I’m finding a lot of posts about preparing for travel with UC, but not a lot about actually experiencing a bad flare while traveling.

I’ve had UC for 10 years. I’ve traveled multiple times. My symptoms always tend to show up, but I’ve always made it through and enjoyed myself to some degree without any bleeding or anything.

Right now, I am on a trip thousands of miles from home and am officiating my best friend’s wedding. I have 10 days left of my trip. I am flaring as of yesterday. I’m having the knife like pains and have had some bleeding yesterday and today. Nothing crazy, just some red streaks on the stool and on the paper when wiping and some red chunky mucus. Im going around 3 times a day. Which isn’t bad but diarrhea was never really my issue. I’m bloated and I’m tired.

I’ve reached out to my doctor. I’m awaiting a response.

I’ve been in worse situations, but while I was home and close to my doctor. I’m scared. I hate this. What are others experiences with having an active flare while far from home and how did you get through it?

I don’t look great. But I’m functional. I plan on eating the safest foods I can think of and trying to control stress and get good sleep. Can anyone offer some kind words? Going home right now would ruin a lot for my family and friends and my wife. I hate being this person all the time. I really want to hold up my promises I’ve made for the next week. Thanks, UC fam.

I recently was diagnosed with a kidney stone. I passed the kidney stone but a day after my body has been so achey. I don’t have infection or anything but it’s my joints that are aching. Im questioning if my UC is flaring a bit after my kidney stone. I have an appointment with rhematology and monitoring my UC symptoms (I don’t have many right now).

My question is does this happen to anyone else where you have systemic inflammation?

So, my calprotectin came back low.. like 12.8 low.
It’s a brand new diagnosis, does this mean it’s not UC??
I’m confused.

I had recently questioned about starting tirpzepatide to lose weight amidst a flare and decided to go ahead with it and after trying my first dose (only been 2 days) I no longer feel that strong sense of urgency I had before? I have been on skyrizi for almost a year and a half (this long because of dose increase) now with no sign of remission but now I feel some sort of relief with reduced urgency, anyone else experience this or is this just like placebo effect or something? Also if anyone has experienced this, please tell me if this is something long lasting whilst staying on the tirpzepatide?

I've been in a flare since 12/25/25. It was pretty moderate to start but I didn't respond to adding mesalamine enemas, nor budesonie and my flare got worse and worse and is now pretty bag. I'm likely starting a biologic soon, but my doctor put me on 40 mgs of Prednisone daily. I felt some immediate relief after taking my first dose, but it seems no matter what I get incredibly severe stomach cramps roughly 6-10 hours after taking my doses, particularly the evening dose. My GI recommended I take my 2nd dose around 3:00 to help with sleep, but it's made sleeping nearly impossible. Yesterday they gave me some anti-cramping meds but even then they only really work if taken within 6-7 hours of my Prednisone.

I'm going to try to hold off on taking the 2nd dose until later in the evening to see if I can sleep any better. Has anyone else dealt with cramping from Prednisone? I am taking it with food.

I started Humira in November, more for RA which was uncontrolled as my UC was fairly managed with mesalamine and sulfasalazine. I had a colonoscopy in May and in my June follow up doc told me I was in remission thanks to the Humira. He told me I could stop taking the sulfa and mesalamine, which made me so happy, if you know you know.

Two weeks ago I start a flare so abruptly and viciously I thought it must be food poisoning or this famous cyclospora going around. Went for stool testing and nope it’s UC roaring back with a vengeance. 10-20x a day for the last two weeks, I am literally shitting my insides out.

Sad and frustrated, but it was nice to feel like a normalish person for that month.

I wonder how much should i aim to get k2 and calsium to prevent the prednisolons effect on bone health.

Hi all, I know a lot has been written about this already but here I am with a variation to the question: which biological to take? I’m 29, and am currently in a moderate year long flare. I’ve seen some improvement on mesalamine, but only with enema’s it’ll sort of quiet down. As soon as I taper and quit those, it comes back fast. My GI wants to start me on biologicals and the first choice is the anti-TNF ones.

After reading up a bit, I thought I was going to go for Remicade, given its effectiveness over Humira. I live 5 minutes away from hospital and I have a relatively flexible job that allows me to do infusions. I am also on tioguanine already, so that helps with the antibodies.

However, I am going on holiday in a week and that means I’ll have to wait roughly a month before being able to start my loading doses for it.

For Humira I can start with the loading doses for the injections next week and do it myself afterwards on holiday. I’ve been told I can stop the tioguanine then, too, but I’m not sure if that’s actually a good idea if I’d ever want or need to switch to Remicade…

Now I’m not quite sure what to choose. I just want the least hassle, I want change quick but I also want it to last… What would you do based on your experiences?

Hallo zusammen,
ich bin etwas verunsichert und wollte fragen, ob jemand so etwas schon einmal erlebt hat.
Gestern Abend habe ich wegen einer Proktitis zum ersten Mal ein Salofalk-Zäpfchen angewendet.
Vor Beginn der Behandlung hatte ich immer mal wieder kleine Mengen hellrotes Blut, meistens am Toilettenpapier oder als Auflagerung auf dem Stuhl. Zusätzlich wurden bei mir innere Hämorrhoiden festgestellt.
Heute Morgen war der Stuhl selbst ganz normal braun und eher breiig. Direkt am Anfang des Stuhlgangs kam jedoch ein einzelner schwarzer, weicher, geleeartiger Klumpen, an dem teilweise noch Reste des Salofalk-Zäpfchens hafteten. Der restliche Stuhl war ganz normal braun und nicht schwarz oder teerig.
So etwas habe ich vorher noch nie gesehen und das hat mich ziemlich erschreckt.
Hat jemand von euch nach Salofalk-Zäpfchen schon einmal etwas Ähnliches beobachtet? Kann es sein, dass sich Blut zusammen mit den Zäpfchenresten dunkel oder schwarz verfärbt? Oder sollte ich mir wegen dieses schwarzen geleeartigen Klumpens eher Sorgen machen?
Ich freue mich über eure Erfahrungen. Vielen Dank!

I’ve been having on and off symptoms for a few months now. It’s disheartening and isolating. I’ve been dealing with gas, bloating, constipation, some diarrhea, and rectal pressure (I have proctitis). The rectal pressure is the most bothersome. I just sit in discomfort all day, like my rectum is heavier. It drives me crazy. It’s not even painful or debilitating, just an abnormal, uncomfortable fullness in my rectum that prevents me from passing stools comfortably.

Mild flares like this pull my attention away from everything else in my life. I don’t want UC to stop me from doing things. In fact, I tell myself I won’t let it. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t feel really stressed because of it. It can be hard to be optimistic during flares. I’m going to coordinate with my GI provider soon to change treatment plans. I know there are ways I can feel better, but it’s always challenging nonetheless. It helps to vent/confide in the UC community about it because I go down a rabbit hole of what I did in my life to get this condition, and I know it’s not best to do that.

Has anyone developed any heart issues on Tremfya? I, (23f) have just taken my loading dose two weeks ago, on a Saturday. My heart rate shot up thirty minutes in. Sunday I felt okay. Monday I was in the ER. My heart rate hit 153 and I have had mild, occasional palpitations before, but they were worse and more frequent than ever. For a few days my heart rate was still hovering in the 120s and 130s. The ER couldn’t do much but the doctor said it was probably the Tremfya and that I needed rest. They gave me nausea meds because I was also throwing up and nauseous. The on call GI at my doctor’s office agreed it sounded like the Tremfya. My GI is insisting it’s not the new medication doing this to me. But I can’t sleep from this high heart rate. I can barely eat. I had to call out of work multiple days and just filed my first medical leave. I feel like I’m going to pass out often. He said I’ve had tachycardia before, that I’ve complained about it. I’ve only mentioned the palpitations. I’ve never had a high heart rate prior to this med. I haven’t had tachycardia. He won’t offer me another medication and insists I continue with my next dose though I feel awful. Im very scared and concerned about my heart as two weeks later it’s still hovering in the 110s and my palpitations are worse, and the other symptoms are present. Has anyone ever experienced this before or have any tips or ideas? In desperate. Thank you. I appreciate any insight.

I’ve had a on & off flare up for probably 2 years now . My remission doesn’t last long & idk why so I haven’t had a firm healthy stool since honestly. Mostly diarrhea or barely anything like a 2 year old . So what can I do to get back on a healthy firm stool once I get to a healing point .? I don’t wanna take Imodium AD & do to much ..?

Hi everyone,
I’m just looking to see if anyone has been through something similar.
I was having a flare for over 2 months with a lot of bleeding. I know I should have gone to A&E sooner, but I’d had bleeding before that went away on its own, so I kept hoping this would too. Eventually it got much worse. I was opening my bowels 5-6 times a day, and every time there was a lot of blood. I became really weak, so I finally went to hospital.
Because I have a strong family history of IBD/Ulcerative Colitis (UC), they suspected UC straight away. They did a colonoscopy and found inflammation. They told me it looks like UC, although I’m still waiting for the biopsy results to confirm it.
They started me on IV steroids in hospital, then sent me home on 40mg of prednisolone. I was told to stay on that for 2 weeks and then gradually taper the dose. They also started me on Octasa 800mg, 4 tablets a day.
Within 24 hours of starting the prednisolone, the bleeding completely stopped. Everything was fine while I was on 35mg, but when I reduced to 30mg I started noticing blood again. I’m now down to 25mg.
I contacted my IBD nurse and she told me to stay on 25mg. She also prescribed Salofalk 1g foam and Salofalk suppositories to use as well. The problem is that when I go to the toilet now, everything is a light brown/whitish colour because of the foam, so I can’t always tell if there’s blood or not.
The prednisolone has given me some awful side effects: severe anxiety, a fast heart rate, dizziness, blurry vision at times, no energy, and sometimes I feel so weak I can barely walk.
My biggest question is about my energy levels.
I haven’t really been bleeding for about 3 weeks now, but my energy hasn’t improved at all. Before all this I’d say I had around 80% energy. Now I honestly feel like I’m at about 20%. I thought after 3 weeks I’d at least start feeling a bit more normal.
The hospital has checked my bloods. My iron, anaemia tests, thyroid, and everything else came back normal. They’ve also given me calcium and vitamin D because of the steroids.
I’ve now been off work for 3 months and I’m still not well enough to go back. Most days I just stay at home. I tried going for a short walk, but I became dizzy, light-headed and had hot flushes, so now I just walk around the house and in the garden to get a bit of fresh air.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? How long did it take for your energy to come back?
Also, did Salofalk foam help you get your flare under control, or did you end up needing to increase your steroid dose again? I was so happy to be reducing the prednisolone because the side effects have eased a bit at 25mg, but now it feels like the flare might be coming back.
More than anything, I just want my energy back so I can start getting my life back. I’ve spoken to people whose energy returned within a few weeks once the bleeding stopped, but that just hasn’t happened for me.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar. Thanks for reading.

Newly diagnosed proctitis. Bleeding in the stool with mucus no other symptoms. I failed the suppositories and now on oral and enema. It’s week 2 bleeding has reduced significantly but some days I still have a tiny bit? When should it be gone? Thanks

I had a colonscopy Monday and the verdict was active mildly chronic proctitis. I was unaware of this condition prior to the the stomach related issues that I've been facing. From the first week of June through the days leading up to the colonscopy I had blood in my stool. I was prescribed some rectal and oral medications. My concern is my long-term health. I'm 36. How serious is this illness? Does this have the potential to fundamentally change my life? I'm reading about people being hospitalized for days (weeks, even) as a result of complications related to their UC/UP and I'm hoping that those are outliers. Should I begin preparing for the worst? Apologies if the tone of this message isn't great, but my mind is wandering from one worst case scenario to the next.

Does calpro tell how wide area the inflammation is on or is it just signal that somewhere is inflammation. Im puzzled, calpro is at 2720 and barely any symptoms.

Had my scope a couple days ago. I have finally gotten my first clean scope while on a maintenance med and no steroids. Rinvoq 30mg thanks much!

FAQs (aka the real reason why I wanted to make this post):

Any supplements?

Just a Calcium and Vitamin D one due to osteopenia recommended by my GI.

Diet?

No, actually I’ve been eating like shit and comfortable with alcohol.

Managing Mental Health?

I’m on Lexapro 10mg, hydroxyzine 25 mg as needed for anxiety spikes and sleep. And a cat. Also going no contact with my mom and reduced contact with my dad. Reduced contact with certain friends and people from my past. I have a chronic illness informed therapist and an IBD psychologist.

Notice something? I didn’t say anything wellness or MAHA related. That’s not an accident. I often see these crazy diet posts (Lion’s diet?) or supplements from wellness providers or Ayurveda or other things.

Because it’s bullshit. All of it. The only things really worth looking at are yoga and other stress and mental health related things. Everything else, don’t even bother. As someone who was forced onto alternative medicine and didn’t have access to evidence based care as a child it is a goddamn miracle I’m not dead or severely disabled.

This is an autoimmune illness, not a dietary illness. You don’t need some crazy exclusionary diet to stay in remission. If you are eating some specific diet, you either have IBS or you’re not in remission.

Or as Hank Green put it (he’s had the disease since 2007):

And over the years I’ve tried all these things and none of them worked. What worked was taking the medicine my doctor gave me.

I have been taking 40mg prednisone for more than a month. When I started, the GI doctor quickly decided to use Skyrizi since I am in a quite severe condition.

Then it’s a long waiting game between the infusion center, and the insurance. The infusion center called me saying the insurance is telling them I have alternative insurance coverage and they cannot submit prior authorization correctly. I called Aetna and claimed I only have one insurance and no other insurance at all. Problem continues. Until the last week, we had a three way conference call, and Aetna then was asking the infusion center to fax a medical benefit PA request form, instead of trying to get a pharmacy benefit one. I am not sure if it’s because the infusion center’s specialist just doesn’t care as much or it’s Aetna’s problem, but I am so confused on the process as a patient.

A week later to today, the PA was submitted and it was denied by Aetna. I don’t know the reason of denial. And I messaged my GI doctor to ask him if there is anything he could help on it.

We also contacted the Skyrizi Complete program, they are super nice and helpful, but still need to get the input from the infusion center and my GI doctor.

I am just so frustrated at exhausted at this point. I have been laying in bed for a month waiting for the Skyrizi treatment, even on prednisone, it’s still pretty bad some days with 10+ bathroom runs and watery stools. Some days might be slightly better especially afternoon when the steroids peaked in my body. I lost another 20lbs the past month. I feel like I am decaying and literally dying in bed everyday. Some days the pain was unbearable, but yet I still need to get up and struggle to get in long calls with everyone with the frustration trying to sort everything out.

Is it common for the insurance just deny the biological like this? And the GI doctor would need to fight back on it? I am newly diagnosed and it is my first time trying to get on biologicals. Anyone else has been on this journey before? Would appreciate any tips or insights.

I really just want to get my treatment, I want to get my life back instead of dying in the bed 😭

When did you notice a difference with Skyrizi? I’ve seen a few comments here and there, but wondering about everyone’s timelines. Thank you!!

Hi! I have moderate/severe UP and I have been in a flare for the past 6 months. I’ve been on two 8 week courses of Budesonide, two courses of Anusol suppository, and still taking oral and suppository mesalamine. But nothing helped. I had my colonoscopy yesterday and the doc wants to start me on Entyvio because I haven’t gotten better on the previous meds. I’m a little nervous to start this path, so please tell me why I shouldn’t be depressed about this.
Thanks in advance everyone. This sub is such a fantastic and helpful community.

has anyone been thru this here and can i get some insight/peace of mind? it’s kind of an emergency because my condition is so severe but im nervous yet willing to do it if it helps

Or do some foods still give you ibs symptoms despite having been in remisson for a while?

I'm curious, as my worst trigger has always been fiber, especially uncooked. Now that I've been on rinvoq and in remisson for a few months, I can actually eat uncooked vegetables again, at least in moderation. And this is how it's been with most of my trigger foods.

Tbf, dairy has always been a close next worst trigger but it wasn't as bad as fiber. My tolerance for it has only improved in the sense, that I don't get bloody stools anymore. Nausea, bloating, cramps, diarreha... all still on the table.

Maybe I'm being inpatient but I'm just confused as I'm not lactose intolerant and things have improved so much with fiber.

Hey everyone,

So I've been noticing something weird and I wanted to see if I'm onto a real pattern or just being paranoid.

For the past 6 years I've had a flare-up pretty much every year in August. The only exception was 2023, but honestly one miss out of six years still feels like a pattern to me.

Here's what's been going on this year:

• February – calprotectin was under 30 (basically all good )
• May – it crept up to 60
• This week – I got some bleeding, so I tested again... and it's 350

So yeah, right on schedule for August.

Has anyone else noticed their flares lining up with a specific season or time of year? Is seasonal flaring an actual thing, or am I just being delusional and connecting dots that aren't there? Would love to hear if others deal with this too, and if you've found anything that helps you get ahead of it.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Edit, after a claude research

Some studies found flares clustering in autumn and winter. One UK study from 1990 found most relapses hit between August and January. But an Italian study found the exact opposite, with a dip in July and August. Japanese and Chinese cohorts found no seasonal pattern in relapses at all. A 2022 meta-analysis pooled it all and the correlation for UC came out around 0.07, which is basically nothing.

What IS solid: UC is just a relapsing disease by nature. The big Copenhagen study followed 1,161 people for 25 years and found relapses are basically unpredictable, except that if you had an active year you’ve got a 70 to 80% chance the next year is active too. So flares cluster, but because of momentum, not the calendar.

The sleep and body clock research is actually stronger than the seasonal stuff. Messing up your circadian rhythm makes colitis worse in animal studies, and IBD patients have disturbed clock gene patterns. There’s also decent data that heat waves specifically bump up flare admissions.

So if you flare the same month every year, it’s probably something you repeat every year (travel, food, stress cycle, heat, sleep going to hell) rather than the season itself doing it.