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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/8/2007 10:06 AM (GMT -7)
Hello!  I would like to get an idea of some of the other symptoms people experience with UC.  Excluding the obvious, what other symptoms are considered "normal" on a daily basis?  I am in the middle of a semi-flare---no blood, some d, but I am eating mostly what I want within reason.  I am also having cramping (mild).  Anyway, what about:

  • nausea?  How common is that? 
  • Fever?  Say, 99-100? 
  • fatigue, not feeling rested after sleeping all night
  • lower back pain (kidneys?)
  • general feeling of malaise

I know that having d contributes these symtpoms, but I've never really had a problem with low-grade fever and nausea before. 

Anyway, I was just looking for a rundown of some other symptoms people typically face.

Thanks.

Posted 10/8/2007 12:01 PM (GMT -7)
I rarely have nausea. When I was first diagnosed and was desperately ill, I ran a low fever quite a bit. Fatigue and general malaise is very common. You have an inflammatory response going on, you're not digesting and absorbing nutrients well, you may be dehydrated... all of these things can combine to make you feel pretty crummy. Lower back pain can be caused by inflammation in the lower abdomen spreading to the si joint of the lower spine. Joint inflammation and pain is not uncommon either. As proper digestion suffers, you may notice you develop food allergies and sensitivities you haven't had before.
Posted 10/8/2007 12:07 PM (GMT -7)
I have had every symptom you speak of. nausea is one of my worst symptoms. my Gi prescribed zofran for it, helps alot. fever is a definite sign of inflamation going on..if it breaks 100 call your GI. I would keep close track of your symptoms...how many bms, are they increasing, dizziness, anything...if you notice an increase call your GI. sometimes a flare can sneak up on you..an extra bm here and ther til you are in the bathroom 10 times. You may want to consider rectal meds to nip anything early.

Good luck!
Posted 10/8/2007 12:13 PM (GMT -7)
good post!!

For me
blood
mucous
severe cramping (before, during & right after bm)
lying down seems to increase the cramping and bm's
sleep loss (due to getting up every 2 hours for bm)
nausea
lower back pain (kidneys)
diarreah (sometimes forest green colored - why is that? but better than all blood!!)
small fever (have not taken my temp but do get hot - mabye just the pred?)
tired
forgetfulness (from being too tired and in pain and dealing w/health rather than other things, which is waaay more important but still, I keep on forgetting things and they just don't seem important (they probably are not anyway, so I am not stressing about those..maybe that is good in itself!)

couple of good things....
days seem to be better for me (silver lining, could be constant 24 hrs, right?)
heating pad helping w/cramping when I lie still and do not move (awesome!)
Posted 10/8/2007 12:20 PM (GMT -7)
Snooker, I've often wondered about the back pain...A few times ago when I went to see my GI, I mentioned to him I have kidney pain on occasion...He did a urinalysis and everything looked ok...I thought it may have been the asacol, but he didn't really seemed concerned...I still have it...Its not usually a constant pain, just annoying...Anyone have any feedback on this?
Posted 10/8/2007 12:40 PM (GMT -7)
I get the usually symptoms, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal pain.  I also experience nausea, fatigue, fever, joint pain, and loss of appetite.  No fun!  Take care.

Posted 10/8/2007 12:56 PM (GMT -7)
Thanks so much for the responses! Keep them coming! I think after having been diagnosed with UC, I am now a semi-hypochodriac, wondering if there is something else going on. So many things have some of the same symptoms as UC (even ovarian cancer!), I guess I'm afraid something else will be going on and I may just chalk it up to UC. That's the hypochondriac talking!

about the heating pad, I always wondered if it would be okay to use for the cramping, even though there is inflammation going on.....Do a lot of you use heating pads to ease the cramps?

Thanks again, and again, keep the ideas coming! :)
Posted 10/8/2007 1:56 PM (GMT -7)
when flaring I get all you mentioned plus sometimes I get light headed and sores in my mouth. and I also get really weak.
Posted 10/8/2007 2:09 PM (GMT -7)
Nausea - YES! Some of it could be from my GERD and gastritis as well.

Fever - not usually. Hot flashes though when on pred or Rowasa.

Fatigue - YES, YES, YES! I haven't felt not tired in over four years :(

Lower back pain - yes. Especially when flaring. Then I feel like a huge truck ran over me.

General malaise - not so much. Depression is common with chronic illness. Might want to talk with your doc about this. An anti-depressant might help :)
Posted 10/8/2007 2:25 PM (GMT -7)
Lines in your fiels of vision is my main indicator that i have a flare coming. I remember we talked about this before and the wavy lines was one a few of us had.

Nausea is another and flu like symptoms(aching body, headaches, chills)
Posted 10/8/2007 4:10 PM (GMT -7)
When I have a flare, apart from the usual - diarrohea, blood - I usually just get really, really tired even when I sleep enough. 

Interesting thing I've noticed is that I tend to get a really bad headache (I suffer from migraines) about two days before my stomach gets bad.  (I kept a diary for a while).  In the past I'd have said that stress causes the headache and can also lead to the flare but these days my life is pretty stress free so I don't think it's that.

Posted 10/8/2007 4:13 PM (GMT -7)
I wasn't sure about the heating pad helping the inflammation either, but I had my monthly cramps on top of the uc cramps and started using it b/c I can't take aleve anymore (the only thing that would help my monthly cramps) but for some reason it does help my uc cramps I have no idea why.
Posted 10/8/2007 4:20 PM (GMT -7)
  • nausea?  How common is that?  - oh yes!
  • Fever?  Say, 99-100? - haven't noticed that.
  • fatigue, not feeling rested after sleeping all night   - YES!!!!!!!!!!!  My boyfriend says you are always tired.  Duh!
  • lower back pain (kidneys?) - yes
  • general feeling of malaise - yes
  • kidney stones/infections
  • arthritis pain
  • ovarian cysts
  • headaches
    • Posted 10/8/2007 7:34 PM (GMT -7)
    I only get sporadic bouts of nausea but it never has been much of an issue for me. Nor fever really. When I was first diagnosed then yes, I would have random fevers but I haven't had one in years due to Uc. Fatigue - double yes! Some days I have absolutely no energy, it's horrible! I also get the lower back pain.

    Some of the other goodies I get with Uc are:
    Ovarian cysts (and possible connection of other types of cyst - jury is still out with this one)
    Psoarisis
    Warts (uck!)
    Joint pain
    Eye infections
    Dry eye
    Posted 10/9/2007 8:04 PM (GMT -7)
    I've never had nausea, but I know a flare is coming when I go from hot and sweaty to cold and shivering several times in a day.
    Also had an ovarian cyst that resolved itself.
    But what about the high-pitched stomach/intestinal gurgling that goes on during a flare?? I seriously thought I was the only one with this until I read that post about it sounding like whales talking to each other (totally hilarious, but true!).
    Posted 10/9/2007 8:16 PM (GMT -7)
    Hi there -

  • nausea?   -- Yes, I often feel nauseous, though I have only vomited 3-4 times from it in 11 years. 
  • Fever?  Say, 99-100?  -- I usually will have a low-grade fever, at least initially.  I was around 100.6 or so last week.
  • fatigue, not feeling rested after sleeping all night -- I can never sleep in a flare, so I am exhausted.
  • lower back pain (kidneys?) - YES!! Mine is a weird, throbbing feeling, and I swear it is my kidneys.  I think it always starts after I start taking Prednisone.
  • general feeling of malaise - absolutely.

    • Plus pretty much everything else:

    blood
    mucous - usually this comes prior to the blood for me.  However, I have had almost none this flare which is really weird.
    severe cramping - It sometimes is stabbing and I have to bend over.
    lying down seems to increase the cramping and bm's - Nights stink for me, too.
    sleep loss - getting up every 15-30 minutes
    dizziness - from blood loss, fatigue, drugs, lack of nutrition - I was driving last week and had no business on the road.

    - Kris2336

    Posted 10/11/2007 7:26 PM (GMT -7)
    heylo...

    okay where to start..

    blood
    diarrhea
    cramping
    vomiting while on the can due to pain
    nausea
    feel hot and cold a bit
    general unwell feeling
    arthritis in knees and ankles (from the UC)
    psoraisis
    did i mention lots of pain
    anemia
    fatigue
    when im on pred, i just feel really sick with tummy pain (not the same as the UC gut pain)

    as for heating pad... well in australia the electric blankets for beds lay on the bed itself underneath you rather than being a blanket over the top of you. so i turn that on and lay on it and it seems to help a lot when i go to bed. even in summer i will turn it on to heat up then turn it off. but the heat definitly helps i think.
    Posted 10/11/2007 7:35 PM (GMT -7)
    More of the same here...

    Nausea is HUGE. I throw up while I am on the toilet. Oh the joy.
    Bloody stools..
    Fevers
    Irritable!
    Joint pain
    Tired due to anemia
    Stomach spasms/cramps
    Zombie feeling in general since I dont sleep well on the toilet!
    Posted 10/11/2007 7:37 PM (GMT -7)
    god! arent we a lucky bunch!
    Posted 10/12/2007 12:49 AM (GMT -7)
    I get terrible nausea but I haven't vomited in years. Tums and sleeping are the only thing that help.
    Body aches are the next big one for me- it starts in my fingers and travels through my whole body.
    Fatigue- terrible bouts of this. I have weekends where I sleep 16-18 hours and I'm still tired. At work I have to close my office door and sleep a lot of the time.
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