Introduction:
I am 29 years old and born raised in Idaho. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in the spring of 2005. I am determined to manage this illness instead of it managing me!
Some more about me:
I love being outside during the warm months, hosting bbq’s, attending outdoor concerts, riding bikes, hiking, fishing, etc. In the last year I have begun to learn everything I can about gardening in order to grow my own fresh veggies and herbs and have begun to focus on “clean” cooking. I love spending time with my boyfriend and his 10-year old son.
Current Colitis Symptoms:
Soft but formed stools, slight bleeding, cramping, urgency.
UC is Not the Boss of Me
I’ve been on prednisone since right before Christmas following an ER visit due to a flare that began in October. I began contacting my doctor in mid-October and all they did was increase my Lialda from 1 (1.2 mg) a day to 4 (1.2 mg) pills a day. The minute I began to decrease the Lialda, the cramping, sharp pain, and bleeding would increase. I went to the ER after my stools repeatedly had blood in them for a week and the final straw was when the only thing I was passing was thick, dark clotted blood and my bowel movements were extremely painful and often “unproductive.” The ER doctor put me on 40 mg of prednisone and didn’t begin a taper until a little over 2 weeks later. Since then I’ve been tapering every 10 days, and am currently on 10 mg until February 3rd, when I’ll decrease to 5 mg for 10 days. This is my forth time on prednisone and the second longest amount of time I’ve been on it since being diagnosed in 2005. My doctor informed me that once I was on 10 mg, my appetite would begin to go back to normal and I would begin to lose the water weight but just in the last few days I’ve noticed my appetite seems to be the stronger than it has been the course and I’m extremely moody. I find that all the sudden I’ll feel really anxious, like I want to burst out in tears. I’ve also been breaking out quite a bit, especially on my back and shoulders, which are not areas I typically have breakouts.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what’s helped them as far as giving into over indulging and also with the mood swings? I know most of it is out of our control but I hate feeling like I’m going to breakdown and I really think it’s related to the prednisone because I don’t typically have anxiety like this.
written by Christina
submitted in the colitis venting area
I am 29 years old and born raised in Idaho. I was diagnosed with UC in the spring of 2005. I am determined to manage this illness instead of it managing me!
