An ulcerative colitis flare up is a difficult experience to get through. Sometimes, the recovery can be just as difficult. During the two years that I was trying to find a treatment regimen that worked for me, I had a lot of flare ups. There were many times that the week or so after the flare up was almost as bad as the flare up itself.
The first piece of advice that I have for anyone who is trying to overcome an ulcerative colitis flare up is to buy a hemorrhoid pillow. These are sometimes called a doughnut pillow. They work very well for keeping the pressure off of a sore bottom. I use mine all of the time after a flare up. I do not usually carry it out with me. I just try to sit on soft seats then. In the house and in the car, I use the doughnut pillow.
Another thing that I do is to take sitz baths. To do this, you just fill the tub with enough water to cover your bottom. The water should be as hot as you can stand. This seems to help with the pain some. If I am taking a full bath, I will put some Epsom salt in the water. This not only helps with a sore bottom, it also helps with the residual pain from the stomach cramps. It will also help the overall soreness from the constant movement of having to make emergency trips to the bathroom.
Now, sometimes, I find that the hot water just irritates my bottom even more than it was before. If that is the case, I will usually head for the refrigerator. I put a wet towel in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. This is just long enough to make the towel cool but not so cold that it will cause damage.
If the pain in my abdomen is bad, usually from soreness, I will use a muscle soreness patch, such as an Icy Hot Patch. This works really well and can be worn out of the house under your clothes. Just be aware of the smell if you do this. Some of the patches have a strong menthol smell that may be noticeable to others even through your clothes.
Eating again after a flare up is an adventure. During a flare up, I do not usually eat. If I do eat, I only eat things like a slice of bread or other really light food. When I am recovering from a flare up, I have to retrain my stomach to accept real food and larger amounts of food. This usually takes a couple of weeks.
I start out eating easy to digest foods such as soup. I do this for the first couple of days. I increase the amount each time I eat. This gives my stomach a chance to expand some and to relearn to digest solid food.
After the first couple of days, I add some soft foods. What soft foods I add just depends on what I have around the house. Once again, I start slow and work my way up to larger amounts.
After this stage, I begin to add the regular foods that I am used to eating. I do this slowly so that my system is not overburdened. It just makes the transition easier and I am almost certain to not have another flare up right away.
The last suggestion that I have is to do light exercise such as walking. This will help to get your system regulated again. You do not want to do anything that is strenuous. Just take it easy and stop if you get tired or if you feel any pain. If you over-do the exercise, you will use some of the energy that your body needs to help your ulcerative colitis recovery.
The key to recovering from an ulcerative colitis flare up is to just take things slowly with your diet and to treat the residual symptoms any way that works for you. I know that there is no sure fire way to get over an ulcerative colitis flare up just as there is no one way to treat ulcerative colitis. You just have to figure out what works the best for you.
