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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/30/2015 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,

I'm all over the forums just now looking for some insight and answers - feel like I'm harassing everyone!

I posted before earlier this year and still don't have a resolution. Here's my current MO:

Mucus tinged with a bit of blood
No pain
No cramping
Normal stool average once a day
No urgency
Blood tests normal
No weight loss
Slightly raised fecal calprotectin (100-120 ish)
Sigmoidoscopy found no inflammation (surgeon actually went past my sigmoid colon quite a ways just to be a little bit more thorough)
Biopsies normal
Slight ache in rectum, I can actually feel it in quite a specific place on the left side
Generally feel well in myself
No weight loss (in fact I've gained a kilo, but am still a healthy weight)

I actually was prescribed amitriptyline 25mg thinking it was ibs and it completely cured me for about a month, but gradually the symptoms came back: slightly hard stool, mucus then eventually blood.

I only really have one or two options left, either colonoscopy or pillcam but honestly I'm thinking pillcam might be more useful in case there's something hiding in my small bowel that a colonoscopy wouldn't see.

Does anyone have any thoughts?? Sometimes I wonder if I've got internal hemorrhoids that bleed when I have a bm then continue to bleed after and mix slightly with the mucus that hangs about in there. I know at one point I had a fissure but never had any pain with it.

Anybody any thoughts at all?? I don't know what to think anymore :(

Thanks to everyone for reading
Posted 9/30/2015 9:21 PM (GMT 0)
I wonder if it's just a hemorrhoid since you really don't have any other symptoms other than slight ache in the rectum and mucous tinged with blood. Nothing wrong with getting small bowel tests but you don't have any other gut issues based on your list other than the 2 issues you're having which definitely don't sound like they point to anything terrible like IBD or cancer.
Posted 9/30/2015 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah that's what I'm thinking, but there's always that niggle in the back of my mind when there's blood and raised calprotectin. My doctor said the FC test is 'non specific' and I guess what he means is it's not enough on its own to diagnose anything... You know sometimes I wonder if there's calprotectin involved with my chronic rhinitis/ throat inflammation and it's affecting the results? But who knows.

The other thing Is I've had this for a 1-2 years now and it's never gotten any worse, which I find slightly odd (not that I'm complaining!!). It seems to me like if it were something serious the symptoms would have gotten worse in that time? Or maybe not I don't know. Anyway I'm going back in November to see what the good doctor is saying to it, I think he was wondering about Crohns at the ileum/small bowel. It, just seems like a bit of a wait to find out when your brain is a problem solver (read: panicker) like mine!

You guys are such huge heroes. I hate if this sounds patronising it's just that I read your stories and I think you all are so admirable for what you go through, it must be so difficult sometimes. If it turns out its ibd I hope I can be as strong as you all are.
Posted 10/1/2015 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
It's hard to say, could be irritable bowel, could be hemorrhoids, could be something in the large intestine or small intestine. I'd see a primary care physician (family doctor) who can check for hemorrhoids (white glove and finger), and order a stool test to check for pathogenic causes. For further investigation, you'd need a gastroenterologist who can get a colonoscopy with biopsies to check for uc. Crohn's is small intestine, so you'd need imaging done.

My guess is irritable bowel, if you don't have urgency, diarrhea, etc. We're not doctors, so we cannot diagnose anything. Get some tests done, diagnosis is a process of diagnostics and elimination of possible diseases with similar symptoms. Self diagnosis is often wrong...
Posted 10/1/2015 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much everyone for your input. It's all good I know you guys aren't doctors I'm just very happy to have your opinions since you all are so experienced (unfortunately!) and well informed. I've never met someone with symptoms quite like mine so it sometimes feels pretty scary and confusing wondering what the cause is. To be perfectly honest I could put up with the symptoms I just don't want to leave a potentially quite serious illness undiagnosed and cause myself problems down the line. I guess I'll find out for sure one way or the other! Even if I can rule some things out it would be a bit better.

Thanks again :)
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