HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

colonoscopy and biopsy results

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 6/28/2023 11:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hey folks, just had my colonoscopy with biopsy done. A year ago I was hospitalized with severe pancolitis with deep ulcers, was put on rescue Remicade IV. ever since then i have been getting better and better. I'm receiving medication every 6 weeks since December because my medication levels were low, I'm also on mesalamine and azathioprine (low dose so I don't develop antibodies). I feel great, can eat anything, gained weight. Sometimes my gut feels off like loud noises, or a mild cramp before toilet. But nothing terrible, and i think your gut after this kind of inflammation will never be the same. So i went to get the colonoscopy and my GI told me everything looks great, there are some pale scars left over where the ulcers were and some small pseudopolyps, she took some biopsies. I just got the result and it says non specific inflammatory changes. I am so worried now, so the disease is just laying low. Has anyone had this result? what does it mean? and also do the scars ever go away? Does this mean that Remicade is not enough or is there a chance that the healing stil isn't finished yet after almost a year? please, please someone tell me?

Post Edited (Arisa1983) : 6/28/2023 3:46:27 AM (GMT-8)

Posted 6/28/2023 12:38 PM (GMT 0)
Your scope is showing old inflammation that healed. Enjoy feeling good & being able to live your life. Trust in what your dr told you. If you have a patient portal you can shoot your dr an email to verify everything looks good.

Take care.
Posted 6/28/2023 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
If your doctor has graded your colonoscopy as a test, you would've got an A+. Did you study hard hahaha? Your gasteroenterologist is likely to say you're in a remission.

You explained what the nonspecific inflammatory change was, yourself. It's the pseudo polyps! In medical jargon pseudo means false, so it's not a true polyp and therefore doesn't have colorectal cancer risks like real ones do. Pseudo polyps grow as inflammation from our UC heals, they appear after healing and will fall off on their own after a while.

Everyone on this UC forum has past signs of inactive inflammation within their colonoscopy. It's normal, expected for an UC patients and generally doesn't cause any symptoms. Rather it's clinical identification that we have an UC.

Even in a remission, we might have loud guts, or have some bowel cramping when pooping. That's normal and expected, so don't worry.
Posted 6/28/2023 3:08 PM (GMT 0)

iPoop said...
If your doctor has graded your colonoscopy as a test, you would've got an A+. Did you study hard hahaha? Your gasteroenterologist is likely to say you're in a remission.

You explained what the nonspecific inflammatory change was, yourself. It's the pseudo polyps! In medical jargon pseudo means false, so it's not a true polyp and therefore doesn't have colorectal cancer risks like real ones do. Pseudo polyps grow as inflammation from our UC heals, they appear after healing and will fall off on their own after a while.

Everyone on this UC forum has past signs of inactive inflammation within their colonoscopy. It's normal, expected for an UC patients and generally doesn't cause any symptoms. Rather it's clinical identification that we have an UC.

Even in a remission, we might have loud guts, or have some bowel cramping when pooping. That's normal and expected, so don't worry.

Hey, thank you for your reply. She told me that the polyps are an antinflammatory process result. The biopsy shows inflammation, i know that histological remission is hard to achieve even while I'm on biologics and I'm grateful for the way I'm feeling now but this notion that inflammation is still there makes me feel like my guts are a ticking time bomb. I never ever want to go thru my experience again. Do you think that Remicade can still heal the gut completely or this is the best it's going to get?
Posted 6/28/2023 3:13 PM (GMT 0)

straydog said...
Your scope is showing old inflammation that healed. Enjoy feeling good & being able to live your life. Trust in what your dr told you. If you have a patient portal you can shoot your dr an email to verify everything looks good.

Take care.

Thank you! I know i should just relax and accept that it's all good for now. I wish i was that type of person. I'll probably see her at my next infusion, we don't have that kind of access to doctors in my country so I'll ask her then. Thank you again for kind words
Posted 6/28/2023 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Please read what iPoop posted to you about previous inflammation again. Remicade is doing it's job or you wouldn't be feeling well, eating anything you want & able to live a normal life style, be thankful.

Until you get the opportunity to speak with your dr, put your report in your medical folder & celebrate being well. I can assure you, lots of people would love to be in your shoes right now.
Posted 6/28/2023 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
Arisa,

Welcome to the forum.

It's wonderful that Remicade is working for you. It's also normal to be concerned over your scope when you've been thru such a difficult time.

I agree with ipoop and straydog. (They help me sort thru my reports also. They are very knowledgeable.) Don't worry about the report because it's good....

I've been on Remicade and methotrexate for 8 years now. I still have low level inflammation -- it's showed up on most of my colonoscopy reports-- but my GI has stated it's nothing to concern myself with. I still have scars or areas where they can tell I suffered damage from my original episode in 2015. My GI has stated that even now...8 years later..some of my problem areas are improving. Stay on your medications and continue to get your scopes in a timely manner.

If you have questions contact your doctor and while waiting.....the folks on this site have experience and knowledge to share.

Congratulations!
Clo
Posted 6/28/2023 5:29 PM (GMT 0)

straydog said...
Please read what iPoop posted to you about previous inflammation again. Remicade is doing it's job or you wouldn't be feeling well, eating anything you want & able to live a normal life style, be thankful.

Until you get the opportunity to speak with your dr, put your report in your medical folder & celebrate being well. I can assure you, lots of people would love to be in your shoes right now.

Didn't mean to sound ungrateful, just scared. I'm very happy that I'm doing good now, thank you so much
Posted 6/28/2023 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hi...welcome to the forum. Do you have the results of the biopsies and the sites they were taken from?

Pseudopolyps are inflammatory in origin...but they can happen when there is no inflammation in the area. I have my scope in September and will be asking my GI about that, because I've had some over the past years with no inflammation.

q
Posted 6/28/2023 5:33 PM (GMT 0)

clo2014 said...
Arisa,

Welcome to the forum.

It's wonderful that Remicade is working for you. It's also normal to be concerned over your scope when you've been thru such a difficult time.

I agree with ipoop and straydog. (They help me sort thru my reports also. They are very knowledgeable.) Don't worry about the report because it's good....

I've been on Remicade and methotrexate for 8 years now. I still have low level inflammation -- it's showed up on most of my colonoscopy reports-- but my GI has stated it's nothing to concern myself with. I still have scars or areas where they can tell I suffered damage from my original episode in 2015. My GI has stated that even now...8 years later..some of my problem areas are improving. Stay on your medications and continue to get your scopes in a timely manner.

If you have questions contact your doctor and while waiting.....the folks on this site have experience and knowledge to share.

Congratulations!
Clo

Thank you, congratulations on your remission!! It's great to hear your experience. Does it take some time for your gut to get back to normal after a colonoscopy?
Posted 6/28/2023 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
I’ve been in remission for over 5 years now so my memory of my time line is a little fuzzy. But I remember several month after being in a symptom free remission that my colonoscopy showed microscopic inflammation, which worried me at the time. My next colonoscopy (probably 18 months later) showed no inflammation. So yes total healing of the gut can take awhile — or it did in my case anyway. I also had some psuedopolyps at around the same time , but those eventually cleared up too.

Hope that helps!
Posted 6/28/2023 5:53 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Hi...welcome to the forum. Do you have the results of the biopsies and the sites they were taken from?

Pseudopolyps are inflammatory in origin...but they can happen when there is no inflammation in the area. I have my scope in September and will be asking my GI about that, because I've had some over the past years with no inflammation.

q

Hey, i just have what my doctor wrote when she read the biopsy result: non specific inflammatory changed. They were taken from the cecum and sigmoid part.
Posted 6/28/2023 6:00 PM (GMT 0)

FlowersGal said...
I’ve been in remission for over 5 years now so my memory of my time line is a little fuzzy. But I remember several month after being in a symptom free remission that my colonoscopy showed microscopic inflammation, which worried me at the time. My next colonoscopy (probably 18 months later) showed no inflammation. So yes total healing of the gut can take awhile — or it did in my case anyway. I also had some psuedopolyps at around the same time , but those eventually cleared up too.

Hope that helps!


Thank you, that helps! So I'm a year in with my treatment but the inflammation was so bad that maybe that's why it's still present( on a microscopic level)
Posted 6/28/2023 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
Like I said, you're doing fantastic, don't worry! Remission is the likely outcome.

But let's play devil's advocate, what if there is a couple, minor areas with inflammation and what does that mean? Healing is an incredibly slow process it's likely that will go away in the coming months.

One biopsy in one of my colonoscopies over the years said "minimally active inflammation." My gasteroenterologist said it's still a remission, don't worry. So that's what I'm repeating to you.

It's prudence to get another inflammation test like Calprotectin or C-Reactive Protein every 6-12 months when in a remission to ensure nothing changes. It's also prudence to report any consistent (a week or more) worsening of your symptoms to your gasteroenterologist should it happen to catch and treat flares early.

I know you're speaking through fear and anxiety, given your prior struggles in taming your UC. Pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: what if I've actually beat this awful illness into submission and achieved a remission? That's what the chorus here is saying to you. Ultimately your doctor will discuss and explain but we're confident this is good news for you.
Posted 6/28/2023 8:44 PM (GMT 0)

iPoop said...
Like I said, you're doing fantastic, don't worry! Remission is the likely outcome.

But let's play devil's advocate, what if there is a couple, minor areas with inflammation and what does that mean? Healing is an incredibly slow process it's likely that will go away in the coming months.

One biopsy in one of my colonoscopies over the years said "minimally active inflammation." My gasteroenterologist said it's still a remission, don't worry. So that's what I'm repeating to you.

It's prudence to get another inflammation test like Calprotectin or C-Reactive Protein every 6-12 months when in a remission to ensure nothing changes. It's also prudence to report any consistent (a week or more) worsening of your symptoms to your gasteroenterologist should it happen to catch and treat flares early.

I know you're speaking through fear and anxiety, given your prior struggles in taming your UC. Pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: what if I've actually beat this awful illness into submission and achieved a remission? That's what the chorus here is saying to you. Ultimately your doctor will discuss and explain but we're confident this is good news for you.


Thank you, you have helped me a lot! I understand it takes time and patience, but also some positivity and optimism, and I need to do better in that department
Posted 6/28/2023 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
You're welcome, and just know we've all been through a very similar journey ourselves and also struggled with anxiety and worry just like your's. So we get it and can empathize. Honestly depression and anxiety goes hand-in-hand with the illness and our gasteroenterologist only treats the inflammation.

Many of us have gained helpful coping skills and found it helpful to talk to a therapist familiar with the challenges of chronic illness, some of us have taken antidepressants to help us through rough spots. Just know that's an option available to you whether it's helpful now or something to keep on your back burner, should it be helpful in your future. Your gasteroenterologist likely has a person that they refer people to for such occasions.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply