My 22 yr old son was just diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis last week. I can't help you with your questions, but I will be very interested in reading any responses you get. He is not into Tri's, but swam swim club as a kid as was just talking about hitting the pool again when this came about. Good luck and take care of yourself.

i got diagnose with crohn and ulcerative colitus about 15 years ago. the first few years have been harder as i had to learn what my limits are and how to deal with flare and been sick. I got to know my body really well, manage stress in my life so i stay healthy, choose the right food for me and easy to digeste. But also triathlon as been a big part of building my comfidence and getting back stronger and healthyer.

you have to be very carefull with dehydratation and intensity.....both very hard on your intenstin and make you more prone to infection and flare up. I m working with ym coach to get the right combination of easy work and intensity to get at the top of the sport.....hoping to finaly break 9h next month in arizona. Crohn or ulcerative colitus isnt a reason to not reach the highest goal in life...just another hurdle to overcome that will make you stronger. I manage ot race at a few world cup and ironman distance and world championship as a professional and really hope to make it to the highest position in these races.....

i use medication in training and racing.....5-ASA just dont get dehydrated....asnt been a problem for me...but i had many set back and flare up and miss many races or bad performance when sick......it s up and down...

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

Both my wife (since she was 7, now she's 37) and my daughter (diagnosed at 7, now 15) have UC. Their medication cocktail list is extensive and varies depending on the levels returned from blood tests.

It's a fact of life, and hundreds of thousands of people suffer from IBS/IBD. You're not alone, and can find good moral support in many places. This is not a DEATH sentence. With proper care and diligence taking your meds, you'll go through EXTENDED (months/years) periods with no issues.

As soon as your doctor says 'ok', get back to training. A healthy foundation is key to your recovery and happiness.

Here's a good link to read up on:
http://ironman.com/...is-an-endurance-race

I know there was a professional female triathlete several years back that suffered from IBS/IBD and she created a great website and resource for other endurance athletes with similar circumstances. I did a couple of quick searches but couldn't find it. I'll keep looking or maybe someone else will remember her name.

Good luck, feel better, and get outside. :)

julie anne white?????

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

You GAINED 6 lbs in a flare? Wow...

In November of '04, I was in Yakima on a hunting trip with my dad. He collapsed, and some 24 hours later in the hospital they figured out what was going on (they implanted a pace-maker). In that trip, I had a f;are-up start, and I thought that maybe I'd contracted giardia somewhere out in the woods (it was raining to beat the band the whole time). Anyway, it didn't go away. Even a course of prednisone didn't stop it. By Christmas time, I was on a 3 hour digestive cycle -- whatever I ate was coming out of me 3 hours later. By February I'd lost 15 lbs... Finally a total clean out and colonoscopy, with a long course of prednisone, got me back on track. But I also had to stop working out with the exception of light yoga, because my body just wasn't rebuilding itself. I was on a very real road to death there.

I responded to your PM, so you can see the details of my drug therapy there. But suffice to say that I really echo what johnnyo said -- keep tabs on your life stressors. Figure out your triggers and what foods help you.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

That's her, and the site was semicolon.org. Even a few years ago the site was basically dead (hadn't been updated in something like 2 years). CCFA is another good resource. Avoid the Mayo clinic info, as it's skewed toward the worst cases.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease over 20 years ago. I have been on Asacol for at least 4 years. I have been on prednisone for years, but I am currently off.

I have trained and raced while on those and numerous other drugs. I am dehydrated, but I know I don't drink enough water.

Your body is under stress while healing, plus the weight gain from the prednisone doesn't help. You can get through this. You might have to adjust your training/race goals, but you still can do both.

PM also sent.

like you said....you need to let your body rebuild and get stronger.... i remember been in hospital with a 15 minutes turn over of food injested and digested and out!!!! it was very hard on me and i think i was waiting about 95lbs at 5'7..... but there is a lot of people to talk with and many very good athlete will go far with any IBS.....just be patient and research everything there is about the subject...

a few tips....that work for me... fish oil!!! simple food, rice, bread, bagel...etc, good veggies but cook as raw are hard on your body....if you feel sick...dont train...relax and wait.... yoga...relaxation....camping!!!!......swimming been easier and biking also and running been the hardest on your intenstine because of the movement...so when not feeling perfect...dont run.... swim or ride.....

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

"plus the weight gain from the prednisone doesn't help"

I've been lucky in that I haven't had any of the typical side effects of prednisone use -- bloating, weight gain, moon face... Possibly the bone embrittlement (I broke a bone in my foot two years ago), but I can't be sure.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

For information on being proactive, and getting off the drugs go to www.genkifoods.com It is a company based out of Calgary Alberta, Canada that has had very good success dealing with therapists who have clients with these same challenges. The results have been very encouraging. If you have any questions you can reach Brian Zacher through the website. He is the creator of the products, and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Dave Ramsay

Bob,
I was dx with Crohns in 87, also an RN. I was dx in nursing school and had a pyloric stenosis. I was losing weight, and it got to the point where I would get full drinking a glass of water! I had to quit school for a year while I recovered. Was on meds: 5-ASA, asacol, but have been med free for years. This was pre tris so I never raced on meds so I am no help there. Just be meticulous and cautious about your hydration while racing. (It is amazing to me how many people have ibd, crohns etc.) It is hard to come to terms with. It is like your body is betraying you!!! It must be depressing as hell not to be able to train as you would like right now. Like Johnnyo said, it is harder to run than bike swim when the gut is bad. Good luck and remember it will get better. ML

Ulcerative colitis commonly involves the rectum alone (proctitis), the rectum and the left side (proctosigmoiditis or left sided disease) or the whole colon (pancolitis). Proctitis is the mildest form of the disease often responding to local mesalamine either as suppository (Canasa) or enema (Rowasa). Left sided disease if limited to the proctosigmoid area can also respond to mesalamine (5-ASA) enema. For proctitis, treatment can be intermittent as patients often have long periods between relapse or maintenance medication can be given. Oral mesalamine is a poor choice for proctitis because the effect is local and the medication has to travel the entire length of the digestive system before it reaches its target point. Enemas can stop the pain and bleeding in as little as a few days but 6 weeks of therapy is usually required to achieve complete healing.

Left sided disease and pancolitis are more severe but may respond to oral medication. Moderate or severe cases may require steroid to achieve remission. Steroids should never be used for maintenance--they don't work and the side effects are substancial. Treatment is based upon achieving remission and finding the appropriate maintenance medication.

Mesalamine (5-ASA) is safe to use long term. Nephrotoxicity is theoretically possible but not seen in practice. Routine check of kidney function is not necessary unless there is already an underlying renal problem. Generally, a once yearly BUN, creatinine and U/A is adequate.

Steroids can be used topically for Crohn's disease (Entocort), or systemically either by oral or intravenous route. In more severe cases that do not respond to steroid, Infliximab infusion (Remicade: anti-tumor-necrosis factor) has recently been approved to treatment of ulcerative colitis. Other immunomodulators include methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine.

Any of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medication including aspirin can cause a relapse and must be avoided. Training is possible but best avoided during an acute flare. I generally recommend keeping the training light when on steroids while the disease is active. When the disease is inactive, progressive increase in activity while maintaining adequate nutrition and appropriate recovery can be tolerated. It is important to note that mesalamine is not well absorbed and is not likely the cause of your fatigue. Rather, the fatigue comes from recuperation from the disease, and the loss of fitness.

Hey Bob,
Didn't realize it was to this level for you, but hang in there, and take your time dealing with it correctly. Maybe revisit your surfing roots!!!

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

Hi everyone, I just got up from my afternoon nap. I do that a lot the last couple of months. Anyway, thanks for all the posts. I will start reading them now.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

Bob..
no clue how much help this will be to you or not..but I am currently massaging a very very sick young lady. Chrons is just one of her 5 major disorders (and Chrons is primarily a male disorder so you know she has a bad card dealt). She has me trying things on her I do not want to do, but with clearance I am game. I do intense usually close to an hour work on the belly - after other body parts are worked.

The one thing that has been unique about working with her, I am shocked at how much she handles the abdominal work and liver flushing. BUT the products we use is what she swears has made an even bigger difference. Typically use Jojoba oil with Juniper Berry essential oil. Often only certain brands because the more pure the worse her flare up. This sweet lady is on actual heavy duty drugs and I am now her only homeopathic course of treatment. I am open minded, but frustrated.

She was near the brink a few weeks ago and yellow with jaundace (other things other than Chrons nailing her) she was slapped on prednisone and she blew up like the Michellin man, but it gave her enough energy to recover from the jaundace. If you have a therapist working with you and want a more detailed pathway of what we are doing, feel free to have him/her get a hold of me. The Juniper Berry btw is for the swelling/edema and she also uses a white cream and a blue cream that really heats up the soft tissue. I would use more arnica but she is allergic to this, and we used to use some black peper essential oil (no freakin clue what this was all about, but she brings the products I do the work) and since has become allergic to this too.

Hang in there Bob---I've seen the sickest of the sick bounce back, and not anywhere near your health to start with.

I've had Crohn's/Colitis since I was about 18. (I'm 42 now) Been on Prednisore and Asacol many times over the years. I know a lot of people have side effects - I personally have not. My GI doc knows I am a serious runner/triathlete and we discuss that when talking about treatments. He's never expressed concern over it. Dealing with the disease itself sucks for me pretty much every day of my life and wreaks havoc with my training and racing, but I've never found the drugs to be a problem.

I just read all the posts(14).

After my dx and looking into the symptoms I have been racing and training since the winter of 04 with this(maybe longer). I would have it for several months then it would go away for several months. I now know that it was flare and remission. I've been reading my med books, and on the internet to better educate myself about this diseases.

I do know that running is hard on my GI tract. Swimming and biking don't seem to be a problem. As a nurse I stand for 12+ hours a day. If I'm having a flare it's the worst of all....gravity I guess. As endurance athletes we push the limits but there is not much info on diseases, meds, and endurance sports.

As some of you said I will have learn what I can and can't do with training, diet, etc.

I want to thank everyone who responding to my thread. Your support and advice has made me feel much better tonight.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

Reply to: Maybe revisit your surfing roots!!!
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Jay
Thats what I said to my self. But from all the posts and PM's I guess I'll still be able to continue with tri's. I will just have to adjust as I go. I do need to get some surfing in.
I was going to PM you soon. Three weeks till the Ford HIM. Offer on the Zipps still stands.
Say hi to the family.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

Thanks Bob. I'm going to pass on the wheels this time around, but I really appreciate the generosity. Are you and Stacy coming down to check out the race?

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

I was diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis about 8 years ago and have managed to stay in remission for approximately 5 years now. I first had to figure out what foods my body didn't tolerate well. Do this by keeping a food diary, be exact: weigh everything on a digital food scale, and keep a record of your bowel movements, etc. You will most likely discover that certain foods tend to cause problems; for me too much wheat product. Also, you may find certain foods do well with you; for me oatmeal(old fashioned). I find that the more water I drink the better, within reason.

As for medication, there is an enema version of mesalamine made by Rowasa and now also available in generic form that was the most effective treatment for me personally. You will not have the kidney issues with the emema. It is only 4 ounces per dose, so it is not too big a deal, the idea of the enema is worse than actually using it. Anytime I had/have a bowel movement that was/is suspect I would use this medication and it would usually clear up in a couple of days; worse case was about 2 months of everyday use.

Training wise; too much intensity causes problems. Control the amount and number of intense workouts. Occasionally during a hard workout or race you will feel that tell tale pain and cramping begin and you will have to back off or stop for the day to avoid causing another bout of colitis.

Feel free to PM me.