Recently diagnosed with UC

Digestive health
1

Hi Guys,

I'm 23 and was diagnosed with Colitis about 3 weeks ago. Funny thing was I initially put it down to food poisioning....even my GP didn't know what was wrong. It took for me to be taken to hospital (which I spent in their for 5 LONG days) for them to find the issue.

I'll be honest, when they told me what it was I was like what? come again? what's that? I've never heard of it and as far as my parents know this doesn't run in my family?

So here I am today on a downer, looking stuff up online about peoples story of how they deal with UC?

Can they work? I'm acutally going back to my first day of work tomorrow after having just over 3 weeks off? I'll be honest I'm a little apprehensive as to how they will react to this?

Will they understand that this condition is now for life and I may have to have more time off in the future? Could this damage my career?

I'm also questioning myself...I mean what did I do wrong to be struck with this? I've always had a clean bill of health not a problem...until now and it's weird/strange how it came on so fast.

I've been keeping a food diary as suggested by the dietrician nurse since leaving the hospital...has anyone noticed any foods that have caused them flareups? I know this can depend on person to person....

I've got a week left of the steriods but I still have to take my Enema....anyone else take this? Is it me that HATES doing this? Urgh

 

2

It's impossible at this point to know where this may lead.  I was 25 when I was hospitalized with UC. I was really ill with bloody diarrhea.  After a few weeks I returned to work and started reading about UC.  I learned that it could be exacerbated by stress and may be triggered by stress as well (as it was in my case.)

I read a book on relaxation techniques and practiced it regularly.  It was simple.  I'd lie down, close my eyes, and over a fifteen minute period I'd almost chant to myself "relax your toes", "relax your toes" and try to do as what I was saying.  I would move on the ankles, feet, legs, knees etc.to the tops of my heads.  In my life I'd try to avoid stressful situations with family, work and wherever possible.  Throughout the day I'd try to think of relaxing, taking deep breaths and checking to see if my stomach muscles were relaxed.

Now I'm sure I was lucky, but I largely remained symptom free for decades, although I'd have short periods of diarrhea.

You might want to try that.  Also it's important to take charge of your situation, become educated and involved and find a doctor (should you need one) that's sympathetic and understanding and one you feel you can talk to.  Make sure that it feels like a partnership.

Good luck and most importantly, don't despair, but act to try to help yourself.

 Here is a list of UC foods to have and avoid given to me by a nutritionist last week.

Avoid INSOLUBLE Fibre

 

Whole what bread, whole what pasta, rice

Vegetable skins – corn and peas

Raw vegetables

Fruit skins and seeds – avoid strawberries, raspberries

Whole nuts and seeds – almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds

 

Choose sources of SOLUBLE fibre

 

White bread, pasta, rice, bagels, pita

Peel and cook vegetables

Peel and core fruits, fruit cups and juice, applesauce

Nut butters instead of whole nuts

Oatmeal

Tapioca

Legumes such as chick peas, kidney beans, plack beans

Barley

3

Hi Gabe,

Lord help me....Stress? My work is stress...I'll bare in mind your relaxation process...this may come in handy. One of the hospital nurses mentioned for me to try yoga too? Not sure if anyone has tested this yet.

Thank you for the list of foods to avoid and to take, I'll be certainly writing these down on my food diary.

 

4

Hello Nicola,

If things don't improve you may want to consider finding a less stressful job if you can.  Stress is likely not the underlying cause of UC but I know in my cause was the initial trigger.  Yoga is supposed to relieve stress, so if you find it relaxing then it can have the same effect as the relaxation technique I used.

Good luck!

Gabe

5

Hi Nicola

Try not to panic, the vast majority of UC sufferers have careers, you may have more time off than non uc sufferers but it will get easier to control, hitting on the right meds can take a while after diagnosis. Look on the web for a low residue diet, this should help and milk aggravates a lot of sufferers, try rice milk or something. If you are really concerned about work ask your GP for a letter to explain your health issues.

No you didnt do anything wrong, just the luck of the draw I'm afraid.

Keep going for regular colonoscopies, no matter how well you feel, I didn't when I had remission in my twenties, and developed colon cancer, but was lucky to catch it early enough, that said lots of people don't develop cancer but UC puts you at higher risk, so keep your appointments.

Everyone hates them! I have suffered for 20 years now, and have never got used to anything entering that area!

Don't worry you will learn to live normally with it, with a few minor adjustments, it's not easy but becomes second nature.

Work stress should be reduced, when things are starting to get out of control speak to your boss, explain you don't want to go sick so can they help with your workload during a flare up, don't suffer in silence.

Good Luck.

6

Regarding colonoscopies.  Obviously they're not pleasant, but I find the prep worse than the procedure.  Not sure what the practice is in the UK, but my GI doc gives me demarol/valium intravenously and I feel nothing and remember nothing of the procedure once I wake up after an hour.  A drink of juice and a couple of cookies and I'm good to go.  I know in some hospitals and/or countries they use little or no sedation and put patients through agony.  If this is your case talk to your doctor and convince them to use this type of sedation (not anesthesia) to avoid pain.  Of find another doctor.

7

For me changing my diet keeps me symptom free.  You may have food allergies that you never realized.  An allergy does not always mean you swell up or get shortness of breath.  It can just be subtle changes.  For me along with UC I had swelling in my legs, numbness in my feet, severe constipation and heartburn and very low energy.

It was a very long process of eliminatng foods and then gradually adding them back to see what I reacted to.  You can google about food allergies to get more information. Most people are allergic to something and sometimes just don't know it.  It is only when you combine multiple allergic reactions that you begin to experience the symptoms I had.   For me, I am allergic to certain preservatives and since it is impossible to determine which ones, I stay away from all.  I am allergic to eggs and although I do not have severe reactions, I limit my gluten because it just makes me feel better.  I may eat a bagel, but then try to have no other item with gluten the rest of the day.  Soda, inexpensive chocolate, high sugar, peanuts,  dairy, fried foods and foods with high amounts of sodium, all get me going.  You have to listen to your body and make an effort to eat fresh foods.  No prepackaged and fast foods.  I have been symptom free for so long now that I can occasionaly indulge in foods that I know I shouldn't but find that since I am not overwhelming my system with so much bad, it can tolerate a little.  I may have a

reaction to a food not because it has dairy in it, but because it has dairy and is high in sugar.  A double blow to my gut.   Do some research into food allergies and you will find so much information.  Then start listening to your body. I know that some have noted that stress is a factor and would agree, although I think that I eat really badly when I'm stressed so it is hard to discern which one is actually the problem.  Good luck.