Just viral??

Have not been officially diagnosed with UC or any other gastro disease. Had what I thought was a UC flare up 2 years ago...went to ER, they sent me home with antibiotics and pain meds. Symptoms subsided in about a week. Have been normal ever since up until around 2 weeks ago. Started with just D, then cramps and D, now cramps, D and small amounts of blood.

Finally saw a GI on Thursday. I gave him my complete history, explained my symptoms and he examined my stomach area. He said if it were UC, I'd be in pain or have tenderness when he was feeling around my abdomen. I did not have any pain at all and he said it felt normal. He said the blood could be from internal hemmroids (sp?) as it is only there when I strain. He thinks it's just a virus that will run its course. I went to the lab today to provide a stool sample...does anyone know how long those results take to get back? He has me taking probiotics, wheat dextrin, anti spastic meds and cream for the hemmroids.

Mainly my cramping, D and sometimes blood occur in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Thought a fruit smoothie would be great since I have been so afraid to eat I know I am not getting the nutrients and vitamins I need. But that sent me to the bathroom around 2 hours later. However I've had perogies, grilled cheese and peanut butter crackers at night and was totally fine. Doesn't make any sense.

So what I'm asking you all is from what I've described do you think the doctor could be right? It is just a virus? Or do you think I should push to have a colonoscopy done? I just cannot see a virus lasting this long but he said it could take up to 4 weeks to run its course and the cramping is from my colon being spastic and trying to get back to normal.

Thanks in advance for any insight:)

Chrissy

The tests were probably for C-Diff. There are several different kinds of tests from very quick to several days. I doubt very much that it is a virus. It's probably either the C-Diff (which is actually a bacteria) or UC. Even though C-Diff can be very tough to treat it is treatable where UC is usually a long term nightmare. One of the most common symptoms of UC is pain and many here have it, but I have had UC for 2 years and have never had one eyota of pain, ever. I think you just have to wait until the tests come back. I have just recently learned that C-Diff tests can often give false negatives so you may want to ask your doctor about that if your test is negative. To get a true reading sometimes it is recommended to have three seperate stool tests on three seperate days to confirm the negative diagnosis. This wasn't done in my case and I just found out about this. I'm going to ask my doctor if we need to retest. Good luck.

Welcome to the forums autumnlove,

thats unfortunate your doc didn't give you the answers you were hoping for. A virus should never involve diarrhea + blood and reoccurring pain in my opinion.

Curious, why on earth would your doctor prescribe you 'wheat dextrin' ? There are no health benefits in wheat that could otherwise be obtained from another grain. Celiac disease and gluten intolerance is growing in numbers right now.

Also, its possible that the fruit smoothie was too much sugar (whether natural or not) for your stomach to handle. And if your colon is inflamed, you're body will let you know by passing sugar right through you! Ouch. Try to minimize.

A few things you can do while waiting for the stool tests:

Omega 3 Fish Oil (liquid or capsules) - highly anti-inflammatory
InflaGuard - Supplement/capsule thats comprised of superherbs: turmeric, boswellia and devils claw.
Stay away from garlic and onion for the moment, they are sulfurous and cause gas, also broccoli family vegetables.
Go low on the fiber, instead of brown rice have white, rye bread is best overall.
If you like tea, get some chamomile/peppermint, this can settle the stomach, and calm your mind.

Drink lots of water, to flush the system. :)

Just wanted to add that I definitely have UC and I've never had pain from someone pushing on the outside of my gut/belly area.

2 weeks may or may not be too long for a virus but blood is not common.

Could be a parasite. Hopefully they'll test for that as well.
When my initial stool tests were done they found a parasite but my doc said he didn't think it would be causing me all the symptoms I was having. I was treated for the parasite and, sure enough, symptoms were still going strong. However certain types of parasites could certainly cause those problems.

They have to rule out other possibilities before they want to send a camera up there. This is a good thing, but the waiting and suffering sucks.

Hope you get some relief soon.

Thank you all for your insight, much appreciated! Stereofidelic89....the store was out of wheat dextrin so I haven't started on it yet, maybe that's a good thing? Soulstud...I'm 33 so that was another reason dr didn't want to do the colonoscopy right away. For the past two days I've had mild cramping that lasts less than 15 seconds and then gas and it's over. Afraid to try to "go" as the last thing I want to do is strain even if it's solid. If I'm having a flare could I go 2+ days without diarrhea? Had a bunch to eat last night at a birthday party, even cookies and ice cream against my better judgement. I just couldn't resist. Hopefully I'll be ok today.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions and advice :)

Chrissy