Life With Ulcerative Colitis

Nobody wants to go to work with stomach aches and joint pain—or worse, keep a constant eye on the restroom door.

Ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune and inflammatory condition that affects the colon and rectum, can cause all that and more, especially when the inflammation in your colon is left untreated for prolonged periods of time. A damaged colon can also cause weight loss, anemia, or poor vitamin and mineral absorption.

Fortunately, while specialists don’t have a cure yet, they can prescribe medications and help you with lifestyle modifications that can put the condition in remission and reduce your worries about the symptoms.

Read on as our experts at Carolina Digestive Health Associates explain how to increase your quality of life with ulcerative colitis.

Learning about your triggers

While it is not always possible to find a specific trigger, in some sufferers of ulcerative colitis, removing certain risk factors can lead to major improvements in symptoms. These risk factors include:

• Non-celiac gluten sensitivity
• Specific food sensitivities
• Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols
• Smoking cigarettes
• Indoor air pollution

Gluten sensitivity is a common risk factor in many autoimmune conditions and is also frequently found in ulcerative colitis sufferers.

Aside from gluten—which some can be sensitive to—many people may also react poorly to other foods; spicy foods, for example, are often poorly tolerated. 

Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols are also known to raise inflammation by negatively impacting the gut microbiome.

Lastly, smoking cigarettes and indoor air pollution (such as air fresheners, perfumes, and harsh cleaning chemicals) can cause oxidative stress in the body, increasing the chance of a flare-up.

Treating ulcerative colitis

While ulcerative colitis is closely linked to diet and lifestyle—and in most cases, it is—the food you eat is not to blame for what’s going on in your body.

Instead, know your options. By working with a team of specialists, you’ll learn what anti-inflammatories and immune system modulators work best to reduce inflammation and allow your tissues to heal. Keeping the symptoms at bay by combining both medications and lifestyle changes is far less stressful and more likely to improve your quality of life in the long term.

Patients with digestive conditions are often at a higher risk of developing eating disorders due to the desire to control every single factor that may cause a trigger—stressing themselves out and, paradoxically, causing more symptoms. It’s important to know you aren’t alone and that you don’t have to do everything perfectly to achieve remission.

Get help for your ulcerative colitis

Left untreated, ulcerative colitis can become a serious cause of discomfort and may even lead to difficulties absorbing nutrients. If you are experiencing digestive upset, contact us to schedule an appointment at one of our offices in Belmont or Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Our team of experts will help identify the cause of your distress and put together a treatment plan to improve your quality of life.