what qualifies remission?

No Blood
No Mucous
No Cramping
No Spasms
No Fever
No Chills
No D
No C

and all at the same time more or less.

With me being in remission now my BMs and the frequency of them are like they were before I got UC. One solid bm a day with no urgency or other UC symptoms. I work in new construction and in the past 2 years I only used the outhouse porta potty maybe 4 times for BMs because I can wait till I get home with ease. Man I hated using those things several times a day when I was in a flare!

For me it was having formed stools (like they were prior to UC) and no cramping. I still have urgency even being in remission for almost three years. I think its because my brain is wired to anticipate D. I also include being on maintenance medication as being in remission. I would rather take pills and feel good then not take them and try to push myself into being in the class of "true" remission. I still have bad days but I have IBS and lactose intolerance so that's almost a given. I used to be a once every other day girl but since my flare I usually go one to three times a day with no d or cramping. I guess your system is never the same again after your first flare.

My would think maybe that your urgency is more rooted in your brain than your gut. To get into remission I did a bowel rest and my GI did a colonoscopy after and I was completely healed inside but I was still having some d and a lot of urgency. He said that is was most likely my brain overreacting and so used to the d that that's what it tells my colon to do.

I hope you're heading towards remission and that I somewhat answered your question! :)

Cfromutah said...
With me being in remission now my BMs and the frequency of them are like they were before I got UC. One solid bm a day with no urgency or other UC symptoms. I work in new construction and in the past 2 years I only used the outhouse porta potty maybe 4 times for BMs because I can wait till I get home with ease. Man I hated using those things several times a day when I was in a flare!

I work new construction as well and the visits to the porta-potties in the Southern summers are horrid.

I have not reached remission since my first flare but I am hoping for 1-2 BMs per day with no blood, pain or cramping.  I have had IBS for a while so I am used to having an irregular GI system.

I am feeling a lot better too, no blood, less BMs but I still have urgency and some cramping... I think I am healing but not quite healed. I hope it continues to improve. Bubba, it sounds to me like you're well on your way to remission.   Let's hope it lasts forever.

I consider myself to be in remission & this is what I get with it: 3-5 formed bm's daily, usually in the AM. Extreme urgency, pretty much every time- I can hold it for about 2-3 minutes. No blood, or just pinkish tp. No D. Sometimes C, but it's completely due to diet. No pred- none since Feb. '08. I take a fair amount of maintenance meds- see signature! I eat what I want- Friday night had boneless buffalo wings & chocolate fudge brownie Ben & Jerry's!!!! No probs Sat. AM (I don't normally eat like that- special treat!). So that's remission to me- prior to ever being diagnosed or having symptoms, I was pretty much a once a day girl. During flares & "recovery" periods, it's been 15-20+ mucousy, bloody, bm's or D. And that's with eating next to nothing. My last colonoscopy showed about 10" of active inflammation, so I'm not in clinical remission. But I can live with how I am now- it doesn't interfere with my day to day life. I work, go for long car trips, eat a fair amount of whatever, etc. Very individual- many people would not consider this to be remission.

ucwarrior said...
For me its 1-2 formed BM's a day. No D, blood or mucus. No urgency and BM's are able to be held for a period of time. Farts can easily be passed with no fear of a shart. The smell is different too. I know I am approaching remission when I can fart.

I've accepted the fact that my stools will never look like they did pre-UC.

I am really hoping this is my type of remission.

bbc said...
UCin memphis... the foam type rectal meds are much easier and less enema like so if you need them don't hesistate.

Thanks for the heads up. 

UC Remission means that you have no symptoms OF Ulcerative Colitis.I have had very lengthy spells of remission(4/5 years without even a cramp or d or blood).