Just diagnosed today....not happy

Hello everyone. I want to give a quick run down of how I came to this position today. The jist of it goes....

10 months ago I had blood in my stool (hard stool's). GI doc does a symodoscopy and finds hemmroids as the cause. He was able to go further then usual to really rule out anything else.

Puts me on Hydrocortisone suppositories and sends me on my way (to use as needed). 7 months later I sit down for a BM and a GLOB of mucus comes out. I had been constipated and figured my body was just over producing it to push it out. This goes on and off for about a week then stops. I had taken about 30 suppositories over course of that 7 month period and stopped when the mucus started.

2 months after the initial mucus episode it starts again. After I had used some suppositories I might add! This time it doesn't stop and for 2 months I pass GLOBS of mucus on and off throughout the day with and without stool. I called my GI and was told its probably just IBS and hard stool's. Well that wasnt' good enough for me so we scheduled a colonoscopy to really be sure.

2 weeks' before the colonoscopy I developed a new symptom. Right when I felt the urge to go to the bathroom I would get an intense "get this outta me" feeling. It would be a normal (hard) stool. And I had no pain once it was passed or urgency feeling.

Well to cut this shorter today I got my colonoscopy done and was diagnosed with "Suspect Moderate Ulcerative proctosigmoiditis". A biopsy was taken and I'll have the results next week of that. The doctor gave me a prescription of Asacol 3 pills 2 times a day.

Now I'm not a doctor. But I NEVER had any issues before using those suppositories. There is NO family history of chrons or colitis in my family. And I don't have bloody diarehea, loose stools or any pain. Maybe I'm in the beginning stages?? My doc says there is no connection between the UC and the suppositories but I just find that hard to believe.

I'm 26, eat very heatlhy (organic, lots of fruits and veggies), I take daily vitamins and omega 3's, I surf a few times a week and I'm very active in general.

So, other then lot's of mucus which is usually clear, brownish or sorta yellowish and that urgent feeling I get RIGHT before I go....I don't have any symptoms. Is this common? Am I gonna get worse? Will I have to have my colon removed at some point? :(

I'm beyond scared right now and I haven't been able to speak to my doc since I was sedated. Just want some opinions and thank you for reading!

Mad2, I'm sorry to hear you needed to come here, but we do welcome you. While most people with UC tend to have diarrhea, some have constipation. The urgency you're feeling is caused by the inflammation in your rectum. Once the inflammation is cleared up, the urgency will go too. Hopefully the Asacol will do that for you. If not, there are other medications available, including enemas that can deliver the medication right to the affected area.

If you do in fact have UC, it's very likely that you won't need surgery. 67% of people with UC are managed medically. And while the condition can spread, many times it doesn't. It is important to keep taking your medication to help prevent it from getting worse. On the other hand, there are other things that can cause proctitis, so it's possible you don't even have UC.

It's very normal for you to be mad and scared right now. As Picton said, informing yourself is a good first step toward feeling like you once again have some control over your life. This is a good place to do that. Be sure to check the resources listed at the top of the board, there is a lot of good information there.

This is a great place to get information and support, so glad you found us.

Hey Mad. I echo what the others wrote, and wanted to add that like you I was doing everything "right," meaning eating well, exercising often, not smoking, no family history, etc... and here I am with it also. I think lots of us are in that position. what I have learned is to not try to rationalize it. the disease is what it is and we can't really make logical sense of it. but the good news is that yours sounds quite mild, so take a deep breath and try to relax and educate yourself once you feel less tired.

Even though you don't have a firm diagnosis yet, I'd recommend you start taking probiotics, if you aren't already. Regardless of what's going on, an effective probiotic will help normalize your gut ecology. The constipation and mucous are signs something's irritating your colon and impairing it's normal function. If it were me, I'd try an elimination diet to see if a particular food is causing or exacerbating your symptoms. Gluten and dairy are two big offenders, even though most folks consider them to be "healthy" foods. High sugar intake can be a problem, too.

quincy said...
Hi..welcome to the forum. It's not clear yet as to what you actually have, and it seems you aren't officially diagnosed with UC.

Did the doc tell you exactly where your colitis is extended to? limited or throughout?

What meds are you on at this time?

quincy

Thanks for responding. I talked with my doc 2 nights ago after having the colonoscopy and he said I have Colitis. Which he said is just a big word for inflammation. He said it goes from my "hole" to 6 inches behind it. The rest of my colon is normal. He did not see any ulcers though. He did a biopsy to see if I have an infectious type of colitis but he say's he doubt's it and is confident I just straight up ulceratice colitis. Actually on my paper here it says "Suspect Moderate Ulcerative Proctosigmoditis".

He put me on Asacol 3 pills twice a day.

I'm really upset because 10 months ago I had a sigmoidoscopy. I had NO symptoms other then seeing bright blood streaked on my stool. He found internal hemmroids but my colon was 100% normal. I took hydrocortisone suppositories over the course of about 6 months and tried to get my stool as soft as possible because I would have some blood everyday (not alot). Like an idiot I tried other remedies too. Over the counter suppositories and even squirting a bit of witch hazel into my butt a few times with an ear dropper. Now I'm begining to wonder if that gave me this colitis. What happened was a started passing globs of mucus back in August (After trying all those remedies to stop my hemmroids from bleeding). It stopped for a few months and I think I used a few more suppositories. Then in November the mucus started again and didn't stop. Around Christmas I also developed a new symptom of getting this "URGENT" feeling RIGHT before I passed stool. My stool's are normal (for me that means hard). But that urgent feeling was scaring me. So I told my GI doc and he said it's prally IBS. We did the colonoscopy this past Wednesday and he found inflammation from my butt hole to a few inches back. So that's why RIGHT before I pass the stool I get that URGENT feeling. And I feel like pushing even though I dont' want to...if that makes sense. And it makes my hemmroid bleed like crazy! The water actually has turned pink a few times. After I pass the stool though I'm good to go. Then a few hours later the mucus starts up again. When my stool's are softer though the mucus isn't as bad or so it seems.

I should add that I don't have diarhea or any pain. Just mucus and an urgent feeling right before I pass stool.

 

Post Edited (Mad2) : 1/18/2008 1:39:36 PM (GMT-7)

disco said...
Its take some time to adjust, I really dont' seem to have it as bad as some of the other people who post here. But I typically worry about how well I'll be able to handle it as I age.

I worry about that too.  How will my UC be as I age scares me a little.

 

Think of it this way...you may be diagnosed with it, but at least you don't have the pain that goes with it. And let me tell you that it isn't any fun. Also, you could have a really really mild case. I myself was diagnosed with a MILD case of "Indeterminate (Ulcerative) Colitis." Sometimes certain medications can be a trigger to UC or Chron's, which I believe was the antibiotic, Augmenton, in my case. Good luck and don't stress that makes it worse.

keep up on your meds

even when you're in a remission stage

you dont want it to get real bad.

and most GI doctors are very helpful so if you have any questions or concerns dont be afraid to call him/her.

Well, you should be on rectal meds as well...please consider this suggestion.

q