Ulcerative Colitis and BMI of 12

[HermioneMakepeace]

Hi, I am posting on behalf of a friend. She suffers from Ulcerative Colitis. She has a flare up every few months. She is having a particularly bad run at the moment due to a lot of stress in her life. She is hardly eating and her BMI is 12.

Does anybody hear know anything about UC and have any tips for things that might help? She is on meds, but they are not working and the hospital are saying there isn't anything more they can offer.

Thanks.

Wow this thread has pissed me off. As someone with ulcerative colitis it angers me when people compare our symptoms to having an ED. My symptoms were exactly the same as your friends with the nausea, bleeding and not wanting to eat. Oh and the lovely diarrhoea.

First things first she has the official diagnosis now you can move on. She needs at best to see a dietitian who will recommend the best food or build up drinks for her. She also needs some steriods as that will definitely help with the nausea and the bleeding.

The anti sickness meds should be upped depending on the dosage but check with the doctor first.

Has she got a gastroenterologist consultant, IBD nurse and a dietitian? If not I would demand referrals . That’s the start in my opinion doctors don’t know anything about the condition and I’ve had the condition Over 10 years.

Wow this thread has pissed me off. As someone with ulcerative colitis it angers me when people compare our symptoms to having an ED.

Yeah I bet it has. It’s pissed me off too.

It’s interesting you say that steroids help with nausea. I didn’t know that.

@HermioneMakepeace

Wow this thread has pissed me off. As someone with ulcerative colitis it angers me when people compare our symptoms to having an ED.

Yeah I bet it has. It’s pissed me off too.

It’s interesting you say that steroids help with nausea. I didn’t know that.

Yeah I didn’t know it either until I got out on them for my nausea. Steroids are commonly known to be used for nausea in people that have chemotherapy and other conditions. They can cause nausea aswell but in mine case they worked.

Steroids caused nausea for me.

So if her GP confirmed colitis (not ulcerative?) is she under an IBD nurse? That is the person you need to speak to about her IBD medication. The GP will never be the one to dispense it without a consultant first prescribing.

Still no answer about the colonoscopy?

She’s lucky she has you supporting- but it’s important you push her in the right direction for support.

www.drugs.com/sfx/mesalamine-side-effects.html

Also- please read the side effects for Mesalamine used to treat UC (usually as Asacol) and listed on there is anorexia.

Not anorexia nervosa- anorexia.

It’s not an insult- or looking to downplay the symptoms- but entirely logical that having a condition where food feels like the enemy you can develop an aversion to food.

No one suggesting it was a possibility was trying to be rude about your friend.

And I know I’m repeating myself- but if she has UC and it isn’t being treated, what you need to start with is a colonoscopy to discern how far up her colon the disease has spread.

A GP can't diagnose UC, it has to be confirmed by a large and small bowel colonoscopy. Also if she is regularly flaring then she should be on a minimum maintenance dose of an ASA, steroid or immunosuppressant. Have you spoken to her IBD team who she would have been referred to after confirmed diagnosis?

Are you sure she has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and not just colitis (general irritation of the bowel)?

@UsernameN0Tavailable that’s a really good question. I didn’t realise there was a difference.

Agree, there’s a big difference between ‘colitis’ and UC.

Yeah it’s good to find out what type she has.

There’s numerous types of colitis,

Ulcerative colitis.
Pseudomembranous colitis.

• Ischemic colitis. ...
• Microscopic colitis.

Ulcerative colitis is the only one not caused by an infection and more severe then the others.

To be honest the symptoms are pretty much all the same it just depends on the type and what part of your bowel is affected.

Again this is why she needs a gastroenterologist to confirm and run tests.