UC flare. Ugh. Would value your input.

63 year old male. I have UC and PSC. Was diagnosed with UC in 2016. PSC around 2020 I think.
Last colonoscopy in February and he gave me a B+.

Right now I’m on Tremfya (every four week injection) and I also take 100 mg of mercaptopurine every morning.

It’s been a long long time since I had a flare.

Welp. I’m in one now and I can’t seem to get things under control. It started about 3 weeks ago and now it’s getting worse. But…No blood…No urgency…No pain…no cramping. Thank God.
The only thing going on is the watery diarrhea.
But I’m going probably 5 to 7 times a day and it’s always watery and rarely chunky.

The worst part right now is of those 5 to 7 times a day, 2 of those on average are getting me up out of bed in the night to go.

The past week or week and a half, I’ve been really watching my diet. Which in the past was all I needed to do if I felt a coming on. I’d do a low fodmap diet for maybe 3 to 5 days and I’d go back into remission. Everything would settle down. And I’d be back to soft stools or maybe chunky mush…and I’d go maybe 3 times a morning within a few hours of waking up and that would be it for the day.

Well. Not this time. Even the BRAT diet isn’t working.

Back when I was first diagnosed with UC it wasn’t the same. The early years after my initial diagnosis were rough until I got on a biologic that worked. I failed several back then.

When things would get bad back in those days … I’d have to go see my GI and he would give me a drug like budesonide And I’d be on that for a couple of weeks.

What’s the typical protocol these days?. I’m planning on reaching out to my GI today. I need to get another drug going to get this thing under control. It’s exhausting right now.

What drug do I ask him for today?
Any other tips or advice I would really appreciate.

Thanks in advance.

Post Edited (Rusty Barr) : 5/11/2026 7:31:44 AM (GMT-4)

mesaline suppositories and steriod suppositories.
MODERATOR-UC FORUM
female - diagnosed with moderately severe proctitis/colitis/mild diverticulitis
6mp - 50 miligrams
Lialda
Repatha - 140 miligrams
Prolia - 60 mg
Calcium with Vitamin D
Zinc
folic acid



"Fly under the radar" - Dad -
First thing to do (almost always the case) is to get blood tests and stool tests to look for infections and fecal calpro to help determine whether it's a flare on an infection.
I hope your GI suggested stool tests. No bleeding or urgency makes me think it could be something other than a UC flare. Hope whatever this is gets controlled quickly.
50 yrs old diagnosed with proctosigmoiditis 6/13/13
meds- Colazal (generic),75 mg Imuran, Canasa as needed. Allergic to sulfites. Currently gluten/dairy free
I agree that you should get some tests done to see if it’s inflammation or something else. In the meantime you could try a probiotic like Florastor (Saccharomyces boulardii) which may help with diarrhea. I have had flares that started out as only diarrhea (no blood or mucus) but did eventually include the rest, so it’s definitely wise to act quickly.
49 F
Diagnosed UC 2010
Entyvio every 8 weeks since 2018, Lialda, Visbiome probiotic
In remission
Testing for sure...and mesalamine enemas for night and steroid foam during the day. If no infection is going on, it would mean inflammation is into the sigmoid at least...with very mild inflammation. But you need stool testing asap.

Keep us updated...
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MODERATOR - UC FORUM *Heather*