My Remission Journey

I am officially in remission! I was in a flare for 2 years with countless ups and downs, but I am so happy that I have finally made it here. The main things I attribute to my remission are my medication, mental health, and diet. While everyone's journey to remission is different, I hope that learning about my experience helps you along yours.

Medication

Medication was the most important factor for my remission. Other factors like diet and mental health helped stabilize my symptoms while I found the right medication.

The medication combination that put me into remission is Rinvoq with mesalamine suppositories and mesalamine pills. When my flare started in September 2022, I was taking mesalamine pills and enemas, the same combination I had been taking since I was diagnosed in 2018. As my symptoms worsened, I tried prednisone (steroids) to get it under control. When that didn't work, I tried biologics called Entyvio then Remicade. Remicade improved my symptoms, but did not put me into remission. In the end, I found relief with a combination of Rinvoq and mesalamine suppositories. For some reason, my body tolerates the mesalamine suppositories much better than the enemas.

The whole medication process was extremely frustrating and discouraging. It took 2 years of trial and error. Meanwhile, I was dealing with terrible symptoms. One medication that helped me throughout the trial and error process was THC. Every night, I would take THC edibles before bed to help my stomach settle and get better sleep.

Mental Health and Support

When my flare got severe, I got depressed. Besides the nausea and stomach pain, I couldn't leave my house because I was going to the bathroom so much. I also wasn't sleeping much because I was waking up multiple times each night to use the bathroom. In order to deal with my depression, I saw a psychologist who specializes in chronic disease.

Therapy provided me with an outlet to express how I was feeling, gave me new perspectives on my disease, and tools to deal with my anxiety and depression. Now that I am in remission, I still use these tools to hopefully prevent another flare up.

I was also lucky to have the support of my wife and family. They kept my spirits up, but more importantly listened to what I was going through. I needed people to talk with about what I was feeling.

Diet

Diet was key to stabilizing my symptoms while I was looking for the right medication. The three main rules I followed were:

1. Avoidance - I avoided foods that would worsen my symptoms. These included processed sugar, high-lactose dairy, red meat, coffee, raw or cruciferous veggies, and spicy foods. I stopped eating these foods altogether.
2. Smaller Portions - I ate more small meals throughout the day rather than a couple large ones to make it easier for my stomach to digest the food.
3. Slow Eating - I chewed my food well, ate slowly, and drank water between bites.

I relied on homemade meals that were gentle on my stomach and nourishing, like Miso Salmon Bites or Chicken Meatball Soup. I also drank Kate Farms Nutritional Shakes to get my fiber and other nutrients. For sweet snacks and breakfasts, I often made gluten-free zucchini bread and ate homestyle gluten-free oatmeal. I also drank a lot of plain filtered water and sometimes water with low-sugar electrolytes to ensure I stayed hydrated throughout the day.

If you want to learn more about my diet, check out what I eat in a day with ulcerative colitis.

Exercise

Exercise was a smaller factor than medication, diet, and mental health. Mostly because I couldn't exercise when my flare was at its worst. But when I was able to exercise, it boosted my mental health and reduced some of my symptoms.

Staying active was hard when I was in my peak flare. I knew it was important for both my mental and physical health, but my stomach pain was terrible. Usually, most I could do was walk my dogs or some gentle yoga and stretching. While it was uncomfortable, even that little exercise made me feel better.

When my symptoms got less severe on Remicade, I was able to get back to surfing and running. This made me feel so much better and I believe accelerated my gut healing.

Finding Your Own Path

Achieving remission is different for everyone. Some people are able to achieve it through the first medication they or just changing their diet. Others try every kind of medication and eventually require surgery. Once I started flaring, I threw everything at the wall at once. It is hard to pinpoint how much medication, diet, or therapy each contributed, but it was clear that they all helped me.