Diary of a Mad Colon

Okay, so I haven't posted anything on here since February of 2008. Part of it is just not wanting to broadcast my illness and part of it is because I just want to forgot about have ulcerative colitis. But I can't forget about the disease because it won't go away. I thought I would have my one flare and it would be fine, but that's not the case. Since my first flare in 2007, I have had another bad flare in 2009 and now I am having another flare. The last one was really bad. I wasn't responding to the Ascol, in fact, the medicine made me much worse. It was the most horrible experience. I was afraid to to eat and leave my house for about two months. Finally, I stopped taking the Asacol and told my doctor it was making me worse. He had originally wanted to treat my flare with a Rowasa enema, but I refused. Stupid me. If I would have listened to my doctor, my flare would have cleared up quicker. The enema works better for me because my colitis is only in the lower part of my colon--lucky me. Having it only in the lower part of the colon is better, but it still has it's downside. In my case I have systemic colitis--meaning the disease extends to other areas outside my colon. My ulcerative colitis has also caused reactive arthritis in me. I suffer from chronic pain all over my body, but the most severe pain is my lower back joints. It's a party having to deal with abdominal pain, fatigue and pain all over the body.

I don't even know what is considered a normal 'bowel movement' anymore. Nothing is normal for me now. Since my last flare up I have suffered some extremely painful bowel movements. Yeah, I know this is gross and I expect, unless you have the same disease, you won't read this blog. Anyway, I get constipation so bad that it feels like I am trying to pass a boulder. I spend anywhere from 1-3 hours in the bathroom waiting it out. It's horrible and frightening. To try to improve things I eat Activia for breakfast, take 1 oz concentrated aloe vera juice in the morning before I eat and I drink an Ensure shake up to twice a day with 3 grams of fiber, antioxidants to improve the immune system and omega 3's. I know that in order to have a healthy colon, you are supposed to eat at least 25 grams of fiber per day, but fiber seems to make things worse for me and I don't even eat that much food in one day. I'm thinking I might need to increase my aloe vera dose to two times a day. If anyone has any helpful advice, I would love to hear it. Someone just mentioned that flax seed has fiber so I might start taking a small dose and gradually increase it and see what happens. I eat wheat crackers, bread, rice and pasta with salmon or chicken and steamed veggies. My only real vice that I know is bad for me is chocolate. I have cut back but I can't stop eating it. Chocolate cravings for me are like a cigarette smoker trying to quit smoking.

I guess that's enough for today. My vow is to add content to this blog at least once a week so anyone out there in cyberspace coming across my posts will be subjected to more gross outs from my experiences with a mad colon.

Cheers and good health!
Colitis Chick

Preventing a flare up

One thing I have learned to do is keep a list of foods that I cannot eat. This is the best way to prevent a flare up. Each person is different so you have to experiment to see which foods irritate your stomache. For me it is nuts, beans, garlic, fried foods and onions. This does not make eating fun that's for sure because I love nuts and hummus. I found out the hard way that hummus, though the beans used are crushed, does not agree with me. And eating out at a restaurant is a pain because it seems that everyone uses garlic and/or onions to prepare food. Now I am one of those people who request a special meal. It sucks having a condition like UC, but I have learned to live with it. At least I can still enjoy chocolate in small quantities. The time when I cannot eat chocolate is the time when I cease to enjoy life.

I am still taking Asacol in a reduced dosage and am doing well. Lucky for me I responded to this treatment. I need to see my doctor on a regular basis and get blood tests, but my life is much better now. My weight is back to normal though I would have liked to keep it down. That was my favorite part of having a flare--instant weight loss. I am able to exercise and do everything I was doing before my big flare. Not looking forward to the next colonoscopy, but at least I know I will never get colon cancer because having this procedure will detect it before it gets a chance to grow. I still get bummed when I think of what is happening to my body, but when I get down, I remember that I am relatively healthy and taking care of my body will help me from having any more huge flare ups. At least I hope so.

Stay healthy!

The upside to UC

If there is an upside it has to be that I lost weight. At first, it was too much weight too fast, but now that I have my UC under control, I have gained some weight back. Now I am at a weight I am happy with. Having UC means having to eat right, which means no salads, no nuts, no red meats and no greasy foods. Steamed veggies are better than raw ones. Everyone is different so you have to find the foods that irritate you and eliminate them.

I am eating much better now and I feel better. My latest colonoscopy was clean and I was so thrilled. The Asacol is working great for me. I am lucky because I responded to the medicine. That's not always the case. I also had a mild attack. Given the intense pain I was in and how sick I was, I would hate to experience a severe attack. Remembering the pain is what keeps me on track with eating the right foods. That is not an area you where you want to be experiencing intense pain. Believe me. It was freaking me out.

It's kind of a bummer because I love nuts, especially walnuts, but nuts are the worst thing I can eat. Luckily they have improved on rice cakes because I can eat those. I may have to watch what I eat, but I look much better in a bathing suit now.