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Confused still. Symptoms just dont match.

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/28/2009 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
This is my second topic here in hopes that someone can help. I'm currently in search of a GI for a second opinion.

about a month ago after a c-scope I was given the run around by my GI about what I had until he eventually just told me UC and rushed me out the door with some pills (Lialda) (that I didn't have to take).

I got my pathology report as some of you suggested on here.

Everything states colitis. The colon photos clearly show inflammation of my colon. They do not look near as bad as the google photos of UC.

I read the symptoms on here of you who have UC and I dont have any.

When it first started I had bloating in my lower abdomen daily 24/7 which was relieved by a BM.
BM's became daily after 3 weeks.
Bloating went away totally 2 months ago after a week on Flagel and Cipro.
I started having tons of mucus. Discovered I got food poison on top of first issue (more cipro).
c-scope Aug 20 showed colitis
Sept 5 told I had colitis then UC after getting the run around.



UC for me consists of gas in the AM before I have a daily BM between 9 and 12.
Before a BM I usually have a tingling feeling in my left side / under rib cage/ or my back left side under rib cage. (I also get a gnawing feeling on the left side from time to time)

These are my current symptoms of "UC"

I never have D or blood. stool is always normal with very little mucus if any. I feel great the rest of my day after my daily BM.

Seriously does this sound like UC to you?
My problem first started after I drank bad Deer Park bottled water. smelt fine cold..... smelt like fish tank warm....

any suggestions?




https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&p=1&m=1593293#m1593421
My first thread that tells my whole experience start to end

Post Edited (JDJ) : 9/28/2009 10:10:01 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/28/2009 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
UC has a range of symptoms from very minor to moderate to severe. Mostly what you see on this board are people in the moderate to severe flares which have more of the extreme symptoms. I can tell you that my symptoms for the first 10 years were minor, like yours. After that my disease got worse and then for the first time in all those years with UC I had diarrhea and bleeding. So, yes you could have UC and your UC could have been triggered by foul water.

If you feel your diagnosis is an error you should seek an opinion of a second GI. If you're going to go with this dx then the best thing you can do to keep your UC from getting worse is to take the daily maintenance medications.

The bloating you describe is an imbalance of gut bacteria. It's not surprise that cipro/flagyl cleared that up. You also might want to add a probiotic (good bacteria) to your daily regime.

Sue
Posted 9/28/2009 4:34 PM (GMT 0)
Does the pathology report say "ulcerative colitis" or just "colitis"? All that "colitis" means is inflammation of the colon ("itis" is the medical suffix for inflammation...laryngitis, bronchitis, arthritis, etc). I mean, a stomach bug or food poisoning would cause your colon to look inflammed.

Most definitely get a second opinion.
Posted 9/28/2009 4:34 PM (GMT 0)
Have you followed up on any of the suggestions from your previous post? I see that various people suggested you revisit the GI who diagnosed you to clarify the diagnosis, and others suggested you get a second opinion.

Based on the wording of your report, it sounds as if could have pseudomembranous colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's colitis or some other form of colitis. Colitis simply means an inflammation of your colon. You also may need to be patient, as it can take some time to arrive at a diagnosis. The course of the process over time can be part of making that diagnosis.

The appearance of the colon changes based on the status of the disease, too. When I was first diagnosed, I had ulcers all over. My last two scopes have shown no signs of inflammation, but I still have UC and I know if I stop my treatment (or even if I continue it, perhaps) the symptoms will return.
Posted 9/28/2009 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Your symptoms sound like mine when I am only mildly flaring. I would seek another GI as it sounds like yours did not give you enough info or time.
Posted 9/28/2009 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
I've had the issue almost 4 months now. The symptoms have slowly gotten better. The gnawing/tingle in the left side is the most recent symptom.

I'm curious if my colon was just inflamed from the food poison. If that's the case then I'm curious about the felling in my side and my daily bowel movement.

I'm currently not taking any med's in fear of feeling worse. I can handle the symptoms I have now and they interfere very little in my life.

Post Edited (JDJ) : 9/28/2009 11:58:57 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/28/2009 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
I'd still like to know if your pathology report says "ulcerative colitis" or "colitis." :)

And, like I said above, food poisoning CAN make your colon look inflammed. The feeling on your left side could be due to inflammation that's still there, and could be causing you to have more frequent BMs than you did in the past.

You really need to go see another GI.
Posted 9/28/2009 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
Pathology report says "mild to mod colitis" in each section of my colon.

Just Colitis.

endo and c-scope I was in and out in 20min.

It may just be me but 20 min does not feel like enough time to inspect my colon properly.

I'm attempting to find another GI in the FL panhandle. Ringle appears to be the main man from Pensacola to Panama city. He has offices in 4 different towns......


4 months of my life sick and I cant even imagine how you all must feel because there's day's I get really depressed about feeling bad even when I realize I don't feel so bad at all. I don't expect you to have the answers, just maybe helpful info to the right direction or if I need to look into possibly having something other than UC.

btw after testing multiple times I think milk/ice cream gives me issues. I notice I can have cheese daily and things are fine, but if I dare have a milkshake or ice cream I'll have looser stools and/or visible mucus the following day. I know this a common symptom with colitis, but thought I'd mention it since my GI told me not to change my diet because it did not affect anything.
After reading your posts my GI sounds like a joke.

Post Edited (JDJ) : 9/28/2009 12:22:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/28/2009 6:29 PM (GMT 0)
Excessive mucous is common with IBD or even with IBS...as mentioned, there are different forms of colitis...do you happen to know if your inflammation is patchy (healthy tissue in between inflammed) or if the entire area(s) are inflammed with no skipped patterns (patches) of inflammation?

If your "colitis" is mild right now then your symptoms would also follow suite...but getting a second (or third) opinion never hurts.


:)
Posted 9/28/2009 7:10 PM (GMT 0)

pb4 said...
Excessive mucous is common with IBD or even with IBS...as mentioned, there are different forms of colitis...do you happen to know if your inflammation is patchy (healthy tissue in between inflammed) or if the entire area(s) are inflammed with no skipped patterns (patches) of inflammation?

If your "colitis" is mild right now then your symptoms would also follow suite...but getting a second (or third) opinion never hurts.


:)

according to the report its my whole colon.


http://images.google.com/images?q=ulcerative%20colitis&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

there are the UC photos from google. My photos are nothing like them. I'll try to remember to grab the photos and scan them so maybe some of you can look and say yes or no to how UC looks,
The GI only said UC after I kept the pressure on him for a better answer than colitis.
It's obvious I need a second opinion I just figured I could put 2+2 together myself if I had the knowledge from others who have been through the experience.
The c-scope was said to provide the answers, but instead showed what was suspected and has only raised more questions.

again thank you all

Post Edited (JDJ) : 9/28/2009 1:14:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/28/2009 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Ah, then that would be pancolitis (when the entire colon is inflamed as a result of UC).


:)
Posted 9/28/2009 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, pb4, I disagree that it must be UC just because the whole colon is inflamed.

Research the different types of colits (pseudomembranous, ulcerative, etc, etc, etc) and then seek the opinion of a different GI, and take copies of all of your tests, etc with you when you go. Then, you can have a good discussion with thet GI...like "well, I have x symptom of UC, but not z symptom."

Without us having medical training, or being able to see all of your medical records, all we can do is guess!
Posted 9/28/2009 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Disagree if you like, but I didn't put the term in the medical dictionary where it states what I wrote...

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pancolitis

Posted 9/28/2009 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, but it only says "...most commonly." Besides, the pathology report doesn't say pancolitis, just that the whole colon is inflamed.

As we've talked about before, colitis just means inflammation of the colon. The "pan" prefix just means that it's the whole colon. So I guess if you mean "uclerative colitis of the whole colon," it would be more correct to say "ulcerative pancolitis" rather than just "pancolitis."
Posted 9/28/2009 9:32 PM (GMT 0)
pseudomembranous aka; antibiotic induced colitis/C-Diff doesn't necessarily inflame the entire colon, pancolitis mean the entire colon is inflamed.
Posted 9/28/2009 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
And ulcerative colitis also doesn't always inflame the whole colon. From what I've seen, a lot of people on here, who do have UC, don't have pancolitis.

I'm just trying to help the OP figure out what else might be going on. If the pathology had clearly indicated ulcerative colitis, I imagine the reoport would have specifically said "ulcerative colitis." I went back and found a previous thread the OP started where he says his pathology report mentions pseudomembranous colitis or Crohn's colitis.
Posted 9/28/2009 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, the entire colon can be inflamed as a result of any of the causes of colitis. And the appearance in pictures isn't diagnostic, because UC can appear as total ulcers, redness and swelling or completely normal pink mucosa, depending on the degree of activeness of the disease at the time of the colonoscopy. So basically, this discussion is moot to start with.

JDJ, none of us are responding here as medical experts or physicians. We can't diagnose. I can tell you, though, that there's nothing in any of the information you've provided that really speaks to what kind of colitis you have. It merely establishes that you have inflammation throughout your colon.
Posted 9/28/2009 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Crohn's colitis won't necessarily inflame the entire colon, if it does then with crohn's colitis there will still be patches with some healthy tissue showing.

I know UC doesn't always involve the whole colon (I've had IBD for 18 yrs, I'm pretty sure I know all the terms and their meanings) pancolitis means the entire colon is inflamed regardless of what's causing the inflammation and generally speaking UC is the most common form of colitis that can inflame the entire colon...so again fruitgirl the medical dictionary reflects what pancolitis is...just as I stated.

If it's the OP you're trying to help then don't direct your disagreement with me especially when I'm stating facts, all you're doing is confusing the OP even more when you disagree with someone that is pointing out a fact. Do your research and learn what the terms mean.

Good job on nit-picking, like we need more bickering going on!
Posted 9/28/2009 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
BTW the term "ulcerative pancolitis" is pretty much one you came up with, it's not a technical term that docs use, so you may think that's what it should be called but it's not what the medical field terms it as, they use the term pancolitis to describe when the entire colon is inflamed regardless and UC most commonly causes that.
Posted 9/28/2009 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
I also know what the terms mean.  I've done a lot of research, but I also knew a lot of the medical prefixes and suffixes long before I was diagnosed, I guess because I'm a word dork like that.  I don't appreciate the insuination that I need to learn what the words mean or that I'm purposefully trying to stir up trouble or confuse someone.  I'm truly here to help and am also "stating facts."

 

The ONLY thing I disagreed with you on was the part I highlighted in bold below:

"Ah, then that would be pancolitis (when the entire colon is inflamed as a result of UC)."


 

Posted 9/28/2009 10:46 PM (GMT 0)
If you knew what pancolitis meant, you wouldn't have "disagreed" with my post which BTW was based on the medical dictionary...I don't appreciate being singled out and disagreed with when I post actual facts....and I will stick by what the medical dictionary says, "WHICH MOST COMMONLY OCCURS WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS".
Posted 9/28/2009 11:06 PM (GMT 0)
Okay, this discussion is now closed. Any further posts to this thread will be deleted.

JDJ, I'm sorry to close your thread. Please feel free to start a new thread if you have additional questions.
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