Ulcerative Colitis Pain Treatment: 5 Options for Relief
Health ConditionsDigestive HealthUlcerative Colitis

5 Ways to Control Ulcerative Colitis Pain

5 Ways to Control Ulcerative Colitis Pain
Canva (5); Everyday Health
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Updated on June 30, 2025
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Ulcerative colitis (UC) can affect each person differently. Some people with UC can go years without experiencing many symptoms, while others struggle with frequent, often debilitating flares.

Regardless of the severity of UC, it is possible to take some control over your abdominal pain and symptoms such as diarrhea and weight loss. Taking medication, eating a healthy diet, and minimizing stress can help reduce the chances of a flare, says Sunanda V. Kane, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The First Step: Finding the Cause of Your Ulcerative Colitis Pain

To help your doctor figure out what’s causing your abdominal pain and other symptoms, you need to be able to accurately describe the sensation. Before seeing your doctor, take stock of what you’ve been feeling. It may be useful to keep a symptom journal to track what you experience. Be ready to respond regarding these areas:

  • How long you’ve had the pain
  • Pain location
  • How the pain feels, both in sensation and intensity
  • The frequency and duration of the pain
  • What seems to trigger the abdominal pain
  • What seems to ease the pain
  • What time each pain occurred, including how long after eating and how long it lasted

“The more specific you can be about your pain, the better,” Dr. Kane says. That goes for any discomfort you might be shy about discussing with your doctor, too, such as pain with bowel movements.

You should also be prepared to talk with your doctor about any mental health issues you might be experiencing. This is especially true if you believe you might have depression, which can make existing pain worse.

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How to Manage Ulcerative Colitis Pain

Once you’ve described your pain accurately, your doctor will likely be able to track down its cause and begin treating it. Here are some ways to manage UC pain.

1. Medication

Sticking to your prescribed medication regimen is one of the best ways to manage UC symptoms, including pain. Your doctor can prescribe a number of drugs to treat your symptoms. These work by modifying how your immune system functions and, as a result, decrease the inflammation in your gut.

 If you skip doses or don’t take the medication as prescribed, you will reduce its effectiveness and risk having a flare.

If you’re experiencing mild pain, your doctor may recommend acetaminophen (Tylenol). But you may need to limit or avoid taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). Although the exact association between NSAIDs and UC flares is unclear, some research indicates they may increase pain and symptoms and even trigger flares. Only take these medications if your doctor advises them.

2. Diet and Nutrition

Although the exact link between food and UC isn’t yet clear, your diet can play a role in triggering or easing your symptoms. You may find that adopting a diet low in certain sugars or fiber — particularly insoluble fiber, which passes through the gastrointestinal tract undigested — or free of lactose may help you manage UC symptoms like pain.

In particular, some research suggests a low-FODMAP diet, which involves the temporary elimination and reintroduction of certain types of carbohydrates and fiber, can be effective for people with UC. One meta-analysis of nine studies found that a low-FODMAP diet helped with symptoms like abdominal pain and bloating, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.

Also note that excessive amounts of red and processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages should be avoided, as these have been linked to an increased risk of UC flares.

3. Stress Management

Similar to depression, stress can exacerbate the pain and other symptoms of UC.

 Do your best to manage stress through practices like yoga and mindfulness, which in turn may help lessen your UC pain.

You might also consider joining a support group, where you can find helpful advice and comfort in talking with others who have UC. And if you experience consistent stress, seeing a mental health professional could help you learn coping strategies.

While these stress-busting therapies are not a replacement for any UC medication you might be taking, they can be a great complement to the medication regimen and improve overall outcomes.

4. Complementary Therapies

Adding complementary and integrative therapies (options that aren’t part of conventional medicine) to your existing treatment plan may help ease UC pain and other symptoms.

“Therapies like yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture, and hypnotherapy have been shown to help,” Kane says.

 Discuss any complementary and integrative therapies with your doctor before starting any, so you’ll be aware of the pros and cons.

5. Surgery

Surgery is a long-term treatment option for UC. Research shows up to 30 percent of people with UC may need surgery at some point, in part because of severe symptoms that no longer respond to medication.

Surgery options include a proctocolectomy (the removal of the rectum and the colon), a colectomy (the removal of all or part of the colon), and an ileostomy (a procedure where a surgically created hole in the small intestine is fixed to the abdominal wall to allow the passage of stool). After a colectomy, many people are candidates for an ileo-anal pouch anastomosis. Although complications can occur after the surgery and it can take up to a year to recover, in most cases, the procedures are successful.

The Takeaway

  • Ulcerative colitis (UC) can affect each person differently, but frequent flares that can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and other symptoms are common.
  • You can reduce your chances of a flare by taking medication, limiting or avoiding your dietary triggers, and reducing stress, among other strategies.
  • If your UC pain is not getting better despite following your treatment regimen, talk to your doctor about your options, including surgery.

Additional reporting by Bernadette Young.

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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  4. Ulcerative Colitis. Mayo Clinic. November 22, 2024.
  5. Managing Flares and IBD Symptoms. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. June 2019.
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Waseem Ahmed, MD

Medical Reviewer

Waseem Ahmed, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and serves as Director, Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship and Education within the F. Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel Disease Institute.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and attended medical school at Indiana University. He then completed an internal medicine residency at New York University, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Indiana University, and an advanced fellowship in inflammatory bowel disease at the Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to his current role, Dr. Ahmed served as an assistant professor of medicine within the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at the University of Colorado from 2021-2024.

Dr. Ahmed is passionate about providing innovative, comprehensive, and compassionate care for all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). His research interests include IBD medical education for patients, providers, and trainees; clinical trials; acute severe ulcerative colitis; and the use of combined advanced targeted therapy in high-risk IBD.

He enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, is an avid follower of professional tennis, and enjoys fine dining.

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Dennis Thompson Jr

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