Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and new to this ailment. I am 33 and used to consider myself pretty healthy. My diet has always been what I thought was "reasonable" for an American. I was never under or overweight, though I did start to set records on the scale in my late 20's and lose that college physique. Around that time, I had a couple hemorroids. A little blood when I wiped, an occasional external one. Once, I even had one removed. That hurt like a bastard, and I swore I'd never do THAT again! Anyway, I started to notice blood on the toilet paper again a bit over a year ago. I thought, oh, another hemmoroid, but then I started to notice mucous on my stool. I was on a 3mo work trip abroad and wanted to wait to get back state-side to go to the doc. I was still finding blood, and more of it on my toilet paper when I got back and my GI ordered a colonoscopy. When I found out how much they cost, I cancelled it. I was traveling to my home country, where at a fine clinic, you can have a modern colonoscopy for 1/10th of the cost. So I did that. The doctors there diagnosed me with Unspecific Ulcerative Colitis. By then, I was seeing blood nearly every time when I wiped. I didn't even know what Colitis was! So they prescribed me mesalamine. It worked like a charm! I stopped bleeding within a day or 2. Everything went back to normal, and it was as if I was cured. Well, I ran out of the stuff, and the bleeding came back. So I went to another GI here in the states, and they put me on Apriso (a mesalamine cousin, basically a delayed-release Advil to reduce inflammation in the colon). At first, that worked wonders, but then, the efficacy wore off. Now I'm taking 4 375mg pills per day and my toilet looks like a had miscarriage every time I move my bowels.
When I watched the video of my colonoscopy, I was surprised by how normal everything seemed. It was only at the very end, in the lower colon where I saw some reddening and a bit of blood (very minute amount). But it didn't seem alarming, looking at it. But my symptoms have continued to get worse since then.
Now when I void my bowel, the stools seems to back up, then with a push, rush out, like there was a restriction there. It never comes out slow and steady like before. And when the stool comes, so does the blood. It drips into the bowl, especially when I strain.There is some cramping lately as I void bowels, but only then, and it's not unbearable. Just a bit of cramping, then it goes away. I do sometimes feel a bit nauseated while cramping, and that feels very odd.
Otherwise, I seem to be fine. A while back, I tried Juicing, to give my bowels a rest, in hopes that it'd heal on its own. I lost 15lbs those 1.5 weeks, but I still have fat on me. I can even stand to lose 5lb more. I haven't been losing weight since. No foods hurt me (right away). It's only when I release them that they avenge my gluttony.
Later, I discovered Jini Patel Thompson's "Listen to Your Gut" book and forum. I am currently following her protocols for Ulcerative Colitis: taking the 3 Natren Probiotics (in powder form), taking the Wild Oregano Oil, as well as the Mucosaheal pills. After about a week, I see no results. I'm still on the Apriso. A week or 2 ago, I developed this thing where I cannot pass gas without a bit of liquid coming out first. It's to the point where each passing of gas has to be on a toilet. These wet farts are waking me up at 5am each day for the past week and forcing me to the bathroom. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or drink. When I pass the liquid protion, there seems to be some sediment in it, like dissolved stool and mucous. When I pass the liquid/gas, I feel like there is more, but when I strain, only boold comes, dripping into the bowl. So I stop. After that, I feel fine.
What gets me is that all stories of UC include FATIGUE, DIARRHEA, and CRAMPING. I have none of that. I feel fine. I'm rennovating my home, lifting things after working a full day, waking up early, and going to bed late. My stools aren't liquid, but aren't hard. They're normal, I'd say. And the only cramping I have is just lately, and only when I void my bowels.
So with these symptoms, I wonder if I wasn't misdiagnosed. Maybe I have just a bad case of hemorrhoids or something? I tried showing my video to my GI, and she took the most cursory glance at it before agreeing with the UC diagnosis. I'm still not convinced...