I never know what to tell people when they ask how I cope. I just do, I guess, which is a crappy answer...but I don't have a better one so far. There are a lot of days when I hate the world because it's so unfair that I'm sick, and there are days when I'm so depressed and hopeless about it that I can barely function. But that's actually normal, you know? There's a grief process when you get diagnosed with a chronic disease. Your life changes forever, and there's not a lot you can do about it. It sucks, and grief is normal and healthy.

Having a sense of humor helps too. I make so many poop jokes it's ridiculous. Otherwise I'd spend a lot more time crying and/or raging. I mean, once I crapped my pants a few minutes before I had to give a speech to run as a delegate at my town's caucus, and I did it anyway, just hoping no one would smell it. The only way I can cope about that is to laugh hysterically. (Carrying a change of underwear with me wherever I go helps in that regard too.)

Talking to other IBD'ers helps me a lot too. There aren't any in-person support groups near me (the joys of living in the middle of nowhere), but I've found a few good Facebook support groups. It's nice to be around other people who get it, and it can be a good place to figure out what's fairly normal and what might require calling the GI doc.

I've also found that it really doesn't help to compare who's sicker/sickest. I think it's easy for us to minimize our own pain, but in a way, we're abandoning and neglecting ourselves when we do that. I mean, imagine you and I are in a car accident together. One of your legs is broken, and both of mine are. Yours still hurts, and you still deserve treatment and care and help.

Hydrocortisone is a relatively weak drug, so it's not really one you see used to treat IBD. I'd ask your GP about 5-ASA's like mesalamine. (Not sure if all the same drugs are available in your area.) But if the hydrocortisone is all you can get, it's certainly better than nothing. Is there any chance of getting the date of your scope moved up? Maybe if your GP calls the GI doc, they'd make an appointment for you sooner?