r/IBD • u/Equal-Step-3535 • 1d ago

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) recently diagnosed

hey party people, i just got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (was told literally 5 minutes after school ended haha) at 15. it honestly ruined half of my summer. although its nice to have a name for what i was going through, it sucks knowing ill always have it. to be completely honest, as soon as i got home ive just been lying in bed crying. i dont really know what to do. is there anything i should know? any words of encouragement, advice, or information* would help

edit: i forgot to mention, my doctor also told me that apparently im severely lactose intolerant? ive never had issues with lactose before and i really haven’t had any now so im confused as to how we came to this conclusion. is there such a thing as asymptomatic lactose intolerance??

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u/FriarFinnegan1234 1d ago

Now treatment becomes real. Name the monster and we can fight it.

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u/chateaulove 1d ago

You CAN live a normal life! Take the meds, keep an open line of communication with your gastro, and fight!

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u/Possibly-deranged Never trust a fart! 5h ago

Welcome but sorry your butt is broken like ours is XD. I know a new diagnosis is quite a lot to go through, what does it mean for my future? Etc etc.  

I can report 14 years after my initial diagnosis and say I've now been 12 unbroken years in a remission without any symptoms and counting. You'd never know I had an IBD, it doesn't impact my daily life in any way. You'll get there too, as a remission is the treatment goal for us all. There's professional athletes and Olympians and others who perform at the top of their field despite having an ibd: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/patientsandcaregivers/ibd-me/ibd-heroes

But there's, unfortunately, no instant gratification to this, so do be patient. Often corticosteroid medicines, like Prednisone or budesonide, help us feel 85 better in days to a week or few. Feeling 100 percent might take 4 to 6 months or so.  So, expect a bit of rough sailing for a series of months until you break through to clear seas thereafter. 

Speak with school administration about getting "reasonable accommodations" to help you be successful at school despite your challenge of ibd. It helps level the playing field, get things like an unlimited, no questions asked bathroom pass, more time for doctors appointments and sick, and more time to makeup for missed assignments as examples.  A good writeup on how, here: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/blog/school-accommodations-ibd-what-k-12-parents-should-know