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My husband has UC, has improved on Lialda but every time he tries to do light exercise (running in place, some weights, or even walking up a hill) he seems to "injure himself " and gets short of breath and gets ill again..not as bad as in the beginning but a setback. No doctor has been able to pinpoint the relation between UC and this symptom. Any help out there? Very mysterious and frustrating for him. Thanks.

 Reply posted for eric1228.

My doctor said I was anemic and my protein level was deathly low, therefore I lost most of my muscles. Not like I had a whole lot before though, I never felt this weak in my entire life. Its hard for me to work out because sometimes it hurts and I get out of breath really fast. However I just try to do a little bit everyday, then each day gets better. Just have to the will to work threw the pain.

I am on Lialda right now, I'm not really sure that its doing anything for me. I mean I feel better after I eat coconut, than I do if I take the pills. So I was thinking about losing them, however I don't know if a healthy lifestyle is good enough. People like Eric make me slightly jealous to just drop meds and then feel great.

 Reply posted for veronica.

Veronica,

I agree with many of ther posters here.  Tell him to stick with it and it will get better.  I was 172lbs healthy then to 142lbs in 2-3 months with UC diagnosis and in hospital a week.  I gradually recovered weight with meds (predisone) and diet changes.  Once my weight was gaining and feeling a little better I went back the the gym.  I started to have a relapse and doctor gave me lialda.  I hated the drugs and always felt drugs caused more problems than helping. I took the meds for 2 days and I said enough. 

I have been eating better, reducting stress where I can, and excersise 5-7 hours a week now.  I also recieved accupuntcure in place of the meds weekly and now monthly.  Everyone needs to find their own mix but I hope I can stay away from the meds and continue with holistic heatlh approach.

Good luck to your family

 Reply posted for veronica.

I have Crohns not UC but I found it was hard to work out for the longest time. What I had to do was first find an excercise that was easy on me, mine was the eliptical machine. I would start off very slow and at a low intensity, then just add 5 minutes every couple of days until I got to a time frame I wanted, then I would increase the intensity every couple of days. I would also add more Vitamin B to my diet to help increase my energy. Liquid is the best way to go, you can take it 30 minutes before working out and it helps. Best advice would to keep it up, it is going to be brutal at first, but in time he will get better, I hated it so I would excercise right before bed, by the time I got out of the shower I would crash because I was so drained. I hope that this may help, like another person suggested yoga, or meditation even pilates may help. Or try something fun like the wii fit.

 Reply posted for veronica.

A couple of things.  Has he been checked for anemia, chronic or acute?  Even if he isn't noticeably bleeding, chronic swelling will still deplete the body's blood supply.  That could cause the quick fatigue.  He should also have his thyroid checked (make sure they do the advanced test that looks for antibodies).  An under active thyroid will also cause fatigue, and hoarseness, weight gain, and other things.  I have had (do have) both and I can vouch for the extreme fatigue, so much so that I could barely walk from the couch downstairs to my bedroom upstairs 

Good luck I hope they get if figured out soon.

 Reply posted for veronica.

I have the same problem too.  My doctor tells me the best I can do is eat right, exercise, and take vitamins.  I used to love running and working out, but ever since I've been dealing with UC, I haven't been able to stay on a treadmill for more than 15 minutes at a time.  What I would recommend to your husband is trying yoga, or meditation.  I recently read an article in a magazine about a woman who stopped all medication for her Crohn's and just meditated every morning for 20-30 minutes.  Her symptoms completely went away.  Imagine how good she must feel!  I can't wait to give it a try and see how it works for me!

 Reply posted for veronica.

I wish I could point you and your husband in the right direction, but all I can offer is that I seem to have the same problem. None of my doctors have been able to tell me what I should or should not be doing.