Hey Guys, remember me, my name is Adam. And guess what, I for sure have ulcerative colitis! How do I know this? Well, about ten doctors have told me that it’s true. There are some medical records stashed away in a few filing cabinents somewhere of my nasty inflamed colon all red and yucky out there. And, I think my several months of symptom free specific carb diet living has finally come to a bump in the road known as a FLARE.
But, the good news is, colitis flares are not uncommon. It seems that nearly everyone who has ulcerative colitis goes through this type of thing unfortunately on some type of regular or irregular basis. So, with that said, I am not tripping out.
Why do I think I am in a flare?
First of all, its 8:30 am on Saturday, and I am typing away, something I don’t usually do at this hour. But, along with my colitis, I used to have really bad lower back pains, joint pains etc… That seems to have come along with this flare too. So, lately for the past few days I have been waking up at about 5 or six in the morning before my alarm goes off with some slight feelings of lower back pains again. Strange how the colitis symptoms can come back in the same ways if they want.
Second, bowel movements have changed quite a bit. No longer as formed poops as they used to be.
Third, some drops of fresh and some darker blood mixed in with stools when I poop. I think that’s pretty cut and dry.
Fourth, here is the nasty one, the smell or odor surely is not as pleasant as it used to be when going to the bathroom. This I remember qutie well from earlier days when my ulcerative colitis was out of control. My wife remembers this quite well too, and she is starting to wonder how long this will go for. That’s why they make air freshner for us though right?
Fifth, I have started to play the mind games a bit on what am I doing wrong, what have I done differently, you know, trying to figure out why a colitis flare has come up now, when all I want to do is going camping next month without any issues for the annual camping trip to the Stanislaus River!
So there you have it, I am pretty sure my colitis has started to flare again. I am not super worried as its nothing like it was at its peak last year. I am still just going to the bathroom 1-2 times per day. I will be watching it very closely to see how things progress. And, if things change, I will keep you all posted on what happens.
If anyone is wondering about anything that has changed on the diet side for me. Well, I was at a wedding in Las Vegas about 3 weeks ago. I strayed away from my strict plan on no alcohol and had about 3 to 4 drinks at the wedding. Vodkas and one whiskey drink.(I think that was a horrible idea looking back at it) Also, I was caught eating a ton of cheese last week, I don’t want to go into the details, but for some reason I went back to eating all types of cheeses. And, last week, I for some other reason found myself drinking about 4 coffees per day with half and half in each one which I bet my colitis did not do well with either. Otherwise, I have stuck to the SCD diet quite well. I have not had any breads at all, so no change their.
One other funny thing to note, 3 weeks ago on the night of my friends wedding, I could tell I was beginning to catch a cold. You know the sore throat feeling. So, of course, the plane ride home was filled with me feeling a bit more sick etc… And the next several days was sore throat and massive stuff coming out of my sinuses. I called some friends that were at the wedding, and one other said he felt sick the day after, but shook the cold off within one days time. For me, I am still having sinus symptoms 3 weeks after. So, I think this might have played a part in the flare(if you are one to believe that the immune system is connected to UC, I don’t know it all just coincides together as for the timing….)
But, a colitis flare is just that, a flare, it soon will pass I am hopeful. I have not called the doctor’s office just yet to make an appointment, I am guessing that a round of prednisone would be in the making to help with the colitis being set off. So for now, I am willing to try and tough this one out with the help of all of you. But we will take things as they unfold. My uncle thinks I should at least go in and get a blood test to see what is what with that. He’s probably right.
I started site shortly after being diagnosed in October of 2008 with severe pancolitis (when my whole colon was inflamed).
For me, it was a very rough start with severe symptoms. Getting bounced from medication to medication was not easy or too helpful. But, I did meet another UC’er, changes several parts of my diet, and of course the rest is history.
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