Women of Child-Bearing Age Need to be Vigilant for Ulcerative Colitis Symptoms

The causes of ulcerative colitis aren't quite known, but women of child-bearing age should be especially vigilant for symptoms.

Of course, a woman's body changes after giving birth. Allison Meador went to her doctor after realizing something wasn't quite right.

"There was some abnormal blood in my stool. Of course, they thought it was probably hemorrhoids from giving birth and pushing, but then after a colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis," Meador said.

According to Meador, she had never heard of the condition and that living with colitis can be uncomfortable.

"Bloating, sometimes stomach pain, really extreme fatigue — which I think is due to blood loss — stomach pain, urgency to go to the bathroom is mostly the big thing," Meador said.

Meador says she is now in remission thanks to medication.

Raymond K. Cross, Jr., M.D., MS, AGAF, FACG, Medical Director of The Center for Inflammatory Bowel and Colorectal Diseases, part of The Melissa L. Posner Institute for Digestive Health & Liver Disease at Mercy in Baltimore, explains that he usually sees women get diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 35. He added there are other treatment options for people with more severe symptoms.

"Often, patients with severe symptoms are treated with steroids initially. Steroids are not a maintenance therapy. So, they're used to get the symptoms under control and transition to something else," Dr. Cross said.

Treatment has come a long way, and maybe 10% to 20% of people end up having surgery. Stress can trigger it, so patients really need to follow the rules.

"The most important things for patients are to come for regular monitoring with your physician and to take your medicines 80% of the time or more. If you do that, that covers it," Dr. Cross said.

Dr. Cross tells patients to eat a heart-healthy diet, exercise and get good rest.

"(There are) a lot of ups and downs, so it depends on the day, really, but I now know when it's coming, I can tell. So, I try to be a little proactive to kind of knock it out, call (my doctor) right away to help me not go down a really bad road," Meador said.

View board-certified Mercy gastroenterologist Dr. Raymond Cross’ interview regarding ulcerative colitis.