There are many different symptoms that are associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and some of them are more publicly talked about than others.  Fortunately, I frankly don’t care one bit anymore about how crude the topic of stool mucus might or might not be.  One thing is for certain, I definitely remember many periods of time where there was an increased amount of mucus either attached or floating in the toilet bowl during bowel movements and it really freaked me out.  Those were the days before diagnosis, and now, I realize that it is often part of IBS and IBD.

Why is there Mucus in the Stool?

The reason for stools to be often covered or surrounded by mucus is because the intestines and mostly the colon is inflamed.  The inflammation causes tears within the inner lining of the colon and with all these reactions taking place, it can turn into a high amount of mucus forming.  Mucus is always inside of the colon and the rest of the intestines to some degree, but when the immune system is in a very active state, it can lead to an even higher production of this.  Lots of mucus within the stools should not be considered normal, and is often signs of pain and disruption within the gastro-intestinal tract.

If you are currently suffering and feeling abdominal pains, and especially if you are noticing lots of mucus in your stools.  You should probably head to a gastroenterologist doctor and find out if something more is happening to your body.

Bacteria within the colon consumes mucus on a regular basis, but by seeing mucus mixed in with stools and in the toilet floating means that something else is going on.  Don’t be afraid, seek medical attention quickly to resolve your problem.

A few days ago I announced via Facebook that I’d be running a “Prednisone Survey” which was actually just some questions about people’s use of prednisone/prednisolone steroids while fighting ulcerative colitis symptoms.  What I had no idea about was how many people would actually be interested in participating in this sort of survey.  But it makes total sense, so many of us who are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis end up dealing with prednisone as a medication at some point in our life.  As it turns out, there are people from the prednisone survey who have been dealing with Colitis for over 10 years and using prednisone for about half that time! That’s unbelievable to me, I don’t know how they can continue on that medication for so long especially considering the side effects that it has.

Some of the questions from the steroid survey were based on side effects that people noticed and that list is quite impressive.  Many people had very similar if not identical side effects, which was not surprising.  Also, many people noted that the side effects did not always go away as was the case for the overwhelming majority of prednisone users. A select few seem to be still dealing with either the medication or the side effects.  Some women report increased facial hair, others reported rapid weight gain, and many others.

I would encourage anyone to read the full results at IHAVEUC which you can find here:  PREDNISONE SIDE EFFECTS SURVEY.

One thing is for sure, they don’t teach you how to talk about your ulcerative colitis symptoms and how to explain it to others when

fishing during a recent camping trip

you are in a doctor appointment.  So, I thought I’d share some ideas on how I have approached the situation on explaining my disease (UC) to other people either when they have asked me what is wrong with me, or have wondered how my health is.

First of all, back in the days when my colitis was very severe and I was very symptomatic, I was explaining my disease much more often than I am now.  Since I’m in remission due to my diet changes, the need to explain myself does not come up nearly as often anymore.

Here is how I would go about explaining colitis to friends and family and even just acquaintances:

“I have a disease called ulcerative colitis.  Have you heard of it? It is similar to a disease that you might have heard of called Crohn’s Disease.  They are very similar in terms of the symptoms.  Anyways, what is happening is that inside of my colon, there are all kinds of reactions taking place and my immune system is actually attacking itself even which is causing it to cut open the colon’s walls and creating bleeding and cramping and all sorts of bad things.  In my own opinion, I am having these symptoms because there is an im-balance in my gut bacteria.  Too much “bad bacteria” exists which is causing the immune system to respond all the time.  Everybody on this planet has gut bacteria, and most people don’t have any issues like I do because their system is in balance.  But that’s not the case with people who have ulcerative colitis.”
That would be my typical response to people who asked about my disease.  Then of course they would go on to ask, how do you treat your disease Adam…  And I would give them the rundown on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that I follow which has been working well to treat my colitis.

I hope this story helps you out if you are also asked this same question, and I hope you can adapt the story to fit your situation if you like.  Hang in there if you are struggling with your colitis symptoms, it sure can get better, and remission is not impossible.

Whenever I hear of someone who is starting the SCD diet with the goal of putting their colitis symptoms into remission, I get really excited.  And the reason for this is I hope that whoever it is that’s in pain with UC will find relief with this type of treatment like I have.  Unfortunately, I am learning that it doesn’t always work out this way for the other person.  And this is frustrating for me.  And I’m sure it is super frustrating for the person who is dealing with bleeding and pain, and cramping and different medications, and everything else that comes along with active ulcerative colitis.

It’s been almost two years now that I have been following the SCD diet, and not only have I seen its benefits, I have reduced pretty much down to nothing my health costs associated with my colitis.  I don’t count my annual physical exam into a colitis related cost, and that’s pretty much all I have done this year.  I know it’s not easy being on this diet for new people who are starting it for the first time, but with feeling better and getting back to my normal self, it sure has been easy to get used to it once I saw the results.  And, since the results don’t always come right away, and it often takes time, I believe that is where the real issue lies for the majority of people who are not successful with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

People Who Follow SCD But Fail:

Now I don’t know all the details, but I have heard from quite a few people who have failed the SCD.  And it bothers me, I’ve said that before in this post.  But what is the reason for the failure?  Is it that they have symptoms which are too severe that any diet even SCD can’t fix?  Is it because they have something different with them genetically that prevents the diet from helping them?  Or is it something totally different?  I don’t know.

One thing that is for certain is that many of the people who fail to see colitis symptom relief from the SCD diet have not followed the diet during their trial period.  By this, I mean, STRICTLY FOLLOWED the SCD diet rules.  Does this bother me and make me angry, no… well actually YES it does.  I know it doesn’t hurt my physically, but mentally it bugs the crap out of me because by breaking the rules of the diet, or following it only 90% ESPECIALLY when you are starting it is almost like you are NOT doing the SCD diet at all.

Let’s come up with some rules:

#1  The diet is NOT EASY for people who are not used to following a diet.  If you’ve had problems following a diet before, you might not want to attempt this.

#2  If you can’t live without desserts and sweets, and you would rather eat those foods and live with colitis symptoms, don’t attempt this diet

#3  If you have a very hard time controlling yourself when you see a fast food restaurant, of if you LOVE friend food and can’t live without it, again, don’t try this diet

BUT

If you are at rock bottom with your UC, and are facing surgery or other medicine treatments as your next step and you don’t want to do that.  This might be something for you to consider.  Even if you are just dealing with minor colitis symptoms, and are sick and tired of the disease jumping into and out of your life constantly for no reason, this as well might be something for you to try.    Either way, the SCD diet requires 100% attention for quite some time, ESPECIALLY during the early introductory phases.

Well, this is enough of my ramblings, I just wanted to let it out that I’m frustrated when I see people trying SCD and failing intially, and then I learn that they are eating all sorts of foods that are NOT allowed.  And of course then wondering why they are not seeing great results.  I mean come one, you are either following the diet(and that means 100%) or you are not.  End of story.

If after reading all of this you are ready to begin SCD, you can do that:

****** CLICK HERE ******

There is absolutely nothing better than hearing about a previous person who was struck with a horrendous case of ulcerative colitis out of nowhere who is on the road to recovery once and for all.

That is the case for a young man who until just a few months ago, had no idea what ulcerative colitis was, and what the symptoms were.  It all began at the beginning of 2011 when the bloody symptoms of colitis started to creep into his life, all while he was preparing to graduate from college and move on with a career.  In-fact, the symptoms were so bad, that within just a few weeks of being diagnosed, he was back in the hospital taking Remicade infusions to hopefully provide some relief.  The remicade did not help either, and nor did massive amounts of prednisone steroids, so the options were looking very few and far between.  It was either going to take an absolute miracle, or surgery was going to be happening soon.

After losing so much blood and weight, the decision was finally made to have J Pouch Surgery and to remove the diseased colon once and for all.

Within just a few days after the initial surgery, things were already starting to feel much better.  Not everyone has a great successful colon removal surgery, but it is very possible, and you will definitely be happy with your decision to have your colon taken out once your symptoms are gone.  As the J Pouch procedure is somewhat complex, all patients must go through a few different surgeries before everything is complete, but it is quite possible to be living a perfectly normal life in not too much time at all.  A very successful ulcerative colitis surgery is happening as we speak and you can read more about it here: http://www.longtermsolar.com/solartac-bringing-new-solar-technologies-to-colorado/

For all of the patients who are testing out different medications to help and treat their ulcerative colitis symptoms, there might come a time where you are prescribed Remicade.  This is a very strong immune suppressing medication that is often prescribed to UC patients when other medications like steroids, and Asacol, Colazal, Sulfasalazine and several others are not helping.

After taking a remicade infusion, it is administered much the same way as other infusions and chemotherapy drugs, you very well may notice positive affects within just hours or a few days.  Other patients it takes several days to notice positive effects from Remicade.

For another group of patients who use Remicade, there are no positive affects and remicade does not work on their ulcerative colitis.  This group of patients often visits with a gastroenterologist who will talk about other treatment options, a common treatment at this point is called Humira.  This is another immune suppressant which works in a similar way as Remicade.  Some patients who do not have good luck with Remicade have better luck with Humira.

At this point though, everything is going to depend on the patient’s symptoms of colitis.   If the patient is very severe with their symptoms and is feeling horrible and there is a fear from the doctor that the colon might rupture, there is always a possibility of having surgery.  And, this possibility is not a negative one.  In-fact, most patients who do have surgery to remove all or part of their colon are so happy afterwards, they wish it happened long before.

One other option that has not been talked about yet is a much more simple option.  It is the use of a radically different diet to treat the ulcerative colitis symptoms.  Many people have found that by simply eliminating certain types of foods, they can begin to control the bacteria that is causing the problems within the colon walls.  Eliminating things like breads and alcohol for example along with certain dairy products has proved time and time again useful in treating ulcerative colitis.  You can read more about these types of diet options at http://ihaveuc.com/the-diet.

Lately I have been getting much better at detecting signs and symptoms of my ulcerative colitis.  Now I should mention right away that I am medication free for about two weeks now, which I am so pumped about.  But I want to talk about eating habits, and in particular fruit within your diets.

I have always been a big advocate of fruit, especially since it can have such great sweetness.  I always have been drinking a home made morning smoothie almost everyday for quite some time now, about one and a half years.  What I am beginning to notice is that when I eat an extra large amount of fruit, lets say an entire freshly cut up pineapple(like I am known to do) there is always a chance that later on that day or the next day I can see how my stools will start to become less formed.  I am so happy that my ulcerative colitis symptoms are very close to remission, and I want to keep things that way.  But, I am afraid that excessive amounts of fruit are not great, and even may be getting the gut bacteria in my colon all riled up and out of control.

So, my solution to limiting fruits ability to act up in large amounts is pretty simple.  I have decided to limit my intake of fruit.  If on some days I notice that I am potentially starting to show signs of looser bowel movements or an extra time or two to the bathroom, I simply skip fruit for the next 24 hours and it seems to do the trick.  Nothing too scientific here, just doing some simple food elimination to help out my ulcerative colitis.  Let me know if you share this thought with yourself.

It is pretty difficult to say there is a standard situation for anyone who is getting ready to try a new medication to treat ulcerative colitis.  With Remicade, that is definitely true as well.  In reviewing and looking at all of the different stories from people living with UC and also taking remicade to control symptoms, there are so many different outcomes.  Many people who I follow say that Remicade was the wonder drug for them and it helped them finally achieve remission from their UC.  Other people have mixed results and yet other people do not receive any benefit from the drug therapy.

For quite a few ulcerative colitis patients who are using Remicade, one relatively common response is with regards to the timing and requency of the infusions.  Many people say that their symptoms seem to relapse before the are scheduled for their next infusion and that once they get the next infusion things get better again.  Some people in the medical community believe that patients build up an immunity to Remicade and that is why the benefits are sometimes not forever.

If you are one of those types of patients who is having symptoms re-occur in-between infusions, you should definitely let your doctor know.  There might be something they can do to speed up the frequency of treatments which just might help you avoid the feeling of a new ulcerative colitis flare up taking place.

Back in the early days after my Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis, I was getting ready to take a ton of different drugs to help treat my disease.  I surely had no idea of the long list of medications that I would eventually try, and I also had no idea how long each one would be in the trial phase either.

When the months kept on moving along and the “current” medication wasn’t proving useful for me, I found myself prescribed Humira for my colitis symptoms.  I must admit, my memory is a little bit foggy, but I definitely had some joint pain which might have been arthritis problems previously, but it was very minor and nothing that restricted my upper body movements.  That would all change pretty quickly after starting to take the Humira injections.

It was just a few weeks into the medications that my joints in my upper body and mostly my arms and shoulders and chest became so inflamed that it was very hard and painful to move at all.  I felt like I was not just walking but living on eggshells all the time.  One wrong movement could send me into some pretty severe pain.  It was only the Vicodin pain medications which gave me relief from this.  And of course all along my UC symptoms were raging on pretty nasty as well.  What used to be a simple task of going in and out of the bathroom for my one of many bowel movements each day was now a majorly painful task to complete.

It was a very strange time in my life.  Trying to fight off one auto-immune disease and then realizing that you are actually fighting off arthritis which is another similar auto-immune disease is tough.  I wish the Humira had helped my symptoms more, but in the end, I decided along with my gastroenterologist doctor to stop the medication completely.   I think it was a good decision, who knows what I would be writing about if I continued.

Some related links:

Humira posts

Joint Pains with UC

I wanted to write a post about how things are changing for me right now in terms of bowel movements and toilet use.  It is not the most beautiful of ulcerative colitis topics, but important none the less.  What is happening feels to be part of the healing process.

As I’ve reported earlier, I am coming out of a flare up, and currently in the final stages of tapering off prednisone steroids.  I’m now down to 2.5 mg per day of prednisone which is going to be my final dose before stopping completely.  I started at a peak of 15 mg per day back the first week of January and every week or two dropped the daily dose by 2.5mg.

Lately, my poops have been very hard when using the bathroom which is great, but I’ve noticed more mucus around the stools sometimes compared to prior weeks when the stools were less formed/hard.  Why this happens is still a mystery to me, but I’ve read that the colon produces mucus to act as  a protective layer for the inner colon walls.  In a few places I’ve read that this production of mucus might actually increase when the colon is fighting off things.

So my overall question is, how many other people see increases in the amount of mucus around their formed/hard stools when you are coming out of an ulcerative colitis flare?  And, do other people find it a bit strange to be seeing mucus when the bleeding is almost completely gone or gone and you are starting to gain weight and feel normal after a flare up?

In Summary, I am not concerned with the mucus, I can remember seeing it a while ago when I was coming out of another flare, but up until now I’ve never really tried to investigate how it is with others, and if this is “normal”.  Thx