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Teen with UC

Posted , 8 users are following.

millmillx
millmillx

Hello everyone!

I am 18 and have been diagnosed this summer after a very stressful 2 months of bloody diarrhoea around exam time. Since the diagnosis and treatment, I have been feeling really down and gained loads of weight and have had terrible mood swings.

Is it just me or can this disease have an effect on your mental state?

And also has anyone found a link between stress and flare ups?

1 like, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • gabe99
    gabe99 millmillx

    Posted

    I think stress is often the trigger for a flareup.  I had my first encoutner with UC at 25 brought on by a seemingly hopeless and unbearable family situation.  After a few weeks in hospital and meds I got better.  This was many decades ago.  After getting better I read up on UC and found the linkage to stress.  (No internet then.).  I resolved not to let this upset my life so I began to practice relaxation exercises for maybe fifteen minutes a day.  I'd lie down, close my eyes and go through a kind of ritual, saying, and actually doing it as I said itover and over - "relax your toes", relax your ankles" "relax your feet" etc all the way to my head.

    Now I don't know if this actually helped or maybe it was a positive attitude or I was just lucky, but UC was not a factor in my life after that.  I tried to limit stress in my life and continue to try to remember to relax on a daily bases.  I had a long and satisfying career, married and had two kids (I'm a man). 

    So I just want you not to despair as you may not experience many problems once this initial flare is resolved and that yes, stress is often a factor.  You should read up on relaxation techniques and do what you can to minimize stress in you life and also to try to take control of your situation rather than have the situation control you.

    Good luck!

    • millmillx
      millmillx gabe99

      Posted

      Thank you very much for your reply and sharing your experiences, I will definitively take your tip and look up relaxation techiques. 

      And good luck to you smile 

       

  • louise84858
    louise84858 millmillx

    Posted

    Hi my son was diagnosed with uc at the tender age of 10 , he is know 14 and I've got to say copes with it great. When he was first diagnosed with uc he was put on steroids and mesalazine but after a week on the steroids the he ballooned but had been told this was normal and the weight would return to normal when he stopped the steroids ( and it did by the way ) but after a very short while he became very depressed and one morning told me that he would like to jump of a very tall building , I phoned his specialist nurse and was told that this was a reaction to the steroids and that I we needed to get him off them asp so we began to reduce them ,as can't just stop taking them . As soon as he finished them he started to feel mentally better , I'm telling you this as this may be the reason you are feeling this way and that you should mention it to your doctor as there is alternative steroids you can take ( only problem there not oral if you get my drift ) As for stress , yes this can bring an attack on but I have found by talking to other uc sufferers that all of them are different , my son was under no stress at all but I do try to reduce any stress I've also found that salty foods are not so good for him and he also has a lot off iron in his diet , I'm not saying all this is right for you but it can't harm to give it a try 

    good look x

    • millmillx
      millmillx louise84858

      Posted

      Thank you very much for your reply! 

      I think I am going through exactly what your son went through. I have been on a 2 month course of steroids which overlapped with an addition of mesalazine but as soon as I came off the prednisolone I flared up again but it was around practice exam time so i dont know if it was stress or it was a coincidence. So i was put on another 2 months of steroids (1 month of which I have been back home for Christmas and was very relaxed) and as soon as i came back to uni, i flared up pretty much the next day. Doctors seem to dismiss the idea of stress causing anything though. 

      I'm glad to hear your son got better and hope that all is well now, It must have been even more difficult for him, being so young. Best of luck to him x 

    • louise84858
      louise84858 millmillx

      Posted

      Doctors seem to dismiss anything that is not directly connected to your flare up but keep telling them every sympton you get as they will listen in the end as for uni there are things they can do to help , go to http://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/ they have a guide to schools that you can print of and take to uni you are also entitled to extra time in your exams as uc come under the disability act , simple things can help you get your life back eg my son was given a toilet pass at school he just had to show it to the teacher and could go with out asking , this relieved the stress and worry of going the toilet in lessons and asking all the time , since he has had this he has never had to use it as the stress has been illuminated .
  • millie1986
    millie1986 millmillx

    Posted

    Hi I'm sorry you have had this news

    I really do think your mental state can change I go from being happy to anxious

    As for the weight gain this could be a side effect of the medication you are on

    Good luck x

    • millmillx
      millmillx millie1986

      Posted

      Thank you very much for replying although I am sorry that youre going through this aswell. 

      I didnt realise how much a bowel disease can affect you mentally. Because I have become a completely different person. I hope I will be able to come off steroids soon and hopefully lose the excess weight. 

      Good luck to you too x 

    • millie1986
      millie1986 millmillx

      Posted

      I have two appointments one scheduled in feb with a led gastroentrist nurse and the other 8 weeks with the surgeon and ive to take a urine sample!!i was upset thinking why do I need to take a sample.. Why 8 weeks between my appointments!! But I am now realising it will most likely to check inflammation levels and see how im getting on with my meds!g

      I just het upset because I do t know about you but I was basically gave a leaflet called "crones and colitis"and told "read it" this was right after my flexible signoscopy! I asked the nurse to explain what it was and she just said its all in the leaflet!!no one understands what this is.. However if you say crones then people are sympathetic??

      I think you need to surround yourself with positive people and talk about your feelings!! Don't bottle it up because it won't make you feel any better.. Trust me!!

      It's a shame your putting on weight.. Can you not express your concerns and see if thy can put you on another medication?

      I am also on mezaline but still bleeding.. I am just completely fed up.. Even if I pass wind sometimes there's blood!! It's horrible!!

      BUT!!! It could be aloy worse and I just keep telling myself that

      Lots of love to you xx

    • millmillx
      millmillx millie1986

      Posted

      So sorry about the late reply. I'm very sorry to hear how you've been uninformed by the staff, it's very unflorifessional of them. I was very fortunate and after my flexible signoscopy the nurse I spoke to has had UC for 20 years. She knew what I was going through and explained everything in detail and empathy. However I have now moved away to university and the doctors/nurses aren't as informing as they were back home. I was prescribed an enema without any explanation of how/how much i had to apply.

      Thank you very much for your advise I am tryin my best but I'm just finding everything very stressful at the moment. I have been feeling okay about 3 weeks ago and I was told to half my dose of prednisolone when that happens but now back to square one.

      I hope you find the right medication soon, and feel better. Thank you agai. Keep us updated.

      Best wishes! Xx

  • jon13689
    jon13689 millmillx

    Posted

    Hi Millmillx

              Anyone can come down with this I Do symphaise with this my wife suffers with it i support her the best way i can.

    I hope you are getting help with this from the right people, keep in touch with everyone on this sight you will get plenty of advice from others who are suffering the same as you chin up mate

                                     Jon and Marie 13689

  • cee97495
    cee97495 millmillx

    Posted

    Your mental state can change a lot, and YES, I try my best not to get stressed, there's a relationship between stress and flare ups, unfortunately
    • millmillx
      millmillx cee97495

      Posted

      I have noticed that when it gets to exam time i flare up really badly. But the doctors dismiss that and blame it on my diet, which hasn't changed since not flaring up.
  • sheila91262
    sheila91262 millmillx

    Posted

    Hi, My son was diagnosed with UC in Nov 2013 and unfortunately did not respond to medication well long term and ended up in hospital as an emergency. The one thing I would recommend to anyone with UC or Crohns is get a GP referral to St Marks Hosp London or John Radcliffe Hosp Oxford. They are the best in the country and it is important to be treated as an individual as the docs out there dont always know the mostupto date  treatments. My son has had surgery now and is disease free but it wasnt by choice. He never felt stress ever, not until he got this disease! Take B vitamins for the side affects from meds and educate yourself on avoiding DVTs, as the disease causes DVT to be more likely. Good luck.
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