Introduction:
I,m 57 yrs old.never had any problems in the bath room.then last November/December/bammmm.i,m living in the bath room.bad diarrhea.very bad.blood.it a mess.i,m so weak.can,t work.have no hekp from work.or insurance. I can’t leave the house alot. Landed in the hosp.first they said I HAVE DIVER TIC. GAVE ME MEDES FOR THAT…it got worse.stayed home 3 weeks.sent me back to hospital,did new colon check.now they say i have u/c..put me on steroids.now waiting a month. and they are going to do a cat/scan April 2nd. i don,t really know what depression is..butt i think i going their.the doctors are all ready talking surgery if things get worse..how could all this happen in 3 to 4 months.i,m not going to let them cut me..the doctors have made mistakes.and myself and wife have to call them all the time about stuff we have read.and sure enough they change the medications or add something.i,m lost.just freaking out about April 2nd cat/scan..got to go bath room i s calling…
Symptoms:
I’m too new at this,but it’s messing up my entire life.
I,m a Florida boy..love my boat,Harley,and getting out with the family. Since December I’m living in hell. Have not done any of that.well do spend time at home with the family,which is great.but i,m afraid to go to allot of places.so any help would be great.i,v lost like 20 lbs i a short time..that’s all i can say now.i can,t write 300 words or more yet….help help.help.i do worry allot and stress.always have it seams.read that can cause flare ups..i hate that word.can not believe how much toilet paper we buy now..had to start going to the dollar store.or watch out for sales at CVS or Wallgreens.can’t talk to many of my friends..that’s because of me not wanting to explain the story.the few that know are very cool about it.but i have not meet someone that has u/c.so my with has been my go to person..just got married in march of 2011.she is so great.its her that got on the comp.and found Adams site.she is like my doctor.but she knows I don’t look to be a bother to people.so she goes easy on me..i now tell her the truth what i see in the toilet.and the pain all this is putting me thru..they give me meds to call me down.helps a bit..i have not had a drink since december..the other night we got shit faced on vodka.and 7up..best i felt in 3 months to be honest.for sure can,t do that all the time..but i just needed it..didn’t go to the bath room the whole night..maybe vodka is the secret.just have to find the rite mixer..maybe adam knows..cause next day,,back in bath room..also is hard to sleep..man i sound like a wack job don,t i.it just so blows me away how all this started 3 to 4 months ago..what the hell did i do.i miss my boat.and for sure my harley so much.the other night when i got shit faced..i went out and just sat in my boat .and then sat on my harley a bit.man i do sound like i,m really having a hard time.i am..the weather is so nice here.i live in Tampa Bay.and i can,t get out much,or at all to enjoy it..i know people have allot worse problems.i,m not looking for people to feel sorry for me..i,v always been so active and upbeat..when people see me now .they know something is not rite..but i just try to hurry and get away.getting allot of calls from friends that are checking on me.because someone that saw me told them i look like crap..i do tell them whats up.but always change the conversation to their lives.hard to tell some about shitting blood all the time..i hope i have 300 words.i dying here.wow just checked.have 464 words.guess i really need to talk.thanks ..fred…sorry for the spelling
written by Fred
submitted in the Colitis Venting Area
i,m 57 yrs old.never had any problems in the bath room.then last november/december/bammmm
Hi, Fred. So sorry about what you’re going through, it’s the shits for sure. My last flare was right after Christmas. I was so sick! As the days went on I was beginning to think I should go to the emergency because there was so much blood. By the following weekend I called emergency and they couldn’t advice, it was my choice. I really didn’t want to go, however, the on-call person suggested I call my gastro clinic, there was a GI doc on call there and he prescribed Entocort and faxed it to my pharmacy. I also took the initiative to buy some Immodium for the diarrhea even though I haven’t heard of anyone using it for colitis, I thought why not. Well I quit shitting, I was going about 20x a day, and maybe this gave the medication a chance to work because by the end of the 2nd week I was cleared up but not 100% right. I gave up drinking but lately discovered I could, in small doses, drink gluten-free beer called RedBridge. It’s made by Budweiser. It doesn’t have as much fizz as regular beer but surprising tastes pretty good. Living in Oregon, I have a marijuana medical card and that helps, too. I watch what I eat–I’m gluten-free. Diet changes are hard but there’s some good things you can eat, even sweets made from honey. Stress is bad, too, so you can figure out a way to mellow out that could help, too. Maybe telling some of your bros wouldn’t be so bad after all. I know it’s fucked up but I wish you the best of luck.
Thanks maggie.lets stay in touch. i.m a newbee to all this.my life health wise is sure upside down now.but the fight has just started.easy to say if your not shitting your brains out.and you know the plans you just had.are not going to work out as planned.i,m just going to try and get a better outlook on this new disease i have now got..what has helped you with getting in remission.and how long has it lasted…dr. oz on tv said pot helps uc..so being a florida boy took care of that one. fred
The supplements I take for colitis are Turmeric with black pepper, colostrum, l-glutamine, I’ve used aloe vera juice several times in the past mixed with other stuff but I hate the taste. I use Golded Seal and enzymes and oh, yeah, cayenne pepper–it’s good for ulcers. I was only diagnosed about 9 years ago but have had it since about 1986. I was misdiagnosed twice, told I had hemrhoids. Since it wasn’t too bad back then, I used aloeand it cleared it right up. I knew beer was messing with my guts but I sorta refused to believe it because I wasn’t ready to quit drinking. Same with gluten. I quit that only a little more then 2 1/2 years ago. Eating an eggplant dish really set off my last flare. I’ve been dabbling in eating right for your blood type. I noticed your ol’lady’s been helping you on the web. I hope you can find the right diet.
Hey Fred,
Dude….I know exactly what you are going through. I have been there for a long time. I was diagnosed with UC back in 1993! Talk about a long time with this crap…literally! It has gotten me down and still does. Like you, I too am an active person…boating, scuba diving, biking, golfing, etc. etc. This disease sure has taken it tolls on all of that. I can hardly leave the house without going into a panic attack thinking about what could happen out their in the real world….and I’m what they are calling being in remission…yeah right! I keep asking myself, “how much more can a guy take?” I wish had an an answer.
I believe the IBD is starting to act up on me. I go in on April 28th for another colonoscopy. I think this is my sixth or seventh one. Kinda lost track. :o)
So, as you can see…I really know what you are talking about. I try to live life the fullest, but is sure is hard some days. I keep thinking about how much of my life I have really missed.
As you can see from this website, you are NOT alone. Keep coming back here and post/read as much as you can. Hopefully it will offer a little help for you and what you are going through.
James….
Thanks James, would like to stay in touch. Since you have had uc since 93, how many flares do you guess you have a year, and also, when you are in remission, how long has it lasted. Have you tried herbal supps, aloe juice, digest enzymes and the like. Also, have you been on any special diet that helped. Fred
I was diagnosed at 16, in 1997, and live in Florida as well. I know it is tough to find a decent doc here. And it really sucks living with UC in Florida, after all how are you supposed to enjoy the beach or fishing if you’re worried about crapping your pants all the time. Literally. But there are some good docs and there are ways of dealing with it. You just have to stay strong.