What To Do When Your Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Stops Working

Recognizing When Your Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Stops Working

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. While there is no known cure, various treatment plans can induce remission and control symptoms.

However, you may find yourself in a position where your current ulcerative colitis treatment is no longer keeping your condition in remission. Flare symptoms may slowly return, indicating the need for medication or dosage adjustments.

Common Medications for Ulcerative Colitis

Standard treatment options include:

• Aminosalicylates to reduce inflammation
• Corticosteroids like prednisone to treat active flares
• Immunomodulators to suppress the immune system
• Biologics (TNF blockers) that target proteins involved in inflammation

These medications can all successfully induce remission periods. However, overtime your symptoms may still return.

Signs Your Treatment Has Stopped Working

Be on the lookout for potential signs your ulcerative colitis medications need adjustment, including:

• The return of bloody diarrhea
• Increased bowel urgency or abdominal pain
• Fatigue, loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss
• Fever, joint pain and rashes
• Waking up at night to use the bathroom
• Generally feeling unwell

Pay attention to flare symptoms and track them carefully so you can report all details to your doctor. This helps determine next treatment steps.

Why Medications Lose Effectiveness

There are several possible reasons why ulcerative colitis treatment regimens may stop providing relief, such as:

• Building up a tolerance - The body can get used to a medication requiring higher doses.
• Altered absorption - Changes in GI tissues impacts how well drugs are absorbed.
• Underlying complications - Strictures, abscesses, or infections may need direct treatment first.
• Non-compliance issues - Forgetting doses allows inflammation to continue and worsen.
• Drug interactions/side effects - Other medications or reactions can interfere with UC drugs.

Your doctor will help determine what factors are at play causing your relapse of symptoms.

Achieving Remission Again

Don't worry if your ulcerative colitis treatment loses efficacy - there are still options to get your disease back into remission. This may involve:

Adjusting Medication Dosage

If you've built partial drug tolerance, your doctor may decide to increase the strength or frequency of doses. This helps regain therapeutic levels in your tissues.

Switching to Another Drug Class

Transitioning to another category of medications is common, like from aminosalicylates to biologics if inflammation is still uncontrolled. Each class works differently to find one your body responds best to.

Combination Therapy

Using medications from different drug classes together can have an additive effect. This powerful combo helps get inflammation under control again.

Trying an Elimination Diet

Dietary triggers may be worsening your condition. Your doctor may advise removing potential problem foods like dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, or raw veggies to pinpoint aggravators.

Undergoing Further Testing

More involved diagnostic testing like an endoscopy, MRI, or CT scan can check for underlying complications. This ensures no worrisome structural issues are causing symptoms before adjusting treatment.

Exploring Surgery

For moderate to severe ulcerative colitis unresponsive to medications, surgery to remove part or all of the colon may be warranted to resolve inflammation.

When to Follow Up

Be sure to follow up regularly with your doctor when scaling up treatment. They will want to see if adjustments are working before symptoms get severely out of control again.

Many people achieve long remission periods again by collaborating closely with their care team to modify treatment plans when flare signs emerge. Stay vigilant about tracking your symptoms and communicating clearly with your doctor.

Ulcerative colitis remains a lifelong condition, but current therapies offer hope for controlling inflammation and keeping periods of disease activity brief. Work as a team with your gastroenterologist to continually balance medications and lifestyle habits to find your personalized formula for sustained remission.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.