Third Major Flare Up - Age 20

My third major ulcerative colitis flare-up occurred when I was 20, and I was in my fall semester of college. Long hours and late nights led to rapid progression of some ulcerative colitis symptoms I was having, in addition to forgetting to take some of my medications.

I drove home after bloody stools turned into cramping. I was determined not to go to the hospital this time. I saw my doctor the day I got back, and he upped my dosage of Asacol. He also scheduled me for my very first Remicade appointment.

Remicade is an anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant IV drug. The remicade infusions were great, and cleared up my symptoms very quickly. I was having them every 3 months, and they lasted about 2 hours each. I remember being in the doctor's office for my treatment, watching movies or sleeping. Very relaxing.

It took a week off from school to get back into enough health to go back. I was on Remicade for a little more than a year.

For the next 6 years I had minor on and off ulcerative colitis flare-ups, noticing blood here, a little mucus there. During this time I met my wife, who was able to experience ulcerative colitis first hand for the very first time when I turned 26.