Could this be Ulcerative Colitis?

[Chocol8]

Sorry this is gross, but i am worried and looked online (prob not the best of ideas) and found that most of my symptoms seem to fit UC: different coloured stools which frequently changes but is mostly very loose.
Blood in stools (a lot), if i pass wind, i can pass pure blood but usually mess myself (very unpleasant), stomach churns constantly.
Being sent (eventually) for a colonoscopy to have a look see. Does anyone know what else this could be please? x

Ok so I have just googled faecal transplant & as I suspected it is disgusting . Imagine asking someone if you can have their poo?????? I'm almost certain nobody would want mine!!!!

Neigh neigh Mrs Pinot, lol at your ds. Hope you have a lovely lunch later.

Have spoken to new IBD (poo) nurse this morning. Having bloods later and she will call me tomorrow as i'm still bleeding and have some urgency. Hoping they don't suggest increasing the Azathioprine.

Haha think I've started something now & we will all have a poo nurse soon!!!!

Chocol8 there must be an alternative to Azathioprine if it doesn't work for you or maybe they started reducing the steroids too soon. Hope you get it sorted before the urgency comes back really badly.

Hello all, glad the hair is growing back Mrs Pinot I thought of you today in Cafe Rouge when I saw the drinks list.

My flare up is definitely under control thank goodness so I am no longer even allowed to potter, as serious work beckons. I dont have sky tv- only a very tiny beaten up old Samsung with 3 channels and a fuzzy picture-its because I can watch anything I like on the imac. I prefer to spend my money on gardening and clothes and the DC and books. If I cant watch any tv after April 18th and if I feel strongly enough I might get a digital thingy.No hurry though as the DC aren't going to be back till the summer holidays now so I can wait for the sales to buy a new tv. DD and I did sit and watch Sherlock on dvd though!

I agree about not wanting surgery. I too have a horror of a bag. Although sometimes I wonder whether a bag might just have been better than long term steroids which ruined my figure (now apple) and my face (now moon and hairy) and back (now lumpy). In short my romance prospects are nil. I think the real thing which put me off surgery was not knowing quite how much gut might be taken away and also not knowing if it would actually cure anything as the gut left behind might have colitis too. I have a friend with a bag who controls the timing of the poo and therefore the bag emptying by when he eats. I do that too, without the bag. I often skip breakfast and have the lightest of lunches on weekdays so that I dont poo unexpectedly at work, and then I eat when I get home.

chocol8 I think 6MP is an alternative to azathioprine. I preferred it. I suspect it cured at least half of my colon. I do hope you get better soon- are you eating lots of nice organic yoghurt?

Funny do you have a Kindle? Dp bought me one for Christmas & it was a lifesaver while I was in hospital. Loads of the books were free & I managed to read quite a bit which helped me relax & concentrate on something other than the pain.

Good news here I have now put on a stone & 10lb since leaving hospital so only have about 7lb to go to get back to my 'normal' weight. Going into work soon for my little visit & my lunch. For some reason I'm quite nervous - haven't been in since the middle of November & this is the longest I've ever been off apart from my maternity leave of 8 months. Looking foward to seeing everyone though.

Chocol8 hope you get some answers from the (poo) nurse - do let us know what she says.

How good was that? I was literally just posting to say i hadn't heard back from the poo nurse yet, when the new poo nurse's assistant called.

My iron was not less than 5 - think she must have got me mixed up with another patient. It was 8.4 in hospital, then rose to 9.3 a week or so later, without the aid of iron tablets - probably cos the iv steroids had stopped me bleeding.
Although i have been taking daily iron tablets since then, it has gone to 9.1...? Maybe cos i am losing blood again. I am gonna give the Azacol foam enema another try and hope they don't affect me like the tablets did and speak to her on Friday.

Funny, so so glad you have the flare up under control! Do you find that pattern of eating helps? I can't do without my breakfast, but it is usually light anyway. Organic yoghurt - yum, but i'm a bit concerned more recently that i could be lactose intollerant.

MrsPinot brilliant news that you have also put on nearly all the weight you lost! Well done! Ooh, how lovely going into work for a visit and lunch - i would be nervous too, but you will be fine. I bet they're looking forward to seeing you too.

Has this thread just had its first troll i wonder?

Chocol8 I noticed those posts this morning but they hadn't been deleted then - something about anabolic steroids? Was thinking the poster got the wrong end of the stick but may be not!!!!

Hope the Azacol works for you. Going into work was ok - lovely to see evryone. Got loads of hugs from my team & everyone I spoke to said I look much better than I did when I went off - good job none of them saw me while I was in hospital!!!! Not looking forward to going back to work but I do need the routine (& the money).

Hi all,

How are you all? I was back at the hospital today - they have promised me a sig thingie, but tbh honest I'm not sure what is going on

Hi Oldbag what a shame you missed your museum trip. I agree cake is the way to go to get the weight on - my sister keeps buying me a cream cake when she goes shopping. Shes on WW at the moment & I think she is satisfying her cravings by passing anything fattening on to me - not that I mind!!!!

From reading your posts it would seem that UC is far more unpredictable than Crohn's although I may just be one of the lucky ones who has managed to get it (mostly) under control - although I have no idea how!!!!

I have also ordered the Fat Hair stuff so we will be a thread of Tim Minchin look-alikes soon!!!!! All with our very own poo nurses!!!!

Keep smiling ladies & hope you are all feeling better soon.

Hey lovely ladies, Tim Minchin lookie likey here too! I used the shampoo and condition (which is £6.99 for two products in the range at Superdrug by the way) yesterday morning. The shampoo is like something i used at college called Cow Gum - very thick and gloopy. I felt it did thicken slightly, but i guess it takes time to build up on the hair...? Wasn't so keen on the conditioner though. I will continue with it though as it did give my hair some much needed body.

So sorry you missed your museum trip OldBag - i was the same this morning dashing back and forth to the loo...6 times (productively!) in less than an hour. Had no time for breakfast which was just as well anyway cos i daren't have anything before the school run. Made sure i took a plastic bag along, just in case i got caught short en route in the car!
I even had to hoik my son off the loo twice, bless him, as i was going to have an accident otherwise. I lost a pound in an hour. Your TMI part is exactly what i was getting at the beginning of the week - no poo, just everything else - and the urgency which is awful.

I am wondering if i had too much sugar yesterday (in the form of mints). I couldn't use the Asacol foam last night as my 'ring of fire' (as my poo pal calls it) was indeed on fire. Mix in 2 large piles and you get the picture. Have been on the sofa all day as in pain. No use speaking to the poo nurse's assistant as speaking to the poo master general tomorrow anyway.

OldBag, just Googled Miss Hoolie - lol!!! You are not alone in just cutting off hair - i used to do it all the time, but it never worked out well for me. I was going to get mine cut yesterday but glad i didn't as my chinage area is looking rather flabby thanks to the steroids. I will wait until it's gone and the hair stops growing on it. Mmmm, sexy!!

MrsPinot, so glad your lunch went well - and love that your sister buys you cakes to eat vicariously!!!

PS, welcome back Katy! Hope you get your flexi-sig soon. It doesn't hurt, so don't worry about that.

I spoke to my poo nurse earlier. She has suggested not taking the iron tablets and take two Laxidos a day.

I'm not sure why she has suggested not taking the iron when my iron is low and getting lower...? She said i may have to have an iron infusion, at which point i went very quiet.

I am going to get some Aloe Vera juice, as i've read some good reports online and it certainly can't do me any harm eh? Apparently it is good for stopping diahhoria and cutting down inflammation.

I hope you ladies are all doing well.

Chocol8, I had a transfusion (2 units) in hospital, was a bit freaked out at the thought of it but it was fine. For some reaason they decided to start it at visiting time in front of my little boy (who was 4 1/2 at the time) and he thought it was the coolest thing ever!

I took aloe vera juice for ages - still got a load in the fridge but I keep forgetting! Tis good stuff.

Hello Katy! I was wondering about you this morning. Hope the flexi sig sheds some light on what's going on for you,. How are you feeling?

I'm terrified of the prospect of surgery as well. I've made my OH promise not to consent to it on my behalf if I'm unconscious unless it is literally life-or-death, and then only if they join me all up at the same time. I really don't think I could face a bag. I seem, touch wood, to be one of the incredibly lucky ones so far in how well I've responded to steroids and Pentasa, but I would definitely try a poo transplant before I considered surgery if it ever came to it.

My poo nurse is lovely too. It's a small world though - she lives round the corner from us and her husband taught my OH to drive, so it's a bit weird now when we bump into her in the corner shop and I know she's seen a video of my bowels and studied my Bristol Stool Scale!

I still cant get my head round why your poo nurse is so keen on you taking laxatives chocol8 Its a bit odd tbh.
There is no such thing as an iron transfusion, only a blood transfusion. I think you should ask her in the nicest possible way if you could have a telephone consultation with the doctor ( it could be the registrar : doesn't have to be the consultant) and then check
-is it your iron or your haemoglobin which is low or both and how low
-do you need to take iron or not. do you need a blood transfusion or not.
-do you need to take laxatives or not. ( they can do as much harm a good in UC btw so this is an important question)

I think poo nurses can be very helpful but at the end of the day they aren't supposed to make major treatment decisions for you because they don't have the training or expertise. Thats the doctor's role. Poo nurses can ask you questions, help you understand your condition and help you to follow the doctors plan, they can support you to help you take your meds, and feedback to the doctors if you arent improving or getting worse.

I was just googling thinking and I reckon the flexi sig thingie doesn't go as far as the colonoscopy

So if I had the colonoscopy in December, do I need the Flexi sig thingie end of may; will anything have changed in 6 months?

Chocol8 a blood transfusion is nothing to worry about - I needed 2 units while in hospital & it was over in 4 hours & that included waiting for the 2nd unit to be sent over from the blood bank. It also put my HB level up from 7.6 to 10.3 & made me feel loads better. I am also a bit confused over the laxatives advice & echo funny's suggestion that you try to talk to the consultant or another dr from the team for more advice. As I said before my consultant took me off the Movicol & the Spasmonol as they are not recommended for IBD - they can apparantly can cause more problems. I asked what to do if I feel I am constipated & he said to take a Movicol if I haven't been for 2 days (which hasn't happened yet although I have had some bloating which used to indicate constipation, however it now seems to be caused by wind).

Katy I've never had a flexi-sig but I would have it anyway if I were you. A lot can change in 6 months - my Crohn's went from manageable to needing hospital treatment in 2 weeks (although I had been going downhill slowly for a little while). Have the Drs given you any indication of what they are looking for?

Hope you all have a painfree weekend ladies - I am going out tonight for a meal with my family so am looking foward to that (hopefully I will find something on the menu that fits in with my new diet regime) & I will be having cake for dessert - got to get that last 7lb on after all!!!

Not really, they'd rather sign me off; it was only because I was insisting I was still bleeding (& that it wasn't pile blood) that they suggested that

Hello ladies, sorry to hear some of you are still not well, old bag and Chocol the same thing is happening to me, as I wean off the steroids my symptoms are back and worse than ever, I cannot eat if I want to go out. I was travelling yesterday and couldn't eat or drink all day and I was still running to the loo, I either just make it or have an accident! The pain is intense and I am soooo tired.

Luckily the colonoscopy is on Monday, so from tomorrow night I am taking the clear out drink, can't remember the name of it!

Anyone know what I can use for terrible piles, sorriness and itching down below? It is he'll and anusol is no match for this ring of fire!

Enjoy the meal mrs Pinot, Katy have the flexi sig as things can take off and change

I used metenium nappy ointment down below when sore from UC. It worked really well and I figured if it was safe for babies it was safe for me.

I dont have any get up and go when I have a flare up. I'm really not sure how much of that can be blamed on steroids, whether taking them or not taking them. Basically if the colitis is better I feel better if it isn't I dont.

Thats good you could walk a mile oldbag- its a long time since I was able to reliably do that without needing the loo

Long-term steroids have all sorts of side-effects - cheery little site. One of our dogs has a recurrent autoimmune condition and needs to take courses of pred for it, and several times after a long course she's gone into renal insufficiency and been close to kidney failure, although thankfully so far it's been reversed with a few months on a renal diet every time. They're not something you want to mess with. They're all tied in with your adrenal glands and the way your body responds to stress and infection, and they can cause glaucoma, osteoporosis, peptic ulcers....all sorts of fun stuff.