Newbie

Hello my name is Diane…I’m a retired grandmother.
I like reading and computer games…love traveling , although Ulcerative Colitis has made this a little harder to do.

I live in Sydney.. like going to the gym…and going places with my family.

Symptoms:

I have just been diagnosed with UC….it is mostly on the left side and mild at the moment
I have reasonably mild pain..loose stools with blood most times…loss of appetite on most days…
Weight loss

I was in great health for Seventy-One years…bowel motions like clockwork every morning….and then it all fell apart..lol….

The symptoms came on suddenly…it was so frightening….went through a barrage of tests …finally a colonoscopy revealed all.

Let me say that I am eternally grateful that I didn’t have cancer as I was so worried about this.

I am so thankful to have found this group …it is such a lonely feeling to have an incurable disease with such horrible symptoms…and wonderful to hear other stories…to know there are other people desperately seeking the nearest loo.

Its a laugh I know, but when I am in a shopping centre and I find a new location with a restroom it’s better than finding a great dress shop….sad but true.

I start my medication next week…..short term prednisone and then another med long term…he hasn’t told me which one yet….my doctor that is

I’m hopelessly confused about diet…would appreciate any advice…I’m told low fibre, but that doesn’t sound healthy…I just don’t know what to eat…I have totally gone of coffee and alcohol and fatty foods…I guess my body is trying to tell me something.

I have a history of bowel troubles in my family..my grandmother had UC…my son and daughter have Crohn’s disease.
I am a little scared of the prednisone. .on lowest dose of 25 milligrams…but still….

Just grateful to have found this site…honestly I feel a 100 % better just telling my story…I don’t feel so alone…will appreciate diet advice especially…are most Ulcerative Colitis patients lactose intolerant…and should I be leaving gluten alone….don’t want to have too many dietary restrictions if they are not necessary…thanks for listening….hurry….finished my 300 words…good thing to do.

written by Diane

submitted in the colitis venting area