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Chrons Or ulcerative Colitis

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/20/2011 8:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hey guys taught I had UC for the past year since my scope last year.

Been in almost a constant flare since and doctors couldn'tget a handle on it.

Went for second scope yesterday and now they are telling me it could be chrons.

So I guess I am asking u guys if it is chrons is there different treatment medically or is it the same as Uc.

Also do you guys get good remissions cause I am really exhausted at this point I'm 28 year old male feeling like i'm 60,

Posted 2/20/2011 10:05 AM (GMT 0)
My opinion......

Crohn's treatment can be slightly different, different forms of the same meds.

You need to get a Pill cam test most likely to verify the Crohn's.

Can I ask, what meds are you currently on?

I am not in remission yet so I can't say.  I have heard other feel pretty normal in remission though.

Posted 2/20/2011 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Bowiestar, my first diagnosis was proctitis (UC). I didn't have a full scope until 3 years after that, and my GI found proctitis and inflammation in the cecum. My meds didn't change after that scope, but the quantity did; I didn't feel much better and was still having diarrhea daily.

After doing some reading, research and thinking, I asked my GI to change my oral med from Asacol to Pentasa. They are essentially the same drug, but Pentasa is meant to act higher in the GI tract. Even though no one had ever visualized my small bowel (pill cam can do that), I was certain that I had inflammation there. I made the switch, and within a month my diarrhea was gone. My GI, who had never said UC or Crohn's, just "IBD," agreed that Crohn's was a better fit and we've acted based on that for that last 7 years.

So yes, your meds might change a bit with a different understanding of your illness. It might also matter in the way your GI thinks of your colon cancer risk, and how often you are told to have a colonoscopy.
Posted 2/20/2011 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
If your crohn's is affecting your colon (crohn's colitis) where UC typically hangs out, then generally yes, the same meds are used to treat the colon for crohn's as used for UC.
Posted 2/20/2011 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
I take many of the medications that are for UC...treatments are similar, it's just where the delivery of the meds take place...
I tend to have perianal and lower colon (sigmoid/rectal) issues, but also have stomach and mouth issues (with little involvement of the small intestine, as seen via pill cam and other results)...
The fatigue, at least in my experience is somewhat normal, but totally blows (with friends I use a more vulgar expression, as it seems to capture the essence of what I feel, and also little kids are reading eyes )
Posted 2/20/2011 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
I wish I knew of a way to tell which one it is! I've had the UC diagnosis since day one, & my GI refuses to change it to Crohns based on scope results & biopy results. However, I'm prone to perianal abscesses & fistulas, which don't often present in UC, yet are common in Crohns. Any surgical consult I've ever had thus far has been the same- not a candidate for a jpouch due to fistulas. To a surgeon, a fistula equals Crohns. The meds I've been on personally are the same for either, aside from the Asacol vs. Pentasa question. I don't honestly care which one it is, truth be told, as long as I'm doing ok.
Posted 2/20/2011 8:29 PM (GMT 0)
My biopsies indicated ulcerative colitis but my last colonoscopy showed patchy inflammation and I had developed a painful perianal abscess which points to CD. So I am torn between UC and Crohn’s Colitis.

One way to determine diagnosis may be thru smoking or better yet nicotine lozenges. Nicotine supposedly alleviates UC but it aggravates Crohn’s. So you can diagnose yourself by how you feel.

(For those of you who are new to forums, this devil symbol means that I am not serious about anyone really ingesting nicotine. I wish I had Sniper’s sense of humor).
Posted 2/20/2011 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys thanks can I ask u do you feel exhausted some days with this really tired and pale today.
Feel like this chrons or uc affects my whole body with strange aches and pains forget what its like to feel normal.
Posted 2/20/2011 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
Yep, fatigue is part of the package.

And YES, this DD affects the whole body.  I've gone through stuff similar to what you are describing.

Posted 2/20/2011 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
I was tired, cold and pale when I was anemic. You should get your iron checked.

I am still tired even though I am not anemic. I think chronic illness causes fatigue for many. You could experience fatigue with both chron's & colitis.

I always question if I have Chron's and not UC but my GI doesn't think it is necessary to do an endoscopy unless I am considering surgery. I have had patchy inflammation in past colonoscopies.
Posted 2/21/2011 1:28 AM (GMT 0)

Eva Lou said...
I wish I knew of a way to tell which one it is! I've had the UC diagnosis since day one, & my GI refuses to change it to Crohns based on scope results & biopy results. However, I'm prone to perianal abscesses & fistulas, which don't often present in UC, yet are common in Crohns. Any surgical consult I've ever had thus far has been the same- not a candidate for a jpouch due to fistulas. To a surgeon, a fistula equals Crohns. The meds I've been on personally are the same for either, aside from the Asacol vs. Pentasa question. I don't honestly care which one it is, truth be told, as long as I'm doing ok.

 

Eva Lou, based on you saying this " However, I'm prone to perianal abscesses & fistulas, which don't often present in UC, yet are common in Crohns. Any surgical consult I've ever had thus far has been the same- not a candidate for a jpouch due to fistulas. To a surgeon, a fistula equals Crohns"....you definiteyly sound like a crohnie not a UCer.

 

I too have crohn's colitis (CD affecting the colon where UC typicaly hangs out) I do have issues with perianal crohn's skin tags and acccording to my specialists would likely have issues with fistulas....knocking on wood to this day (20 yrs later) I've never had an actual fistula but I defiitely have CD (since my CD in the beginning was also affecting many parts of my small intestine as well as colon and rectom and anus when I first became sick).

Posted 2/21/2011 1:34 AM (GMT 0)

BabeintheWoods said...
My biopsies indicated ulcerative colitis but my last colonoscopy showed patchy inflammation and I had developed a painful perianal abscess which points to CD. So I am torn between UC and Crohn’s Colitis.

One way to determine diagnosis may be thru smoking or better yet nicotine lozenges. Nicotine supposedly alleviates UC but it aggravates Crohn’s. So you can diagnose yourself by how you feel.

(For those of you who are new to forums, this devil symbol means that I am not serious about anyone really ingesting nicotine. I wish I had Sniper’s sense of humor).

Unfortunatley because we're not all the same, the smoking theory wouldn't proove anything based on my own experiance and I 100% have crohn's...I quit smoking and my crohn's became much worse, likely/possibly because me CD is mainly held up in my colon, who knows, one thing for sure is smoking doesn't always affect a crohnies small intestines...I started smoking again and things did improve some (worth continuing smoking for "me", I don't suggest other crohn's colitis patients start smoking just to see if it benefits them).

 

One other very important clue regarding the patchiness of inflammation, that is consistant with having crohn's and not UC so I'd say it's a very safe bet to say you also have crohn's and not UC, with UC the inflammation is not patchy...also with crohn's the inflammation can go through the surface of the lining of the intestines (large and small) where as with UC it is limited to the surface only.  I'd say you definitely have crohn's colitis due to the patchiness alone.

 

There aren't a whole lot of differences between symptoms between UC and CD and often why many docs have trouble DX between the 2 but the obvious ones are, the patchiness with crohn's, the depth crohn's can go that UC cannot and the areas that "can" be affected by CD and not UC.

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