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DUBINSKY: By definition, ulcerative colitis means inflammation
of the colon or of the large intestine. There are typically 3 ways we refer to patients
with ulcerative colitis when we talk about areas of inflammation. We say "proctitis,"
which is inflammation of just the ***. Some people use the term "left-sided colitis,"
which is inflammation of just the left side of the colon. And then other terms that you
may be familiar with, which is "pancolitis" or "extensive colitis," which means inflammation
extending to affect most of the large bowel or the colon.
DUBINSKY: Essentially, a flare means that the disease
that was maybe stable becomes active, and—a very simplistic way of thinking about it—the
patient's symptoms have returned.
LEGNANI: You can feel achy, you can feel crampy, your
energy could be low.
DUDLEY-BROWN: And you shouldn't be expecting to flare all
the time. A flare-up is a sign of a disease that's out of control.
LEGNANI: Diarrhea, blood, pain, cramps, that feeling
like you have to go to the bathroom right away, yet sometimes nothing really comes out.
Those are all signs of inflammation that your doctor and you will begin to look for every
time you see each other.
DUDLEY-BROWN: So if you do have flare-ups, your disease
is out of control and that's why you would be given medications to take.
DUDLEY-BROWN: The goal is to get you down to as few flares
as possible. So it's important that you do, you know, tell your doctor or provider if
you do have multiple flare-ups because that would be a sign that you need either more
medication or perhaps a different medication.
DUBINSKY: So I think it's very important for physicians
and patients to sit down and define up-front what would be considered to be a flare and
when is it important to call to discuss the symptoms that a patient is actually having.
PRESENT: The vast majority of patients can be managed
medically. So once again, we're back to "take your medicines."
For more information about ulcerative colitis, visit www.ShireUCentral.com