Meet Rachel:
I have had UC for 14 years now. I have had good, remission times and bad flare up times. My disease is located on the left side of my colon and has been diagnosed as mild with a couple of moderate patches.
Some more about Rachel:
I am from the UK and enjoy running, swimming and yoga 3- 4 times a week. I am a total foodie and love trying new cuisines. This is something that has had to take a back seat whilst getting my flare under control :(
Her Current Colitis Symptoms:
1-2 BM per day
loose, bloody stools with mucus
very mild left sided abdominal discomfort
General noisy colon noises!
Allopurinol & Azathioprine Combo – Who Else is Doing This?
I was diagnosed with UC at the tender age of 18. I had a pretty bad five years where I had flare up after flare up but they always seemed to be controlled well by Prednisolone and Asacol.
I had 7 wonderful remission years and then I suffered a miscarriage that brought back the awful symptoms again.
I was again in remission throughout my pregnancy but post-birth I have been having flare ups on/off. I have now been suffering from a flare since March and everything that worked before has stopped :( Even the prednisolone took about three weeks to kick in at a high dose. Anyway I was put on azathioprine (Imuran) and after three and a half months on that, the doctors realised I was not metabolising the drug correctly and so have added a drug called Allopurinol to the mix, which I started taking yesterday. Fingers crossed this treatment will work!
Have you heard of the term “you two were made for each other”?
Well my husband and I truly were
as we both suffer with UC
which we did not know
about each other when we met!
He has not been in complete remission for a while and is currently on Asacol. However his disease is currently limited to the rectum and sigmoid. So we are both aware of each other’s symptoms and the emotional and physical drain of the disease. However e is a little better at dealing with it than me :( My parents are very supportive but you can’t really understand the pain of this disease unless you have it.
I get worried about eventually needing surgery, even though my disease is mostly mild and my symptoms are not too bad even in a flare. I just think that my body seems to reject medication after I had the baby and I am running out of options.
I am still in the process of getting my head around dealing with the disease. I feel that I need to make my mind strong before I can tackle the other issues. But taking one day at a time at the moment and trying to keep my head above the water (even though there are days I feel like drowning!)
Currently on:
- Asacol 4.8mg per day
- Imuran 50mg per day
- Allopurinol 100mg per day
- Greens Raw Superfood
powder daily (really helps) - Renewlife Probiotic
Medications History:
Asacol worked wonderfully in the past but is not helping me much now.
Pentasa granules and Colazol mesalamine tried and failed.
Azathioprine 125mg – failed – not metabolising properly and liver was getting close to becoming toxic. however I did notice a reduction in symptoms.
Allopurinol added as of yesterday – this should help me metabolise the Azathioprine correctly and get me in to therapeutic range without making my liver toxic. Hopefully this will work!
written by Rachel S
submitted in the colitis venting area
Fourteen years of living with ulcerative colitis, over those years Rachel has had periods of long remissions as well as colitis flare ups. She’s from the United Kingdom and is very active, running as well as yoga and swimming.
