to living now, I won’t ever :(
• Having depression …is of no doubt of having this chronic health problems. A daily life situation also play an important role on my depression. For as I am concerned , I try not to keep things to myself. I speak it out to my husband and daughters. I do understand very well that they can’t help me much on my UC. But they do know that I need them to listen to me whenever I need them to listen. But deep inside me…. There is always a part of me “depression” or “anxiety” that I have to control/manage by myself. I guess it is natural that we can’t understand each individual thoughts, each needs properly. After all, we are just human.
  Well! I guess I am trying to console myself by saying so. If not, my depression will be overwhelming .
  I am taking a pill of depression each night before going to bed . My UC doctor prescribed it to me since two to three years ago. It’s a mild medicine named “Depas 1mg”. It helps to relax my nervous system so that I could sleep better. I don’t like taking sleeping pills cos’ I can have head drowsiness in the next morning. I guess it is depending on individual.
  Most of all, communication is one of a key to better management to ” depression > UC”
  I hope someone out there can share the same thoughts like what I am having now.
  Thanks !
• Only when in severe flare do I sometimes feel like it is never going to get better and start to feel a bit hopeless. Mostly I’m just exhausted and drained and have no energy.
• I suspect that the reduced absorbtion of nutrients accompanied by the sheer energy expenditure with a flare up and the neccessary social avoidance plays a part in the overall reduction of mood and anxieties around “what if” I am out /on holiday and get a flare up …can lead to some catastrophisingFor me the worry of what might happen if I dont get this under control is the prominent thought pattern and of course is more so when I am in a flare up.
• It’s been just less than a year since I was diagnosed with UC. I’m still on prednisone which probably bums me out the most. I know the stuff isn’t good for me but unfortunately it seems to be all that works for me so far. I recently started a diet very similar to the scd though and I’ve been seeing some great results. I’m hoping this diet change will allow me to wean off the pred successfully this time. I definitely feel down sometimes, especially when I’m feeling sick, but at the same time I’ve learned to really appreciate the simple things too which is nice.
• I have depression periodically. I was depressed when first diagnosed with UC. Now I am aware that brain chemicals are produced in my gut, I closely monitor and try to stay as positive and healthy as possible with diet and vitamins. Counselling helps
• UC can be a lonely disease because not a lot of people know about it, so when symptoms are bad it is sad to deal with alone. That is depressing………..
• I only feel depressed when having a flare up. I just want to know when I am going to get well again. Have had UC for 20 years. On Remicade and Aprismo for 6 years with out an issue. That is if you consider going to the bathroom 1 to 8 times daily not an issue LOL. Currently having a flare up thus some depressing momements causing me to feel sad or depressed when thinking of all thoughts Colitis related.
• I get depressed a lot when I’m having a big bloated period just last week I was bloated so much I got a stretch mark I feel so uncomfortable .. My uc makes my chin break out a lot which causes more depression because I feel like I can’t do anything .. Then when I’m unable yo clear because of constipation I get so irritable why can I go so much one day and then feel horribly backed up the next ughhhh
• meds
• my depression comes from the fact that my condition is bad every morning so i cannot leave home till about mid-day or 1 in the afternoon. At the bathroom say 8 -10 times in the morning with little warning – sometimes only 10-20 seconds and thus feel very anxious about my toilet issues every morning and that makes me feel depressed or i notice more bolld than normal again makes me feel the condition is getting worse not better vcreating more anxiety and depression. My mood lifts in the afternoon when i know my bathroom issues are over and i can live my life in the afternoon even although i still worry just in case i get that terrible feeling i need to go to the genst now but there isnt one close by. Hasnt happned yet but it is always in the back of your mind. Afternoon and evening my mood is much better altough i do suffer from pretty bad feelings of fatigue which gets me down as i used to be so active and had heaps of energy – not any more, lethargic, dont get out of bed till circa 8.45 am and need to go to bed again circa 10.30pm 11.pm so i appear to need much more sleep than pre -UC.. it does affect every day as then the daily cycle of bathroom issues starts again next morning..
• My UC has never been officially diagnosed but on reading your newsletters I definitely have the symptoms and follow a definite cycle which certainly is relieved by Pred 50 and holidays! But the constant discomfort and feeling of absolute lethargy leads to occasional feelings of despair and helplessness (depression) and eventual poor productivity in my farm forcing me to employ very undedicated workers. My farming is falling apart leading to to the accentuation of stress=UC=depression=despair=poor productivity etc the vicious cycle. I am now in preparation of retirement so I have time to deal with this UC but will I be able to handle not having the occupation i love so much. What will the boredom do and if the UCisn’ relieved could lead to a concoction of disaster
• Since having UC since I was 17 and now im 37…I’m in remission but always worry about the next flare up or worry about colon cancer …I would not wish it on anyone
• Having U.C. has made my depression worst, I had it 13 years now, and with no health insurance, I do not get good medical care. I am on a very old drug for my U.C. because it all I can afford.
  I have never had a remission before. The U.C. is always bad, I lost so many friend’s because I can’t get out and live life.I have lot’s of problems due to U.C. very low potassium and and very low iron, I do take Potassim pills and Iron pills. But there has been many times I had to get an I.V. of potassium due to it be so low.
  I am still having to work and that is very hard on me.I am missing out on so much, before U.C. I was alway’s on the go!!! Neber slowing down, now it just me going to work, then home to bed. I miss my fun life. I also have lost so much weight. I guess a good thing because I can’t eat much at all.
  I wefrom a size 18 to size 10 and now that is getting big. Thank you for letting me vent, I see no end to my depression .
• When I am having a flare I get to feeling sorry for myself. I’m like, “Why me?”, and “Of all the problems I could have, why does it have to be a poopie one?” It’s one of those kinds of problems that you really can’t talk about with many people.But I am fortunate. I have people in my life who love me no matter what. I am also able to draw inspiration from people who have the right attitude. My attitude affects the way I feel, and it affects the way others feel around me.Sometimes I worry about my future. How will I fare in the future when I’m too old and stiff to manage those dozens of trips I make to the bathroom during a bad flare? That’s when my hope kicks in. For one thing, I already feel MUCH better since I cut out all the sugars, starches and processed foods from my diet. Now I eat lots of fruit, veggies, honey, YOGHURT and some nuts, meats, cheeses and other stuff. I poop much more solid now. For another thing, medicine is getting better all the time. I’m still waiting, hoping, praying for that cure.In the meantime, I try to remind myself each and every day of all the things for which I should be grateful. It’s a LONG list. Also, I watch funny movies.
• I don´t know if my depression has to do with my UC (as some New Age books suggest) but my UC certainly has prevented my depression from being definitively banished, just when life was beginning to treat me well, the UC stroke and sent me back to “nowhere land”.In my experience all pharmacy drugs were completely useless against depression, only when my environment and strength of will increase is that I feel better.Very deep meditation and some very ancient mystical texts have helped me to be strong enough to survive this. By the way, I threw all my Modern, New Age, and New Era mysticism books to trash or sold them to “used books´ stores”. New age and modern spiritual ideas have demonstrated to be useless to me. Only the very old and classic books such as the Bible, Coran and such have helped. There is also a kind´a modern author who helped me a lot, he wrote during XIX Century: Edouard Schuré.That is what I can share. Sadly, there is NO easy way out of depression.

  Best of lucks to everyone.

• I feel depressed when I am sick for a prolonged period of time so when I am in a flare up I do feel depressed after awhile.
• When I am feeling low about much UC I do get somewhat depressed about how it could hold me back in life.
  I want to travel and that gets me down that UC will not allow me to do so.
  Otherwise I try to not let UC effect my frame of mind.
• One of the main causes of my depression and having UC is that when I am not feeling well I cannot always go and do things with my husband and kids, and if I do go, I might spoil everyone else’s good time by getting sick while we are out. Also, I can’t do all the things I need to get done away from our home. However, my family helps a lot with this by being supportive. They never complain and help me by running errands and things when I’m flaring. I would be depressed far more often without their support.
• Remember it could be worse.
  I have a lot to be thankful for.
• cymbalta
• UC is a depressing illness for me. I hate the fatigue it brings, some days i can’t do anything. I am usually very very active but the last 7 months in flare have been hell or worse. It drags me down and makes me feel low. But I pull myself up quickly because there are people with far worse out there. I am waiting on surgery and that brings with it depression also. But I deal with it and shake it off i rest and try not to stress i evaluate the situation into a better perspective
• My depression is anxiety brought on by a feeling of hopelessness. This exhibited particularly during the last and most major flare-up when it seemed the UC attack would never end. Having an endoscopy confirmed the UC and not any other major disease, which was beneficial to know, but gave little prolonged relief from being depressed.Asking the gastroenterologist which probiotic is recommended most highly, then receiving the answer of VSL#3, and then taking a successful course of that probiotic when so many treatments have failed to contain the UC, has helped enormously. Being able to sleep for more than two hours at a stretch, has also helped dramatically. I feel like a new, regular, normal person and felt a great sense of relief. Also not feeling permanently ‘smelly and unclean’ and not feeling repulsive to my partner has been another fantastic result.The depression disappeared and I feel very hopeful for the future. A healthy level of anxiety concerning the maintenance of an appropriate diet, stress reduction and the possibilities of any future flare-ups remains, but I can deal with that. Remission brings immediate relief from a depressive state, or as it was once described: Happiness is a dry fart!! :)
• Depression is another form of stress that can only make the UC worse. This is a time to seek help if it gets too severe. If not then, count the blessings you do have. Find something that takes your mind off the UC, play good music, do something creative, go outside (if its possible) gaze up at the star filled sky, connect with loved ones, anythig but sit and let yourself be overwhelmed by anger and sadness.
  Too many of us dwell on what isn’t good in our lives, and don’t spend enough time looking at what is good in our lives-and yes THERE ARE GOOD THINGS , even if the UC is bad. You have the support of thousands of people around the world who do know how you feel when the UC is bad.
  Don’t give up.
• I did talk with my holistic doctor about my feelings were, especially during my flare. I cried all the time and couldn’t stop. I take 2 750 mg GABA pills every morning and it does help a great deal.
  Now that I am in remission, my depression is less, but sometimes it just sets in for no apparent reason and there is nothing that can cheer me up.
• Last year after a flare that lasted the best part of a year one weekend I couldn’t stop crying. I went into work and when my friend asked me if I was ok I burst into tears. I just felt so worthless that who would want to have anything to do with someone who felt so broken. I went to my doctor and he told me I have reactive Depression. I’ve been living with uc for 21 yrs and he was surprised it had taken this long for the depression to catch up with me. He put me on Citol which took about a month to work but I did stop crying. I was also lucky enough that my job has the facility that we can talk to an outside person so I took these sessions and they were amazing. It helped me deal with lots of issues I didn’t even know I had relating to dealing with living with our womderful UC. So I would say talking to that total stranger was the best time spent and I learned so much. Still get down but now I have some tools to help me deal with it. Hope this helps.
• Depression is not really a problem. At times, I may feel depressed especially when my UC is involved, but I don’t let things get to me.
• Depression comes strongly, when our daughter has relaps. During a remission I am not depressed, I am gratefull and relaxed, that she is happy and normal child. The worse way is to be worried, it doesn’t help anything. But sometimes it is not possible not to be scared to death…The only way is to believe and not to transfer the fear at child.
• Nothing worse when our having a good day, then you take a dump and see blood. Ruins the entire rest of the day.
• I’ve had uc for almost 10 years now, on depression meds for about 9 of the years. The depression followed the illness. I can’t function without medications for either of these illnesses. I am greatful to have depression meds that work (mostly)even when I flare. Depression is a battle that resurfaces when I flare. The whole grief and loss issue, the anxiety of the future, the family implications really does my head in EACH time I flare. It’s hard enough having the uc disease and all the symptoms that go with it, often depression is a byproduct of this disease. If you can get involved with other uc suffers and work through the dark days together. Reading others personal stories on this site is a great start.
• I think the longer you have uc and what you go through, makes one stronger and in turn accept this disease more. I think with this accepting comes more internal peace and more logical thinking. I think with less acceptance we can become more upset. I think if you’re normally someone who is happy without depression, may once being diagnosed with uc feel many emotions, like scared, worthless, anxious, alone just unhappy and not themselves. But after educating oneself and with time things get easier it becomes the new normal. I think with flares etc it’s normal to start feeling a little down, we all do even with just the general cold/flu, but I think majority of people see the bright side and move on. I think those with severe depression are made that way, it’s in their genes, yes uc effects it but not sure if it is it’s only cause. A lot of the time we choose to feel how we feel. Anyway this is just what I personally think and wouldn’t expect everyone to agree :)
• Only during flare ups and meds not working over and over do i feel drpressed and hopeless.
• I am a mental health support worker and counsellor and therefore have many tools and personal abilities at my disposal, I feel this makes it so much easier to deal with my ongoing anxiety and depression. I see my depressive symptoms as linked to my flare ups and all about the affect on my daily life, I particularly suffer from anxiety and panic attacks but for practical reasons since my daily life is affected during a flare up.
  There is a direct correlation for me between my active colitis symptoms and my mental health so I become pro-active with my colitis and learn all I can about dealing with a flare up. I’m back on steroids just now and these really affect my moods and thoughts but I know they are responsible so I work through the few months I am on them. I am also an insulin dependant diabetic so being on steroids knocks my blood sugar all over the place and this affects my mood. I believe I am in charge and my responsibility is to manage my own condition, I ask lots of questions at every appointment with my consultants!
  I am also a Holistic Therapist and would highly recommend treatments to alleviate any symptoms of stress and depression.
• The worse my colitis gets the more depressed I get. I feel helpless and alone. I get frustrated at how much my life has had to change for my colitis and this anger leads to depression. The fact that I spend so much effort, time and money trying to manage my illness but it has a mind of its own, this makes me feel stressed and worried and I cry a lot. I yearn for the old me before I was diagnosed, I was more carefree and hardly ever felt sad.
• My husband has been a very healthy man and never had to see a doctor for 35 years, then he was diagnosed with hearth disease, for which medication has worked wonders. Then was diagnosed with UC last November, but is finding this illness vert hard to deal with. He is having regular blood tests at the moment to see if he can take the immone resistant yablets as steroids do not seem to be working. This seems a relentless horrible illness that some days takes over his life and fills it with embarissing moments!
• I was diagnosed with proctitis in November 2011 and have been dealing with a flare-up on and off for months, which is frustrating. I was diagnosed with general anxiety and mild depression yrs ago and i’m working through it, however I realize that my anxiousness has affected the way my body reacts, and I keep busy but wonder if taking on too much has maintained my flare-up. I’m currenlty finishing grad school in an internship, live in my own condo, work part-time to pay bills, and have some homework to do, plus care for my health which include expensive drugs; see my boyfriend, friends and family. I love to cook and always ate good food, and took some meds to help with my symptoms for proctitis and mental illness, but honestly, going out to eat, wondering what food can i keep down in my stomach so i won’t have blood stools or have accidents when i’m out, which is quite often over the past 3 months, has increased my anxiety. Along with that come some depression as to when and how this flare-up with stop and when i can start eating good foods again, whether they include gluten and/or dairy. Honestly, i’m frustrated more but my depression comes and goes when i’m alone but nobody would know it as i’m in a better place in my life. However, if anyone has some guidance or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you..
• I do not believe I have ever been depressed by UC. If anything frustration because I cannot do anything about the flare.
• I think that my depression gets worse the more i feel incapable of controlling the outcome of anything. I sometimes think that my UC has got worse when I feel anxious. I also think that exercise definitely helps with the pain in my side and also with bloating, but my depression has made it impossible for the energy level necessary to do any exercise as most of the time I am just to tired. I am now nearly 58 years old, and can remember being diagnosed as a teenager with Lassitude, I don’t think I was ever treated for this complaint, and don’t know if I was it may have helped in later life.
• I have never suffered from depression although I certainly had UC with anemia and spent 3 days in hospital for an iron infussion. Whilst I was suffering badly I had a lot of support from my wife of 49 years and together we were determined to beat this disease. I have been in remission for nearly a year. So far as diet is concerned I have eaten most things and continue to do so. I don’t think diet has anything to do with UC nor my remission. I have found that a good single malt Scotch whisky in the evenings does help me to sleep and perhaps it also kills the bad bacteria (or whatever) that causes UC. During my spell in hospital I had 400mg of PREDNISONE introveniously in 4 doses of 100mg over a 12 hour period. I am very sure that this was part of my “cure”. Overall I believe having a positive and determined attitude overcomes most adverse things in life and that includes UC. Never give up!!!
• Flare ups make my depression worse. I feel a lot better when UC is in remission, sadly thats not often.
• When I feel depressed I set my Alarm for an Hour, I allow myself an hour to “feel sorry for myself” mope and maybe cry exct. after that when my Alarm goes off _ I pick myself up again, put a fake smile on my face, and see to it that I surround myself with people (family) who Loves me uncondittionally, drink a cup of tea and just snuggle against my Mommy or my Boyfriend ! There is always hope that ‘Maybe Tomorrow…..I will be in remission…..”
• I am anxious, not depressed, by nature and I feel that colitis symptoms make it worse. I am treated for anxiety, not depression, but the drug is the same.
• I have suffered from depression aft er the birth of my 3rd child, over 3 decades ago now, so I KNOW what it is. But, for me, Colitits & depression have never been related.
• I’ve been on Prozac since I was Diogenesed with UC in 2004. I still have ups and downs.
• I’ve been on all types of antidepressants for years and they don’t really help me. My GI doc says my anxiety is causing my UC. I say, NO, NO, NO, my UC is causing my anxiety. Pooping your pants while strolling the lobby of a nice hotel is not relaxing.
  I live in California and have been taking an oral spray, cannabidiol (CBD), which is an extract of marijuana. It is very low in THC and will NOT get you high or give you the munchies or dry mouth or red eyes. It costs $150 for a bottle that lasts about 10-15 days depending on your dose. It also DULLS your appetite. It is anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiolytic. It has been a huge help getting me from the bathroom floor to “out and about with caution”. Asacol and Imuran had given me near fatal reactions. However, after 6 months, the UC still returns if I miss a couple of the hourly daytime sprays. I also found that a half Norco twice daily helps and this was later suggested by a group of docs using CBD to treat UC. It is illegal to ship across state lines since it contains some THC.
  It now seems that this may not stop my UC, but it has given me the time and a little energy to start the SCD diet. And, back to the topic, I’m hoping the SCD diet will help with the depression.
• Most of my depression comes from not being able to do the things I used to do Before Diagnosis. Simple things like long shopping outings with friends; hiking; going to the beach without anxiety, etc. Also eating differently than others makes me feel frustrated when going out socially.I also always feel I have a secret I am hiding – I look normal on the outside but my UC makes me very different than other people I know.When I am in a flare up I feel isolated and depressed. I start to feel like I can’t communicate with other people because it is so long that I am not doing my usual routine of my work and my normal activities.
• My biggest concern with this life long condition is the very sad thought of how I will cope with this disease when I become elderly, I suppose it’s the thought that whilst I am currently able to cope independently at the moment with the ups and downs of this condition, what happens if I become increasingly dependent on others. Also there’s always that thought lurking at the back of my mind regarding colon cancer, it’s like a niggling gremlin reminding me of my vulnerability.
• If I am anxious or feeling very down my ulcerative colitis can sometimes flare up
• I just try to remember that there are people that have a lot worse things to deal with than me. Started SCD 10 weeks ago. Have been on Prednisone for over a year. Finally down to 2 mg. But each time I go down by 1 mg it is very stressful. I worry that it won’t work and I will never get off of it completely. Now that I am down so low each time I decrease it takes longer for my body to recover. Took 2 weeks to recover enough at 3 mg and is taking longer now at 2 mg. Sometimes hard to stay positive. The book Two Steps Forward, One Step Back has really helped. I re-read the parts over and over that help me. Also I do not read all the sad stories about people with UC. Only read the positive and uplifting – that is why I like SCD Lifestyle so much! Lots of encouragement on that website! Ihaveuc.com is good too. Thanks Adam!
• Having suffered depression in the past I am probably more aware of how the UC affects my mental state. I worry a lot, about the future, how the UC may affect me in the future and if this will bring back the depression. I try to stay positive, but if I’m having a weepy day, I allow myself a little sob then and crack on with the day.
• I have been in remission for a little over a year now and it has had a TREMENDOUS influence on my depression. I have not felt this well since I was diagnosed 3 years ago. The first year was pure torture and I cried a little daily because of how badly I felt and how scared I was. I read everything I could find and was about ready to try Remicade, but kept putting the doctor off. I finally got him to give me steroids and was on them about 2 months. The first month at a steady dose and the second month decreasing till I was off of it. It helped me turn the corner and I am so thankful for how long I have been able to keep relatively well. I understand the depression and the feeling of hopelessness. It doesn’t help when your doctors only want to put you on another medication that you don’t want or when they say WHEN it comes back. This infuriates me! How about being a little more upbeat instead of looking at me like it is hopeless! I try to relax, read books and rest as much as I can. I work, have four grandkids ages 5,4, 3 and 1 1/2 whom I love and who make me laugh, but watching them when flaring also makes me more nervous. I prayed a lot and wish they could come up with something to cure this horrible disease. I am trying to keep myself on track, I eat pretty much what I want to right now and I take my meds and a probiotic every night before bed also. Wishing all of you fellow UC’ers some health and happiness!
• I only get depressed when I have an attack and am unable to make it to the nearest toilet in time or if I am very tired. I let myself wallow for a few minutes then remind myself that there are people who are much worse off than me
• I’m a firm believer in pets, particularly dogs. Actually, I feel sorry for anyone who has never had animals they loved for nothing brings tears to a halt and a smile to the face more than a four-legged nutcase gallumphing around your ankles, whacking your shins with the stuffed toy, saying plainly that you are to grab it and THROW IT! I am old, live alone, and my BFF is a 13-pound miniature poodle, smarter than most of the people I know, deaf as the proverbial stump, sound asleep at the moment on my foot. Bar none, he and his type are the best cure for depression in the world.
• When I have a flare, I get depressed. I wonder what I did to cause it. Not knowing if it was something I ate, something I drank (wine?) or if maybe I worked out too much or if I worried about life in general too much? Feeling like the flare is “my fault” but not knowing what I did to induce it makes me feel depressed and hopeless. UC definitely causes me periodic depression, otherwise I’m happy and optimistic.
• I feel that UC can cause depression because it is a chronic condition that changes your life and it can leave you with feeling a lot of symptoms of depression especially when you are not feeling well. Depending on how well a person copes with life changing events and the attitude they have positive or negative I feel plays a part in how much depression will affect them. I feel this way based on my own personal experience and I try not to let myself get depressed by keeping a positive attitude the best i can ,doing everything I can to get better and talking to family and friends I feel that will listen and who I can turn to for support. Also seeing a professional couselor really helps!!!
• Depression always hits me when I’m having a flare up and the whole world seems to be against me. When I’m feeling ok, I’m ok.
• ten days to self esteem by David D. Burns
• Depression affects most aspects of my everyday life…..for example because I feel so low I have no desire to see people or do much, I am currently taking prednisole that has made noticeable changes too my appearance that I am very concious about, I am also suffering from a lot of side affects with has made me feel very anxious and constantly tired. I have always taken pride in my appearance but since falling ill with a severe colitis flare 4 months ago I have mentally and physically declined. I can no longer work due to how I am feeling. I am currently taking antidepressants, I have been for the past 2 months to very little avail. I have been told that once I am off the steriods then the affects from the Ad’s should kick in. I have 4 more weeks left on the prednisone so fingers crossed that the depression eases.
  I hava a very supportive family which has been a big help for me and a very good partner who has supported me every step of the way, although it has put a lot of stress on our relationship to the point of make or break due to my severe depression related to this illness, therefore I am hoping that in the next month or so I start to see a difference.
• Being outside helps a lot with depression, feelings of worthlessness, and guilt. During the winter I don’t do much outside, but by mid-February I’m planting for spring, spreading mulch and compost, and at the end of the very first day my spirits lift and I’m anxious for the next day.
• It’s very depressing to be in a flare up when you are so tired and can’t enjoy anything. In remission I almost feel back to normal and much less depressed but there is always that little nagging anxiety that I could get sick at anytime. I believe feeling depressed or anxious definately makes my UC act up, I will get a stomach ache if i am upset about something or anxious, and I will get symptoms of a flare up for a day or so.
• I’m tired of being sick. I just want to be able to line a normal life and enjoy living.
• The inconsistency of my uc from day to day makes it impossible to make plans with others . Taking car trips or vacations seem impossible. The feeling of being trapped is constant. Seems I lost just about all my friends over the years because of having to change plans or cancel activities all the time ..
• Feel my life is curtailed by UC as I feel I cannot make plans to go out or do things as I used to because I have to wait to see if my UC is under control.
• Severe depression was the first symptom of my UC. I thought that I was suffering with pre-menapause and went in for hormone treatment. The doctor tested me for food sensitivity, which came back positive. I was put on a gluten and dairy free diet along with the hormone treatment. I was also diagnosed with adrenal failure and low thyroid. The drastic change in diet caused my first flare. I didn’t seek treatment right away. I was so sick that I thought it was cancer. I lost over thirty pounds in that many days. My family finally intervened and made me see a gastro doctor. The first colostomy followed and I was diagnosed with UC of the entire colon.
• Depression is an illness in itself. I do not suffer from depression thank God. Ulcerative Colitus is an illness that I suffer from. I have found that this disease when in its worst form for me can cause me to be very worried, low and scared for the future. Prayer is the only thing that helps as I know that ultimately God knows me and my insides!
• Have suffered with the big D for a long time before diagnosis but have been lucky enough to have a job that involves working with animals. The therapy I get from them is better than anything. It’s a very physical job and this also helps. If I am not working I get the D more. Other things which help are light exercise, jogging etc. Also smoking small amounts of hashish helps. Used to drink a hell of a lot up until I got diagnosed and for sure this made the D worse but I loved to drink so never stopped. I will always have depression but I will always have the strength to fight it. Somedays I’ll win, somedays I won’t. But as long as I continue to work with animals I’ll have more better days than bad.
• Life is difficult enough. I get frustrated that I have been delt another blow by needing to deal with UC in addition to the normal struggles of life, kids and work. Why me??? Most of the world does not get it and expect you to function normally. However, it is what it is and you can either learn to make the best of your life or give up. I made the decision that I will not let UC take over my life and I will contiue to fight every single day. I will not let UC win!!!
• Depression.I don,t really have it .Always been so upbeat even when i was down.But uc has really changed my life.I,m 58 and have only had any kind of uc in the past 14 months of my life.Never had any problems in the bathroom.Always was regular..Then 14 months ago it,s like this monster jumped inside me .It was crazy..Lost 40 lbs in like 2 months.Was sick as a dog,looked like i had aids .Or was on crack.my friends freaked out..The worst thing was the prednisone..It really helped me so much.My doctor could not believe how well it worked.In 6 months i was in total remission.But i had all the bad side effects.I gained the 40 lbs i lost and then gained 40 extra lbs.That has frecked me out.All my joints kill me all the time.FATIGUE IS SO BAD IN THE MORe!!!!!!!!!!.Having very hard time losing the weight,lost 10 lbs.Joined a gym,started lifting weights.That made my bone joints kill me. Maybe i should stop doing that.and just walk..I cancell alot of events because i don,t want people to see the weight i put on. Lots of people notice.My wife and i do allot,just not around most of my friends.She is so understanding.I keep to myself allot.But i can tell her anything..She has been so fantastic.I think this extra weight is causing allot of my aches and pains..Its so bad some days..pain pills don,t even help.To be honest.Friday and Saterday nights i have a few very strong vodka,s. For sure that kills all the pain..Only do that on those nights..I don,t care what y think.But it really helps.And my doctors says ok if you just do it the way i have..Have a few and relax.And i drink the best vodka out their with diet sprit..vio con dios
• There is a feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, being worried about my health, and irritability that is very much connected to UC. It is so difficult to have a “normal” life when I have a flare, and that is what makes it the most depressing. When I do not have symptoms, I have energy, I am happy, and I am able to accomplish anything I want during the day. I feel bad because sometimes my husband has to pick up the slack, and with two young children, that could be quite draining for him.
• I have always thought UC and depression are somehow related. Our minds and bodies are one. If the body is sick and not feeling well it affects how we think and feel about the things that are going on in our lives.
• The more i worry the worse mu UC gets, the worse it gets the more I worry. It’s a vicious cycle. I had to go on anxiety meds because prednisone was making me so jitterey.
• The medical care aspect of it – the pure insanity of the medical field. I am now looking for my 4th GI in less than 6 months. The first one who diagnosed me incorrectly, put me on Asacol, ignored my 4 phone calls in a week that my symptoms were worsening along with high fevers — I ended up in the hospital for a week with Mesalamine induced acute intolerance syndrome, needed a blood transfusion, also had acute renal failure.
  Next doctor’s office was so disorganized and lacked communication that my cdiff went on for 3 months, 3 different personnel called to tell me to take different dosages of AZA which ended up effecting my liver, my next GI doctor and his nursing director said they never heard of a high fever being associated with Mesalamine so they put me back on the Asacol which ended me up in the hospital. I then had a follow up appt. with the IBD center’s nursing director because my doctor was too booked up – I arrived at 1:00 for my 1:00 appt. verified with my valet ticket and had to wait for 20 minutes – I then asked if I could go to the bathroom (UC right?) when I came back to the exam room the nurse (whom I had never met before) stated that because I was late and her next patient was already there she could only give me a couple of minutes. I explained to her that I wasn’t late and she said “too bad for you, I will take it up with the office manager but I am not going to run behind” I was never told about the biopsies results, she never called me by name, she didn’t know that I was in the hospital, ordered blood tests because she wasn’t aware that I had them inhospital- she still refused to believe that a high fever was associated with Mesalamine. She told me “take some Immodium AD and get a job” I have had to liquidate my retirement fund to support myself and my young daughter. I filed a complaint (of course, she charged my insurance for everything under the sun) with the hospital along with board of nursing and joint commission. The next day my GI called me to rave about what a wonderful nurse she was and I should own some responsibility for what happened because I questioned why she didn’t look in the computer at my chart to see the meds I was on. He asked me if I would please stop the complaints or else I would have to find another office. Everything is verified by emails. I am very very depressed. Carbon monoxide. This is the ‘best’ Boston area hospitals.
• It’s very helpfull to talk with my wife ! mostly she doesnt want to hear it but it helps me alot! ALso texting my thoughts helps sort things out !
  Thanks
• when i’m in depression i become fearing alot and thinking in some small things , i know it’s small but still fear and become anxious. when i feel depression dircetly UC start to work i see some blood in stool and i go to bath 2 or 3 times just to make sure there’s no blood. which make depression double
• Going off a lot of the stuff I’ve read I don’t know if the UC causes the depression directly , but I have enough other symptoms to suggest that malabsorption and a leaky gut are involved . Unfortunately doctors don’t believe such things exist . Half wits the lot of them !
• I also have cirrhosis of the liver so it’s hard to tell what is the inner depressive mechanism. Both are crosses to bare or stars as my daughter says.I treat both mentally by being patient, being aware of the negativity and watching go by like a dark cloud.
• My major depression occurs during a flare up. Between the 8 weeks or whatever the length of flareup, my quality of life sucks. Between that and the meds I could Cry me a River! Then I feel guilty because of my teenaged son who not only has a mother who can’t really be there for him, but doesn’t understand the disease. I find most people don’t really get it.
• When I get down and feel like depression could set in, I try and force myself to either interact with other people or do something I enjoy like read, quilt or go shopping. Once I get outside of my self pity, you know the why me syndrome, the drepression usualy disappears. To bad the UV can’t be delt with as easily.
• I’m a 55 year old female and was diagnoised 20 years ago — three months after giving birth to our second child. I recovered over the course of a year and resumed a lifestyle free from symptoms, and I was not very compliant with my meds. Just about four months ago, I began a serious flare, ended up a few days in the hospital and am now trying to taper prednisone, hope mesalamine products work and avoid Remicade. I am a fitness instructor and urban planner. I’m active and social and when this UC disease hits me, I cry a lot and feel helpless and hopeless. Being healthy is everything to me. I love to take care of others and inspire others to live healthy lives but being ill with UC takes me down a dark hole and makes me feel so useless. So, I believe that IBD is underfunded and needs a serious infusion of advertising and exposure! CCFA is trying to do this but we sufferers need to bang our pots and pans about getting more bright scientists to work on a cure — and you have to pay them well! We need to have our GI’s reach out to the mental health community and have therapists who are familiar with IBD available to talk with us if needed. I’m lucky to have a super supportive husband, family and friends. I’d be lost without their love and encouragement.
• When ever i feel down, i tend to think of other people being in a worse state of mind,or those poor kids suffering in Africa or someone having No limbs or other defects. That is when i take a deep breath and feel grateful for what i have in life. Remember ” THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WORSE OFF THAN YOURSELF” Be grateful, live and make the most of your life!!
• I don’t think I have depression. I think my reaction to UC is normal.
• I just try to always keep my mind and body occupied so there is no time and space for depression. I recently joined the gym and made a schedule for work out days & yoga classes which really helps me relax. Play guitar and watch funny videos on . YouTube. We have to keep in mind always, not to take life so serious, we are only passing by, life is too short so try and enjoy it when you can.
• I had severe fatigue and ambivalence after I started Remicade. I thought I was depressed, but antidepressant meds and counseling didn’t help. My UC was actually in remission and I felt worse than when I was having symptoms from UC. I finally had to go off Remicade and my energy and interest in life are coming back.
• I do feel that getting diagnosed with UC is the major reason why I feel depressed. Over the 20 years of dealing with UC I have learned what helps me:
  music, I play drums and guitar so that helps
  I enjoy movies
  I have just a couple of friends that I feel I can talk withI think the main thing is finding what helps you as an individual. No one treatment is going to work for everyone.
• Exercising helps with depression. Running is my drug of choice. Much of my depression comes from the sudden onset of life threatening symptoms that landed me in the hospital for 13 days. Have not recovered from the shock of it. I am in remission and trying to return to my prior life. I was living at a very high level of fitness and it was a huge part of my social life. I hope to get back there soon. I has been 6 months since being released from the hospital – Doctor said it could take a year to fully recover.
• UC correlates with my depression because I have been sick for two years and I can’t achieve remission. My whole life has turned completely upside down and I have next to nothing now and all because of my disease. I describe it as an unravelling of a sweater. If I can’t get healthy I can’t fix other aspects of my life. Depression comes in waves and mainly when my health slides further.
• Depression and anxiety suck
• I was living at a very high level of fitness and happiness. I was hit very suddenly with life threatening symptoms that landed me in the hospital for 13 days, after ignoring subtle symptoms for a while. I have not overcome the shock of what happened. I have not returned to my full physical fitness, which was such a huge part of my life and social life. I am still adjusting to my new reality. I am in remission, but I do not feel the same. Hard to let go of my prior life. I do have hopes of returning to endurance and stamina! Doctor says it may take a full year. It has been 6 months.
• This applies to me mostly when I am on prednisone and meds. I am getting better now that I am off the drugs even though I’m not in remission yet, but for the last 6 month I was on prednisone and it was pretty bad. Looking for brighter day ahead now!
• Depression hit me after my first flare up, which I have been told is the worst.
  Though I never fort I was depressed, I just remember feeling numb and being unable to take park in any conversation l, which is very strange for me as I can talk the back legs of a donkey. Anyway I was told to seek help or advice from my finance who I was just engaged too, very recently which up fort I would of been happy as a pig in mud. After speaking with the gp, I was diagnosed depression, four weeks later after being on fluexitne I am starting to feel more like my self, even getting involved more with the wedding, I must be getting better!!!!!
• I believe 100% that UC causes depression. The pain causes depression. Lack of nutrients causes depression. Not being able to control your own bowel movements causes depression. How can anyone be happy during a flare?
• I don’t feel normal, I don’t eat normal…I feel like crying all time when it flares up.
• I think that the depression and anxiety caused by UC actually makes my UC worse, it’s a bit of a cycle. I was diagnosed with depression and put on medication, the medication really helped both the depression and UC symptoms. Ive not taken any medication for depression for 2 years now and I’m in the middle of a bad year long UC flare up
• when everything you try to get out of a flare fails, you lose hope of having any control at all over your body.
• Meds and talking with a therapist. Duo action works best.
• I have not been able to work since June 2012. I have also been diagnosed with a vaginal prolapse and a hernia on the left side, so when I go EVERYTHING hurts and is swollen! I am a step away from a colon surgery. The doctor has had me on all the meds. Right now I am taking both Humeria and methotrexate injections. I will have a few days of being “normal” and then back to the “crappy” way of living. The doctor has put me on a antidepression med; I guess it helps a little…I’m still here ;-)
  Guess I just needed to vent. Good luck to you all and me!
• I believe depression has a direct relationship with physical deteroriation and lack of nutrients absorption as a result of a flare up.
• My depression correlates with a flare up every time, because I can’t do the things I normally do, I become very socially isolated, and my symptoms make me so exhausted. I get worried about the future and the physical discomfort and lack of sleep (from having to get up in the night for bathroom) just exacerbate everything. It’s a vicious cycle. When I’m in remission I feel like I have to make up for lost time and depression lifts completely.
• Only a little depressed during a UC attack period.
  Otherwise, hardly ever depressed.
• I believe its one of those ‘bolt on’ conditions that come with UC, it kind off creeps up on you in a cumulative motion, you are so tied up with yourself fighting UC that its starts to control you rather than you controlling it.Also, you dont realise how ‘depressed’ you were until you are in remission, when life is a whole lot easier. You look back and then you know you must have been depressed and must have come across depressed to friends and family during flare ups. I think its so important to keep a diary, this is how you can monitor how you are day to day.
• It’s important to stop the negative thoughts before they spiral out of control. I practice mindfulness, it’s not about what happened or what will/may happen but what is happening at this very moment. Get lots of sleep, light exercise or more if you can every day, eat well, and always stay in touch with the world around you even during a flare! It’s important for your emotional well-being.
• I have learned that my depression, and stress caused by depression, is one of the top factors in a UC flareup. It is very difficult to live with a condition that you know you will have to deal with the rest of your life, so it is expected that this will cause at least some mild depression. Learning to manage this depression before it gets out of your control is the most important thing you can do for your health. Whatever it takes – meditation, yoga, taking time away – will all help in easing your mind, and helping your body heal from the negative effects.
• Depression is always there with any way in life, it is you try to keep it out of your daily life. to leave and enjoy better life
• I have tried to get help but it’s not easy to get it! Right now I’m just waiting for a doctor to get back to me and it’s taking weeks… And I tried with the care that my owrk offers but they couldn’t help me either…
• I seem to go through up’s and down’s of depression. I have rarely been in remission from UC but at times I am doing better than other times when I feel deathly ill.
  When I go on prednisone I usually experience an emotional and mental high as well as some relief w UC symptoms. However when I get off of prednisone I usually crash and depression follows and sometimes sticks with me for a longtime. It seems like a constant battle up of up’s and down’s with the UC and with depression.
  I do my best to deal with it all but that in it’s self is stressful and depressing. When do we even get to catch a break and have some normalcy in life?Good question and survey – I hope there will be more info coming out on the topic.Thanks.
• I know that UC definitely plays a role in my depression. I am prone to it anyway, due to genetic factors and issues with chronic pain unrelated to UC, but when I am flaring, my depression is worse. I have learned to not make any plans so I am not disappointed and I do not disappoint others.
  The key is to surround yourself with understanding people and to get help when you need it. The issue is when do you need it? Your version of when and may be different than from a medical standpoint. Also, with finances being a serious issue, help may be hard to find.
• Seems to be a vicious cycle in my opinion.
• My UC definitely plays a major part in my mental health. I get very uptight and irritable when I am having a flare up. I think the pain takes over and I can’t really focus on anything but not feeling well. I hate raising my children from the bathroom but sometimes I really feel that way.
• Multiple doctors thought my stomach pain was “all in my head” when I was a little kid. They didn’t scope me when I was young and thoought I was just an anxious kid. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety many years before I was diagnosed with UC. I was put on zoloft for 10 years before being diagnosed with UC. Once I was diagnosed with UC and was treated and in remission, my anxiety and depression sympyoms really decreased. I’m no longer on an anti-depressant. Being physically healthy and able to participate in social events played a huge role in my mental health well-being (life is much easier when you feel good and aren’t running to the bathoom 20 times per day) I believe there is a huge mind/body connection.
• I think the worst part of this disease is feeling like you have no control and for a long time I hid from what was happening to my body – I just took the pills prescribed to me and didn’t ask questions. I was hospitalized several times and on my last go around decided to get on top of this disease which changed my life. When I started to research my symptoms and treatment plans I started to feel more in control and less depressed. I try to stay on top of my symptoms by identifying even the slightest changes in my body. I keep a journal of these changes that I share with my doctor – this has helped her also identify when a medicine is or isn’t working. I now ask my doctor SO many questions and research everything. Understanding my treatment plan, what the medicines are doing and the long term plan of action makes me feel in more control, helps me stay on top of my UC and ultimately makes me feel less depressed (though I must admit I still have moments of ‘why me’).
• I believe I’m Just having a hard time accepting I have a medical condition. Diagnosed in December 2012 with U.C.during a very severe flair. I’ve live with colitis so long and always managed. it progressed from “collegenous colitis” to such a flair that I could not manage daily life. I had no idea it could get worse.I believe I’m just having a hard time with the unmanagableness of it.Feeling very guilty about not being able to work. Just very frustrating as I try different meds that seem to just aggravate the symtons and I’m back to square one. Now talking with doc about immuno modulators. A little afraid to start something else. Need to focue on Serenity Prayer!
• They all come together. First I start feeling that UC attack is close, then I get worried, then I cannot sleep at night, then I get my attack, then I feel helpless, then I get more depressed during the treatment as I hate being sick!
• Depression is stronger when I have a crise.
• I get really down on myself when I start feeling tired all the time due to a flare coming, going on or when I start coming off of prednisone. Not realizing that its usually from anemia. Feeling tired all the time and stupid, I start to hate myself. Prednisone, I believe plays a really large part. I love the energy at the beginning not realizing what the other effects are. Being a woman, the weight gain I experience when I come OFF prednisone is really hard on me. Know one gets it. I get skinny when I am on it and fat when I am off. Plays with my mind! Having UC itself with or with out drugs I feel like a HUGE problem in everyones life. Especially my husband!
• The cycle of stress and being anxious add to the depression. It builds on eachother, especially at work and thinking about going to work.
• When the UC happens I put a great deal of resource and emotional energy into it. When the UC calms down I feel emotionally depleted. It is hard to say what came first the UC or the depression- it is a cycle. The UC is certainly more of challenge. I am slowly adding tools to my toolbox to deal with depression and UC. The SC diet, learning about my highly sensitive person trait, getting sleep and fresh air are very valuable. I am from the states but now I live in Norway with my Norwegian wife. That has presented me with some new challenges and stressors. It takes more time to find resources here. I am very thankful for ihaveuc. I learned about the SC diet through your site and that was a major turning point. That diet strategy did more than any suppository or oral pentasa ever achieved. I take Remeron for depression. I am careful to promote. In fact I wish I didn’t take it but that drug has helped with sleep issues and it has also helped calm stuff in my belly. I have read in a few places of others with IBS sorts of symptoms being relieved of some symptoms while taking Remeron. I do not know if that was coherent answer to your question but I wanted to contribute. Anything to help slaying the two headed monster of UC and depression!
• The most depressing aspect is that I know I’m stuck with something for which there is no cure and even when I’m having good days, I know the bad ones will be back.
• When I can, I volunteer at different places. It takes my mind off of me. I would like to get to the point where I can do that again.
• It’s not clinical depression it’s more being sad and tired of dealing with UC and trying lots of treatments and not getting any success. Just frustrating when everything is out of your control it seems.
• Its a vicious circle … the worse I feel the worse my colitis gets and the worse the depression gets. I just have to snap myself out of it somehow and try and get on with life, and ignore allt he pain and the symptoms and embarassment.
• Since I am newly diagnosed with UC, a/o 081512, this is so new. I also got it from excessive use of antibiotics in a very short span of time. This also makes it very difficult to go into remission. What I think is very important, is to understand the Grieving process, in my case. Although I do see people who are diagnosed quickly, given meds, and on their way for ten years. And then Bam! HIt big time, and badly. However, for ten years, not fully understanding the process and or potential of what can happen.I think dealing with the stages of Grief, in relation to this, actually helps the moving forward process work well. I believe it is something people just don’t think much about!
• Everytime I have a flare it reminds me of all the joy this disease steals from me. I feel trapped in my house and I feel I will never be able to go out again.
• I know for me my depression is a direct cause of UC. Before I was diagnosed I was never really depressed about anything. I’ve been in a flare since middle of 2011 and have yet to gain remission. I’ve been sick for so long that sometimes I try to remember what it ever felt like to NOT have these symptoms and it really upsets me that I almost can’t. Because of the urgency and inability to hold it in and all of the accidents I’ve had in public I feel hopeless. I’m on new medication to get this UC under control, but it has yet to begin working and it’s the third medicine we’ve tried. I also feel guilty because this affects my spouse, too. I’m too scared to leave the house so we almost never go do anything fun anymore and I feel like all I talk about somtimes is UC. I have a desk job, but I can’t sit with my co-workers because our work section is too far from the bathroom so I sit by myself next to the bathrooms to avoid anymore accidents. I DREAM of the day I can get back to living a normal, active life. Even if it means a bag…at this point I’d take it over all of this. I know the depression is a direct result of all of this I’m going through right non and I can’t wait to get back on track (hopefully sooner rather than later!) and beat BOTH UC and depression.
• Dont know if its actual depression, but in the middle of a bad flare up I get very down.I was close to ringing a helpline once as I felt I had no one else to turn too.
• I am young and before UC, was planning a family. When I flare, I worry that in the future I won’t be able to do normal things with my family! That’s when it hits me. But I know that when I am out the flare, I can’t even remember feeling down and everything is ok. I try to think of those days. That’s the real me, not the guy who is stranded indoors for fear of having an accident.
• I Have more issues with anxiety and then I get depressed that I’m anxious and it’s a vicious cycle I mostly worry and an anxious and depressed about the possibility of me getting really sick again or possibly getting cancer from the drugs that I used to treat my ulcerative colitis. I now have been through a failed J pouch and now have a permanent ileostomy.
• It is more worry about being able to have my condition successfully treated. Being a person who was rarely ever sick, this is a new experience. I have not found a doctor that is a good fit. Finding one that would talk with me instead of at me, would help with this worry! Thanks for your website!!!!
• specially when I am livning a crisis with my UC, I feel so concern, so sad, and usually that feeling is even worse than suffering the synthoms of the UC.
  For me, it hels me a lot walking daily at least 30 minutes, I walk around my house so If Ineed to go to the bathroom home is right there…
• I think it was there before being diagnoses, however, after being diagnosed I can feel it more frequently. When I got sick, I had a few months of very stressful events occur and it took a toll on me. I know that I am doing a bit better now that I have a new job and I am no longer in a stressful work environment (thank goodness). At the sane time, have come to accept there will just always be good days and bad days. Some days, I just feel down and sometimes it is a combination of not feeling well and a slight depression. Typically, it does go away the following day. For that,I am very grateful.
• I have never been in remission since diagnosed in 2010, it has just gotten worse but stress really makes it worse than anything. I am on asocol, lomotil and questran which has the side effect of constipation use is for crestor. Recently used colocort enemia, but don’t use everyday as it does constipate me too much and makes my stomach hurt. Nothing has helped me with depression expect my medication doctor prescribes, lexapro.
• I only have depression when my UC is active and bad. I have never treated the depression. I am now on Remicade so things are much more under control.
• I only get feelings of depression when I’m having flare ups, especially when it feels like there’s no way out of the moment and you just want to feel better and normal again
• I was very resistant to trying antidepressants when my doctor first suggested them, but finally started them after a couple of years of therapy. Welbutrin has worked for me and I still take it. I’ve heard it may also help with ulcerative colitis, so I don’t plan on stopping it, unless I start trying to get pregnant.
• I am newly diagnosed (less than a year). I am constantly tired, which leads to depression, which then leads to anxiety and worry. It feels like an endless cycle. Too tired to bother to exercise. It takes all my effort to make it to work sometimes.
• I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder before I had Any UC symptoms, but once I had UC my depression is worse. And although I take medication for my depression, with each flare I become more depressed.
• I am sure once I am in remission it will improve!!
• I haven’t reached remission yet… 10 months in flare today :-( that depresses me!I hate that my 17 month old son goes straight to the loo door and calls mummy when he can’t see me. BUT I thank my lucky stars for my boys and relish having a laugh with them. Silly dancing and indoor camping are great depression busters :-) if it gets much worse though ill go to the doctors as I think the pred is playing a huge part in my depressed mood. I need of it ASAP as been on it 6 months and def feel its effect on my state of mind.
• I also suffer from insomnia, so I am always tired. I believe the UC along with not sleeping is what leads to my depression. If I can get one or both under control, I believe I would have a much better attitude.
• I only feel depressed when I am in a flareup.
• When I have symptoms of depression, I tend to feel worst of my UC. For me, depression is related with low self-esteem and a negative relationship with my mother. I believe those facts affect both UC and depression. It is hard for me to consider them as separate issues.
• Until I was diagnosed with UC, I was struggling with depression and anxiety for many years. After being diagnosed and eventually going into remission, my depression and anxiety drastically decreased. I recently read an article that highlighted the fact that serotonin is also produced in the stomach/ GI system. That really hit home- obviously when my gut is under distress the serotonin production is going to decrease and clearly would effect my mood. I have also found that taking 2000U IUs of Vitamin D a day helps anxiety/depression.
• I always examine my thoughts when feeling sad, low, empty – depressed. They are usually unpleasant, feeling sorry for myself thoughts. Negative.
  I start thinking about all that I do have – which is everything except a 100per cent healthy colon.
  There is so many more people way worse than I am.
  I focus on those and move into happiness very quickly.
  Hard to do in the beginning but gets easier and easier with practice.
  Get a pet xx
• My UC just makes me feel worse especially when I’m in a flare. I am constantly worried & stop living everytime a flare comes on. I go into panic mode & let it control my everyday activities & thougths. Always thinking the worst, crying for no reason and failing to see any silver linings during a flare.Once in remission, I get better mentally ( thankfully) but the fear of having another flare is always on my mind. I do noy enjoy the remission time instead automatically worry about the next flare.I have forgotten how to live life to the fullest with this condition that always weighs me down .
• The only reason for UC-related depression for me is when I begin to feel helpless due to unceasing symptoms. This is very circumstancial and only arises when drugs or natural therapies or even diet changes seem to have no effect on the symptoms of this disease. It’s a little different for me, though. My faith plays a huge part in my life and moods and I firmly believe in putting a stop to negative thoughts that enter my mind about always being sick. The quicker I kick those out, the sooner I am filled with Hope.
• Highly recommend defining controllable aspects of your experience of depression. For me, feeling helpless and out of control is the highlight of my experience. When I can find ways to feel control that I feel less helpless, more in control and thereby less depressed. I’ve used meditation, exercise, even simplistic things like a new hair cut to make myself feel more in-control. I’m no therapist and I know this doesn’t ultimately change my life but it makes me focus on feeling better, helps me push out negativity towards myself and my body and gives me a focus that isn’t misery. I guess to some degree it works for me.
• UC never leaves your mind…It is very taxing to always be thinking about it and what you should be doing to control it.
• The constant worrying of if a food is going to upset my gut or if I could come out of remission, or really if I can ever achieve a complete remission takes a toll on you. It affects relationships and my every day life, and has ultimately brought down my way of life.
• This survey arrived today when i couldn’t get up so missed half a days work (from home) i barely spoke to my 6 year old daughter only snapping demands at her so feel very guilty but had had a whole night of runs to the toilet – feel nervous going out because of colitis and after a few sleepless nights the depression hits – hard to really express how i’m feeling with multiple choice but there is no doubt that colitis is affecting my moods, life and relationships – sometimes just don’t want to carry on.
• I gave my son fish oil thinking it would help with other symptoms and was surprised to see it seems to help with his overall mood, he’s happier less depressed,