Tiredness - The Hidden Colitis Symptom

When faced with the onset of a colitis attack for the first time or a relapse of the symptoms, the sufferer will have to endure the expected colitis symptoms of diarrhoea, passing of blood and abdominal pain. Yet there is a hidden symptom which can have a huge effect on the sufferer's daily experience and their prospects of a quicker and successful passage into remission.

It can be a problem for those newly diagnosed with colitis that they do not appreciate the effects of tiredness that this disease creates and this should not be dismissed lightly. There is a requirement for it to be included in the sufferer's anticipation of what the daily experiences will be like during the period of a colitis attack. It is wrong to think that, as there will be diarrhoea and abdominal pain, it can be likened to a stomach bug. That the sufferer will feel a little tired and a little rest will assist in recovery.

The degree of tiredness that is created during a colitis attack can be quite overwhelming in some cases. There will be a need to go to the toilet and at the height of a severe attack this could mean every hour. When totalled, the visits to the toilet over a twenty four hour period can be well over a dozen, and that will include during the night, resulting in an interrupted sleep pattern. Whilst it can be hard to imagine, the effort required just going to the toilet during the period of a colitis attack is tiring. The effort required can be great and coupled with the resulted pain that occurs every time the bowel is opened, it is not difficult to realise that this period of time can be very debilitating.

By factoring in having to go to the toilet many times during the day and night, the ever present pain, particularly when on the toilet, the lack of quality sleep plus the reduced intake of food due to a loss of appetite, they all contribute to an overall feeling of not just tiredness, but acute tiredness. And the more tired the sufferer becomes, the less they will be able to both physically and mentally defend themselves against the attack and the longer it is going to be for them to make a recovery when the symptoms are brought under control and start to fade.

To effectively counteract tiredness, it is vital that the sufferer accepts that the usual daily routines and activities will have to most likely stop entirely. In fact, a sensible course of action is for their usual life to be put on hold and all available energies used to defend themselves against what can be a physically and mentally brutal attack. By adopting successful colitis management techniques, they can discover how to conserve energy, reduce the amount of pain being experienced and try and ensure that the hidden symptom of tiredness does not hinder their progress through the colitis attack and back into remission mode.