Worried about whether I have Ulcerative Colitis!!!! Haven't been to a Doctor.....

Hi,
I'm 22 years old and really worried I have Ulcerative Colitis and that I should be doing something about it. My brother was diagnosed with it when he was around 12 and is fine as of now. I've never really done anything because my symptoms are pretty rare, but they've been happened since I was a kid. Every now and again, my stomach starts to hurt like hell and then it slowly moves down to my intestines. It's like there is a sharp pain that slowly builds up until it unbearable and then it suddenly releases and it feels kinda like it "bubbles" up. Then it begins again....this happens repetitively until I go to the bathroom and diaharrea for about 30 minutes, and once I get it out I feel better again. The diarrhea doesn't have any blood (from what I can tell). HOWEVER, none of this had happened to me in a looooong time (maybe 9 months? maybe less, maybe more) but it has been happening every so often since I was a kid. Besides these random moments of agony every few (or more) months, I feel fine. I'm in good shape and I workout....generally, I feel very healthy. Sometimes, I have noticed little "blots" of blood in my stool at other times- but nothing that seemed too significant.

Sooo.....my question is WHAT DO I DO? Do I have U/C? If I do, are my symptoms mild enough to just ignore it, or should I be on meds? I know U/C can also increase your chance at colon cancer- should I be worried??!?!? I feel like I've been hesitant to tell anyone or go to the doctor because I've been in denial about the symptoms...:( PLEASE HELP!!

It sounds more like you have a food intolerance causing these sympotms than UC. I'd keep a food journal for a few months, and see if you notice that anything in particular causes those symptoms. That sounds a lot like what MSG does to me.

I would say it was just food intolerance except for the fact that there is blood. You should get it checked out.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it at this point though. I loose tons of blood when I flare.

The blood in my stool is pretty infrequent. I think I'm gonna buy a little container and collect a sample if/when it happens again and bring it in to the doctor. .....I had an appointment a long time ago about the blood and I said I'd come in with a sample if it happened again, but it took so long that I forgot and never came in. Should I just ask for a colonoscopy? Or do you think me waiting to bring in a sample is reasonable?

Sometimes the blood in stool is hidden (called "occult") which is only detected with a stool test. I believe you can now buy these home-tests at the pharmacy (US). Just because you can/cannot see blood doesn't mean it's not there, or if you only see a little.
It is the first screening for colon cancer (sorry to harp on it but it's important).