Back after 10 years of remission (Safe Bloating & constipation relief)

[MrPositive]

Hi all, just after a bit of advice really. I was first diagnosed with UC 10 years ago.

Some of this may sound similar, but I had finished working a job on night shifts, I had quit smoking, starting a new business fulltime - I had a close family member of my girlfriend extremely ill & sadly passed away. These may have been the stress triggers but the origin was more likely to be from a bad spell of food poisoning I had whilst in egypt for a week earlier in the year. At the time I went through the usual blood tests, an endoscopy given the diagnosis then was prescribed steroids for a short while and Octasa as the ongoing treatment.

The treatment went well, extremely well and after a couple of weeks my symptoms had pretty much vanished. I would say from memory that was the last I saw of colitis for 10 years. Around 4-6 months after I decided to try and stop taking Octasa despite my doctor advising otherwise. I had felt perfectly fine without it and wanted if it came back to manage it in other ways first.

Now after all this time it is back. A similar situation with possible triggers but my dad has been extremely unwell in hospital for 6 months. It has been a very distressing time with a lot of family illnesses over the past 10 years. I havent until this time suffered with the colitis, but have had a lot of acid reflux & anxiety attacks. Something I am also getting used to dealing with but has been a big learning curve.

The symtoms this time are similar, blood, mucas, pus in the stools, gas stomach cramps, hot flushes, sometimes tiredness and fatigue (but also maybe stress related) I have been trying to control it at the moment through diet until the doctor decides the next step (Have had blood test results back as normal this morning) but haven't really been able to provide a stool sample. There's just not much there! This time I'm more bloated and constipated. If I have gone for the last few days

I've cut out a lot of the foods I would normally have, and still learning what's best but last couple of weeks has been along the lines of...

Breakfast

- scrambled egg with white toast for

- lemon ginger tea/chamomile or Decaff coffee

Lunch

- Tuna or plain chicken sandwich (white bread)

- Celery sticks hummus

- Soup (Carrot & coriander, chicken broth)

- Banana

Dinners

- Fish Pie

- Celery sticks or Cucumber with hummus

- Tuna sandwiches (white bread)

- Prawn Stir Fry last night with fried rice (teriyaki sauce a bit rich but all we had in)

Supper

- Porridge with a teaspoon of lemon curd

Extra

- Drinking water with cider vinegar as this has been recommended and have used this a lot before for acid reflux.

- Taking a multi vitamin in a morning to help cover things I maybe missing

- Still taking Nicotinell 1mg (about 6 a day)

Things I have cut out

- Alcohol (completely now, havent had a drink for months) had 1 glass of wine last week and had a flare up

- Chocolate

- Spicy meals (I would normally eat these a lot with my girlfriend) she doesn't like bland food 😓

- Red meat

- Brown bread

- Bagels

- Peanut Butter

- Cake & Sweets

- Condiments Ketchup & sauces (only a slight bit of light mayo on a plain chicken sandwich)

I am also trying to manage my stress better, have started therapy sessions again, enjoying morning walks, and have even started tai chi again today.

Without making the colitis itself worse is there anything I could add to my diet or anything safe from over the counter to help with the constipation and bloating feeling?

Thanks for any advice. Its scary at times to have this back and just hoping I can get to a point where I can enjoy another 10 years symptom free 😓

[Susiiscute]

i can’t give any advice, but I am taking Octasa. I was diagnosed with UC in 2018. After several flare ups and trying various dietary ideas and meds, I asked to go on Octasa. I’ve been taking it for around 2 years. I started on the recommended dose, then cut my dosage down to the lowest I can go without the UC kicking off. I spoke to my Gastro consultant on the phone and he was okay about cutting the dosage. If I go too low on the dosage I will get a tiny painful tongue ulcer as a sign that I need to be careful. My past UC flare ups were triggered by extreme stress. Would you consider taking Octasa again at a low dose?

[MrPositive in reply to Susiiscute]

Hi Susiicute many thanks for replying.

Yes I would be open to going back on it but still awaiting recommendations from my GP . I think because I have been in remission for so long I was just kind of hoping that it had gone away. Despite having the condition for 10 years, I only really had that initial flareup so I am still very new to this and learning. If possible I would prefer to try and control it with stress relief & diet but will see how things go. Today so far has been a good day, but I know things can quickly change.

Did take a black seed oil capsule this morning after my breakfast and 30 minutes later was able to get rid of that bloated feeling! 😊

Also ordered some psyllium husk as I have read good things about that & turmeric supplements (which I have taken before)

Also tried a bit of Tai Chi again yesterday (badly 😆) tried this a bit during lockdowns and think its quite a good low impact exercise for body & mind.

[FRreedman in reply to MrPositive]

i, I would be wary of Psyllium because it can cause obstructions in the bowel (Intestines) and should only be taken under medical supervision, if you have intestinal problems. I note you have cut out brown bread but continue to eat vegetable (celery sticks) and wonder why? Finally I would suggest you drink a minimum of two litres of water per day and also try to walk briskly for about 15/20 minutes per day, and ask your GP to expedite the prescription for Octasa. Good luck, get well and stay safe.

[MrPositive in reply to FRreedman]

Many thanks

Yes also saw a video warning about the potential problem with Psyllium (think there was an alternative mentioned that was more of a gel that didn't have the same issue? will have to look it up), so will stay off it for now, but also in the same day have read about Kidney problems with Octasa & Pentasa in long use so I'm still trying to find out what will work best for me.

If the colitis persists this time even with the diet changes (or then introducing things) I will certainly look to go back on the Octasa. I know the blood tests are there to make sure that the kidney function is ok whilst Octasa is being used but if they only at maximum check every 6 months is that often enough to find any problems quickly enough so they can be reversed? It is a concern to me.

Also that I was pushed forward for the Covid jabs because of my history of using Octasa being at high risk. I was told not because of the colitis, but because of the medication (which I haven't been on anyway for 9+ years) so again another concern.

I read conflicting things about vegetables, firstly that celery and cucumber were ok, then more recently that only soft non green vegetables are ok. (So that was just early on really as was thinking of something to have with the hummus). If I cut too much of fibre out of my diet (like I have then I struggle to go) so maybe it will be also about finding a balance there. 🤞I do like bread (& prior to this was eating a lot of it) bagels, sandwiches, cereal, toast & veg so maybe that all contributed too.

[FRreedman in reply to MrPositive]

I have, personally, been taking Pentasa for about 17 years and have had no problems with any side effects. As far as bread is concerned I limit myself to two slices of white bread per week and two beigels per week, and have brown bread on the other five days. It works for me.

[MrPositive in reply to FRreedman]

Thats great many thanks for that. I'm definately not against going back on Octasa, just really want to get into some better diet habits as well. I was suffering with a lot of acid reflux for the past couple of years, so there are similar things I was monitoring anyway (spicy foods caffeine 2 of which are hard for me to give up!).

Is there any particular reason you choose the 2 white slices, and more brown bread? Thought the added fibre in brown was normally to be avoided? I remember I used to love seeded wholemeal bread for one, but something I cut out 10 years ago when this all happened!

[FRreedman in reply to MrPositive]

Just from personal experience. I don't like brown bread, but was told to try it, and weirdly it worked. Because I prefer white bread, I added it into my diet but found that too much (more than about three or four slices per week played havoc with my bowels TMI), so after a long time trying, this is what I came up with.

On a separate note, if you are experiencing heartburn, you do realise that every time you feel it it is burning into your esophagus, so please ask your GP to consider a drug like Omeprazole to temper the burning.

[MrPositive in reply to FRreedman]

Thanks that's great to know. Have been fine again so far today so hoping I'm coming out of this flare-up now. Will try add things back in slowly though (main treat was a babybel cheese with my lunch today - starting to get cravings for certain things 😂). On the plus side have lost a few lbs this week altering my diet and can defunately fford to lose a bit! My BMI is still 29. 9 so hopefully losing some weight will help with the gastro problems too.

Yes have already got a prescription for lansoprazole, but again trying to manage it with my diet as much as possible. It hasn't been too bad recently having already cut most things out that would trigger it anyway. Definately noticed a positive difference in not eating late in last night. Cut out the cereal supper and didn't have that acidy taste this morning. (Definately ready for my breakfast though!)

[Sdone in reply to MrPositive]

what do you think helped you not flare for 10 years? Supplements/diet?

[Shoeysmum]

Hi MrPositive

You can have wholemeal bread when you're not in a flare. The same goes for other fibre rich foods. It's only when in a flare that you need to cut out the fibre.

[MrPositive in reply to Shoeysmum]

That's brilliant thanks so glad, hopefully getting out of this one soon! 🤞

[Janeywoo]

Hi there…

Sorry to hear your having a flare again… sounds nasty… what works for me is Buscopan and Laxido (which you can buy over the counter) and peppermint tea. The buscopan and peppermint tea seems to settle my stomach and help with the bloating and the Laxido should help with the constipation… and I wouldn’t be without my hot water bottle!!! Hope this helps x

[Happy-hacker]

So sorry to hear you are struggling with UC. Have you tried taking Sodium Butyrate? I have had enormous success with this and also drinking 150ml Kefir a day which is fantastic for the gut. If you are interested in Sodium Butyrate then perhaps read my post from last year which explains my story. Wishing you well.

[dkljj2020]

I used to use mira lax almost every day for constipation and bloating. I have found that 2 prunes in the morning are working just as good for the last 6 months. I also take over-the-counter stool softeners. When I am flaring constipation is never the problem, it is the opposite. I would look at my medicine and see if any of it has a side effect of constipation. The last thing you want is a backed up colon that could lead to worse problems than a flare.