FULMINANT COLITIS

Carlos, there are plenty of folks here who got dangerously sick very quickly. I'm not aware of any evidence that UC can be caused by stress or environmental contamination, though stress can have a huge impact on how the disease affects our lives.

I also had fulminant colitis, but just out of the blue with no identifiable trigger. I responded well to treatment though, and did not need surgery for over 20 years.

Extreme stress could be a possible trigger, but not a cause of UC. Bacterial infection in the gut can be too, so I guess that can be seen as environmental. 

Hopefully things continue to improve for you.

Jan

Carlos, your story is very similar to mine. Stress, however, does not cause UC, which is generally thought to be a auto immune disease, or else an extreme immune reaction to an environmental trigger such as a virus or bacterial. Stress can, however, make existing UC worse, but it it is erroneous to say it is the cause.

I also became acutely ill very quickly and developed fulminant pancolitis. Prior to that, I had never had any indication of colitis or even IBS. I was a very active person,  healthy, ate well, etc. No indication I might become ill, let alone life threateningly ill. In early May of 2005, I had a mild cold after taking a trip to the west coast. About a week later, I developed diarrhea and very soon thereafter, bloody BMs. From there, I went downhill quickly.  I was having up to 20 bloody BMs daily. I lost 10 pounds in a week. After numerous trips to the ER and to my doctor (I was sent home each time), I was finally admitted to hospital and diagnosed with UC on June 14, 2005.  My colon was removed on an emergency basis on July 6, 2005 after I did not respond to any conventional treatment (Remicade was not tried, however) and a CT showed "air bubbles" in the colon wall which my GI felt put me at a significant risk of perforation.  

Like you, it was a life or death situation. In 3 weeks, I had lost 37 pounds (I had previously weighed 120), I was anemic, hypokalemic (which resulted in an arrhythmia), and severely malnourished. I had post operative complications including paralytic ileus, obstruction, required 2 blood transfusions, and I had to be on TPN for 8 days. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks.

The good news is, like you, I am now doing very well now.  Unfortunately neither of us will likely every know why we became ill nor what triggered it.  I also went through a period of anxiety after my surgery, which I understand was a natural reaction. I did eventually see a therapist for a few sessions who counsels people dealing with chronic illness, and that was helpful. Maybe that is something you can look into. These days, I like to keep myself busy with yoga, running, horseback riding, sports... I think focusing on improving my fitness has done wonders for my mental health too. 

I hope you continue to improve in your wellness. This surgery isn't easy. It's life changing and a long journey.

Hello! old thread but I'm looking for possible causes for UC, I also had a very fast, very ill UC, went from living my best life to having no colon in less than 2 months, struggling for my life, living in a hospital, watching my body and mind degrade fast, it is, like many people have said, a living nightmare. I was humbled by this disease in ways I didn't think possible. But that's not the point, the point is that every person I have spoken about the disease asks me the same. WHY DID YOU GET SICK? and I am sick of trying to make people understand there isn't a cause, I can see in their eyes they don't believe me, they think is something genetic, or something I ate, or something I did. Or something. And I thought so too for a while, it would keep me up at night, it would make me cry for hours, what had I done to make this to myself? how can my own immune system attack itself? I have to have some sort of guilt in this. Now I think is not like that, is like some types of cancer, that some people get, for no reason. But there still a little voice on the back of my head sometimes that says... "or is there a reason?"