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Colitis now Crohns

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/14/2010 8:21 AM (GMT 0)
hi i was told i had colitis about 3 yrs ago now and was taking pentasa tablets and salofolk enemas which did not work i only ever had it under control 2 times, but when i went to hospital the other day for some more colonoscopy and biopsy results he told me that its pointing more towards chrones thats causing it,, he s...aid thats some tests i had done bak in 2004 indicated also towards chrones but i was never even told about this in 2004 i was told i was fine, cause in 2004 i had a camera for a spot of bleedin but it stoppped,, they told me i was fine, which i now know is a lie, now they have put me on prednisolone steroids for 6 weeks and still to take my pentasa tablets,,, what side effects am i likely to get do u think? and i really hope they work,, i was not quite sure whether the doctor was telling me i have just chrones or that i have chrones which is making me also have colitis he was not clear.

 

*Gave your post a title so you get more responses*

Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 10/14/2010 8:17:16 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/14/2010 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
Pred is a strong med ication. If you type in Prednisone in the search box above you will get many threads that will give you tons of info.

I would for sure go back to your doc ASAP and get a clear answer re if you have crohn's or not.

If you do there is much to learn to take care of yoruself, (but I hope you do not)

Take care

David

 

Posted 10/14/2010 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is a medication we with Crohns love to hate. We love it because in most cases it gets us out of flare fairly quickly. We works quickly to tamp down the inflammation. It does have some side effects. You will get a big burst of energy when you first start it, and it can cause some insomnia. Its best if you take it first thing when you wake up every morning to help avoid the insomnia effects. You will also have a big appetite with this stuff, and while on it, you can even eat things you usually can't. It can cause some puffy cheeks if you are on it awhile, but that will go away shortly after you have weaned off it. Most importantly is do not just stop this medication. You must taper down your dose. If you stop it without tapering you could have some serious addrenal issues. So follow your docs tapering schedule. Usually its down 5 mg per week. Good luck and I hope it gets you feeling better soon. Hugs!
Posted 10/14/2010 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
Colitis on its own just means inflammation of the colon. Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis means something much more specific. To confuse matters further, you can also have Crohn's colitis, which means you have Crohn's in the colon.

I can't tell from your post what made your doctor decide you might have Crohn's. He could have seen disease in the terminal ileum (the last part of the small intestine) during the colonoscopy; that's a part which is extremely commonly affected in Crohn's but usually never so in UC. Or he could have decided that the disease in your colon was Crohn's colitis rather than UC: it is possible to have Crohn's of the colon only.

In terms of treatment it's not a huge deal, since the drugs used to treat both diseases are very similar. It only becomes crucial to distinguish Crohn's from UC if surgery on your colon is ever required, which I hope it isn't.

As for pred's side effects, it varies, but the immediate effect is usually more energy. It should also suppress your colitis symptoms straight away. The energy tends to disappear as you taper down. I personally never had the massively increased appetite, but almost everybody else seems to get it, so you probably will too!
Posted 10/14/2010 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
HI THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO, THE REASON THE DOCTORS oops caps, said he thinks it points more towards chrons is that apparantly they saw a small ulcer in the small something or other? can t remember what he said, geee me memory is bad think i need to ring em back lol,,, but they origionall was saying colitis cause all the inside of my lower colon is inflamed etc so possible to have both maybe?, i will ring them i think tomorrow x
Posted 10/14/2010 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
It is possible to have both ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease, but it's very rare....he may have changed your DX based on the pattern of inflammation that he saw in your scope....see with crohn's the pattern of inflammation is patchy (skipped patterns of inflammation that show healthy tissue in between inflamed tissue) with UC the entire area will be inflamed with no healthy tissue pattern (hence the term "patchy").

The same meds are used to treat crohn's colitis (CD affecting the colon, which I also have) as used to treat ulcerative colitis. The other major difference between CD and UC is that with CD it can affect your entire GI tract from mouth to anus, where UC is limited to the colon/rectom area only....the extraintestinal manifestations (affecting, eyes, skin, joints, ect) are basically the same with UC or CD. CD can also affect more than one area at a time (when I first got sick my rectom, colon, and TI (part of the small bowel) were all affected by CD. This is why proper DX is important, so if they've finally DX you properly then that's a good thing.
Posted 10/14/2010 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
in the small something

Definitely sure that's the small intestine. You should ask where in the small intestine; it'll probably be the terminal ileum, which is the classic place for Crohn's to appear in.

but they origionall was saying colitis cause all the inside of my lower colon is inflamed etc so possible to have both maybe?

Theoretically it's possible I think, but have never heard of a confirmed case of anyone having both Crohn's and UC. What's a far more common situation is that the doctors can't decide whether it's UC or Crohn's; if that happens, sometimes it's called "indeterminate colitis". Alternatively, the doctors originally diagnose UC then at a later date "upgrade" the diagnosis to Crohn's (it can happen in reverse, but not nearly as often). If you want to know more about the differences between the two diseases, Wiki has a good comparison table:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease#Comparison_with_ulcerative_colitis

To the right of the table is an image of a diseased colon with this text underneath it:

Crohn's disease can mimic ulcerative colitis on endoscopy. This endoscopic image is of Crohn's colitis showing diffuse loss of mucosal architecture, friability of mucosa in sigmoid colon and exudate on wall, all of which can be found with ulcerative colitis.

I suppose that helps explain why it's not always easy to distinguish between UC and Crohn's colitis :-/

Good luck with the phone call!
Posted 10/17/2010 10:53 AM (GMT 0)
hi on my 5th day of the prednisolone and i m still bleeding quite bad, should they have started to work by now or am i been to eager?
Posted 10/17/2010 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone usually kicks in pretty quickly. If you are still bleeding I would call your doc on Monday and run it by him. Good luck!
Posted 10/20/2010 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
I started out with a UC dx but then 10 months later it was changed to CD. My very first colonoscopy revealed my entire colon being inflamed (I was running, doubled over in pain to the bathroom every 15 min, fever of 105, I had gone into the er, but the stupid dr said it was a bad uti, HA!) At the time of my next colonoscopy I was patchy, but my inflammation/sores (if I remember right) was only in the colon and rectum, hence the Crohn's Colitis. The first time I was put on prednisone I cleared up and was feeling better rather quickly, I'd say within a week in a half. The course I'm on now made my symptoms worse. I think I would give it a couple more days to kick in, but if you feel like you should call in now by all means do so. :)

I was on Lialda, prednisone, and sulfasalazine (for my joints) with my UC dx, then after the CD dx I was put on imuran, pentasa, and omeprazole as a later endoscopy showed ulcers in my throat.

The first time I was on prednisone I was pregnant so it's hard to differentiate the symptoms I had on it, but it did give me gestational diabetes that I know for sure. This time I have had: insomnia, little bursts of energy, extreme mood swings (only while I was on the high dose, after I tapered down to the next one it went away) and hunger. A neighbor of mine is on it for cancer and she has the mood swings and moon face.

Hope this helps any.
Posted 10/20/2010 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
I was originally told I had symptoms of both UC and Crohn's, so they called it indeterminable colitis.  Over the years, I noticed that my dx changed to Crohn's, but they never really told me why.  Now my dr. is kind of questioning the Crohn's dx.  So, it definitely can go back and forth before they really figure it out.  Also, I had a friend that had UC, had all of the surgeries, etc. and then was dxed with Crohn's, so it is possible to have both, but I've never seen the statistics on how rare it is. 

The only side effect I've had on predinsone (been on it for almost 2 yrs straight now) is blurred (and worsening) vision.  And they say it can make my depression worse, but I don't know if it's the prednisone or the fact that my arthritis keeps progressing that is making me a little more anxious right now...could be both.   

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