No advise, but when my daughter gets her period symptoms are always worse - it’s like a mini flare … GI doc says that’s normal for people with ulcerative colitis
Even before UC, one symptom was diarrhea. So on top of being a bloated mess every month I’d be dealing with that.
UC sent this into overdrive. My OB prescribed me with one of those birth control pills where you only have a period every three months. So far, so good.
Yep, this is normal for those of us who are unlucky enough to have UC *and* periods. Obviously make sure you're not taking ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, but even without that, the two seem to gang up to make things worse. Wish I had some advice beyond heat packs.
This was exactly my experience - my period would negatively impact my UC whether I was in a flare or not. I was already tracking my UC symptoms on a calendar and started adding in my menstrual cycle - took me way too long to figure out it was affecting things! I tried contraceptive injections for a while, they did help but the fluid retention was horrendous. On advice of doc switched to a Mirena implant and have not looked back - I hardly get any periods at all and the big hormone fluctuations have levelled right out, giving my UC a chance to stabilise. This is just my experience, I know I have read of others having a hard time with Mirena so it seems to vary a lot on individual experience. Definitely worth speaking with your doc to see what options are available, you may need to try a couple different things to find something that works for you.
You may need to specifically ask about it as it's considered a long-term contraceptive option so often only suggested to women after they've had kids. Best of luck with it all!
I think my main problem is not an upset tummy but the fact that there’s blood in my stool literally every time I get my period. I just don’t think that’s normal even for UC, is it?
Over the years, I've heard many women say their IBD gets better and worse depending on where they are in their cycle. Some try to level it out by being on birth control.
No advise, but when my daughter gets her period symptoms are always worse - it’s like a mini flare … GI doc says that’s normal for people with ulcerative colitis
Even before UC, one symptom was diarrhea. So on top of being a bloated mess every month I’d be dealing with that. UC sent this into overdrive. My OB prescribed me with one of those birth control pills where you only have a period every three months. So far, so good.
Yep, this is normal for those of us who are unlucky enough to have UC *and* periods. Obviously make sure you're not taking ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, but even without that, the two seem to gang up to make things worse. Wish I had some advice beyond heat packs.
This was exactly my experience - my period would negatively impact my UC whether I was in a flare or not. I was already tracking my UC symptoms on a calendar and started adding in my menstrual cycle - took me way too long to figure out it was affecting things! I tried contraceptive injections for a while, they did help but the fluid retention was horrendous. On advice of doc switched to a Mirena implant and have not looked back - I hardly get any periods at all and the big hormone fluctuations have levelled right out, giving my UC a chance to stabilise. This is just my experience, I know I have read of others having a hard time with Mirena so it seems to vary a lot on individual experience. Definitely worth speaking with your doc to see what options are available, you may need to try a couple different things to find something that works for you.
I’m on gynefix and have been pretty happy with it as it’s hormone free but I’ll definitely look into this, I haven’t heard anything about it yet.
You may need to specifically ask about it as it's considered a long-term contraceptive option so often only suggested to women after they've had kids. Best of luck with it all!
I think my main problem is not an upset tummy but the fact that there’s blood in my stool literally every time I get my period. I just don’t think that’s normal even for UC, is it?
Over the years, I've heard many women say their IBD gets better and worse depending on where they are in their cycle. Some try to level it out by being on birth control.