Who Has Diabetes?

If you have ulcerative colitis (UC) then you know there is a world of a difference from something like irritable bowel syndrome. IBS has similar symptoms to an inflammatory bowel disease like colitis, but IBS is a disorder and not a disease, and the symptoms are not as strong and the pain levels are usually not as high. Any form of colitis, ulcerative or otherwise, will produce swelling through the colon, causing bowel problems with defecation and bleeding from the rectum. Treatment for colitis will usually requires antibiotics of some sort in order to reduce the swelling levels.

The general goal of treating UC is to put the disease in remission, as a 100 percent “cure” outside of surgery does not really exist. Generally, anti-inflammatory drugs are used to reduce the swelling and make the ulcers disappear. Because each person’s case will be different, it is important for the doctor treating the patient to prescribe medicine that will best help the individual fight the disease, reduce flare-ups when the symptoms go into remission, and maintain a high quality of life with minimal side effects.

Treating UC is an ongoing process. As your body will change and adapt to the treatment, the method of treatment will change too. People with UC tend to have additional health issues as a result of their illness and so the trick is identifying the symptoms early on and then choosing the best types of medicine to deal with the symptoms. Once the right type of treatment has been identified and the symptoms go into remission, then it is simply a matter of maintaining regular preventative measures to ensure a reoccurrence does not happen.

If you have an advanced case of ulcerative colitis and the symptoms are getting worse and worse, and your pain levels are always high, then surgery might be the only real option left to try to stop the disease. This surgery, however, is quite invasive as it requires the complete removal of the colon. A portion of the colon could be removed, but there is a high risk that the disease will come back and continue to affect the rest of the colon. If medicine is not helping, then a colectomy may be the only option.

If you have ulcerative colitis, then you should be prepared for a long fight. If you are lucky, through the use of antibiotics, you should be able to keep the swelling down and minimize the times when you have a flare-up. If you are not lucky, then you should really prepare for surgery to stop the disease. The main problem with a colectomy is the chance of infection that may occur with the substitute colon. If your pain levels are high enough though, then it may be a chance that you are willing to take.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed end panic attacks as well as tips on the various anxiety attack medications available at anxietydisordercure.com.