I've reached the one month mark!
Jan 1: Could feel things slipping.
Jan 12: Came back from India; slept for a marathon 22 hours (apparently it's possible!) after 3 months of super fun but hectic work
I started taking a couple minutes each day to jot down things like dates, foods, symptoms etc. after my doc asked me to some years ago; I have a Superhuman ability to forget UC related stuff by the next day so notes are helpful.
The following touches on symptoms, so if not interested in TMI, please stop reading!
The following touches on symptoms, so if not interested in TMI, please stop reading!
Timeline:
Jan 1: Could feel things slipping.
Jan 13: Literally woke up with a flare; within two days, the flare became a ❷ on the UC scale; could not walk due to constant pain or stand for more than a minute; fetal position was pretty much status quo (a first, though last year's Lialda triggered flare was similar: Jan 12, 2010 - started Lialda; Jan 13, 2010 - sharp stomach pain)
Feb 19: Able to walk downstairs for a few minutes
Feb 21: Tried to go out; didn't last five minutes - rushed back home, severe pain
March 5: Successfully went to Target for an hour
March 7: Able to sit with friends (yay!) for about an hour - on and off pain
March 10: Started the intro diet
March 11: Pain gone!
March 14: Pain back
March 15: Went off intro
March 11: Pain gone!
March 14: Pain back
March 15: Went off intro
March 16: Pain mostly gone, able to go out pretty easily; low energy; great gut
April 10: No pain, good energy
Drugs: Sulfasalazine – 4 3x/day (always take a folic acid supplement if taking the sulfa)
I was not running back and forth to the bathroom as frequently as in the past (worst: ~20x/day - it SUCKED). Symptoms have changed over the years. In high school, it was midnite bathroom runs (12am..1am..2am..3am..4am...5am..), urgency. In college, lots of bleeding:( After college, did SCD, got to remission. After I stopped SCD a couple yrs ago, the worst was pain.
Through the flare, my emotional status was A+okay, all things considered. Before the diet ~ 3.5 years ago, I had nothing to rely on... and so no hope. Also being at home is so much less stressful than being on my own and sharing a bathroom. This flare had subsided quite a bit by the time I started the diet on March 10, so no drastic changes since then, but I do have more energy and pain is not a symptom any more - a huge relief! I felt best on the intro. Will be going to acupuncture more frequently, twice a week, as that will speed up progress as well.