My Life with UC – One Day at at Time

meet Sheila:

Married with three daughters. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2004 and have struggled with on and off flares before and after. I am currently talking Lialdo 4 tablets once a day. I was on Asacol for years before. I also take psyllim everyday. Most of the time this combination works, but sometimes I will have a flare that can be relentless.

some more about Sheila:

I am from Florida and getting outside when it’s nice and warms, pretty much all of the time lol, really helps me feel a little better when i am experiencing a flare. I work in education, so at times my job can be demanding which I feel agitates my condition.

Nevertheless I try to stay strong and keep going because if I don’t I tend to feel like a prisoner in my own body.

I am a Christian and my prayers go out to all who suffer from this relentless disease.

Symptoms:

I am currently having a flare, lots of bloating, stomach discomfort, etc.

My biggest issue is trying not to fall onto a depression.

My Life with UC – One Day at at Time

Being a wife and mother and living with UC is one of the most challenging experiences that I have ever had. Sometimes I feel so guilty when all I can do is lie in bed while my family tries to carry on and not disturb me. I have missed events, including family outings as a result of flare ups. My daughters are in their late teens now, but when they were younger I had an episode that put me in the hospital for seven days. Thay was one of the most sad times for me. They were so little and they had no idea nor the capacity to understand what was happening. I am grateful to my husband for taking such good care of them. My youngest daughter was not even two years old when I began having problems with ulcerative colitis, at this time I had no idea what was going on and being so young and naive, I waited for nearly a year before I actually went to go see a Gastro doc. I went through the preliminaries with him, bloodwork, talks, etc., and finally the colonoscopy. I can remember being so terrified. The only thing I could think of was CANCER!! Of course when all was complete, he told me the diagnosis and the extent to which my colon was effected. I was 24 years old, three very small children, and absolutely NO idea what was going on inside of me. For years I took my medication haphazardly until I ended up in the hospital with bleeding so out of control, I was evaluated for a blood transfusion, I had lost nearly 35 lbs in about two weeks. I was so afraid of what would become of me. Since then, and with a very serious and scary talk from my doc, for whom I have a great deal of respect, I am always consistent with my meds and I am also anemic for which I am on iron therapy and cbc checks regularly.

One day at a time is all that I can say. Please take your meds faithfully regardless as to whether you feel like they are helping or not. Also, please stay connected with your doc. Keep up to date in your colonoscopies as well.

I am so happy to know that there is someone out there who has connected those of us who struggle with this monster. I love my husband and my children dearly, but I could never expect them to understand how this really is!!

written by Sheila

submitted in the colitis venting area