MANAGING ULCERATIVE COLITIS WITH A SYMPTOM DIARY

MANAGING ULCERATIVE COLITIS WITH A SYMPTOM DIARY
Keeping a journal of your symptoms can help you and your doctors find the best treatments for your ulcerative colitis
Most people with ulcerative colitis lead busy, active lives. Remembering how you felt when you woke up, or whether you felt better this week than you did last week can be hard at the end of a hectic day. A colitis symptom journal is a great way to keep track of your ulcerative colitis symptoms so you're prepared with information at your next doctor's visit.
The symptoms of digestive disorders are so subjective that they can be difficult to describe and therefore difficult to diagnose. Diarrhea is a common symptom is digestive disorders, but diarrhea caused by ulcerative colitis is set apart by its intensity, frequency and duration. Keeping an accurate record in your journal can help your gastroenterologist rule out the possibility of other illnesses, leading to proper diagnosis and treatment.
The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America Community Web site has downloadable tools that can help you get started tracking your ulcerative symptoms and suggest types of information to include, such as the following.
Ulcerative Colitis Journal: Describing Your Symptoms
When you experience a colitis symptom, write it down in your journal. Symptoms can include pain, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, bloody stools, and loss of appetite. Here are some other useful details to include in your ulcerative colitis symptom journal:
Intensity: One way to assess the intensity of your symptoms is to rate them on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being minor and 10 being severe.
Date and Time: What time did you notice the symptom? How long did it last? How long after eating did it occur? Write all this information down.
Descriptive details: You should include any extra information that can help explain the symptoms you experience in more detail. For example, was the pain on the left or right side of your abdomen? Was it sharp or dull?
Ulcerative Colitis Journal: Managing Your Illness
After you are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, you may want to add information about your environment and lifestyle to your symptom journal. Some symptoms are caused directly by ulcerative colitis, but others may have environmental causes. Once you are aware of the factors in your environment that can cause symptom flare-ups, you will be better able to avoid them. Here are some factors to know about:
Food: What you eat can play a major role in how you feel. While no particular foods are likely to make the inflammation and damage to your colon worse, your body may not tolerate certain foods as well as others, leading to discomfort. To isolate foods that may be causing problems for you, make a note of the following details of your diet; what you eat and how much, when you eat it, and how you feel in the hours afterwards.
Medications: Keep track of the medications you take, the dosage, how often you take them, and at what time. This information can help you figure out whether a new symptom is the result of ulcerative colitis, or a side effect of a new medication.
Exercise: Some people feel that moderate exercise really helps them manage their colitis symptoms. Other people have a hard time with even mild exercise. Write down the type of exercise you do, how long you did it, and how you felt after.
Stress: Many people report that stress makes their symptoms feel worse. Keep track of what you were doing or thinking in the hours prior to a flare-up.
By recording this type of information in your symptom journal, you may start to see patterns emerge. Your gastroenterologist and nutritionist may also be able to use this information to improve your ulcerative colitis treatment plan. Since no two people with ulcerative colitis are the same, there's no magic formula for illness management. A journal can help you remember what works and what doesn't.
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