2nd opinion?

Sept 20th2009 -Husband was told he had gastroenteritis(infection)and was sent home after a sigmidscope.Was told it will clear up in 4 days-1 week but it didn't.

Nov 6th 2009-(1 1/2months later)after getting pushed out of the door GI Clinic because Gi wants colitis to develop further-Husband received a colonscopy and was given Predisone and Asacol.

Predisone worked in about 2 days and he got better within 4 days and tapered off Predisone in 2 weeks.
He has been on maintenance of Asacol ever since.

January 2010-(3 Months later)-had another to rule out the colitis.Biopsies were taken and he was diagnosed with Pancolitis.

Forgive my ignorance but from what i have read Pancolitis seems to be a much harder disease to tackle and put into remission and from what i have read,people get misdignosed all the time with UC.It has been 1 1/2 year now since the flare up and my husband had no symptoms.Could he have been misdiagnosed?Both my husband and i don't have faith in the GI .I need advice..is it possible that he was misdiagnosed with pancolitis and had something else instead?should he seek a 2nd medical opinion?

Post Edited (navywife83) : 5/9/2011 7:16:39 PM (GMT-6)

Loves-Pearls said...
Hi Navy Wife,

I'm not an authority here as I was only diagnosed with Pancolitis 4 weeks ago and started prednisone and asacol the same day as my colonoscopy. The prednisone stopped my bleeding by the 2nd day and I feel like I'm in remission right now. Although my doc changed my meds a couple weeks later, I'm still fine.

This is only my experience and I've learned that we are all different and respond differently to meds. Your husband is still taking asacol and has been in remission due to maintenance meds? My doc told me I'd need to take medication for the rest of my life...which is a tough pill to swallow in itself.

I'm curious to see what others suggest. I'm glad that your husband is doing fine.

Hi Loves-Pearls,thanks for the reply.What medications did your GI switch you to?And yes my husband has to take Asacol for the rest of his life as well.How long did it take for you to get the colonscopy?I am glad  you stopped bleeding after 2 days and i hope you dont flare up again.The reason i need advice whether or not it is worth it to get a 2nd opinion is because of the mishaps that happened during his flare up with .He was misdiagnosed,given Immodium when he was not supposed to take it and had caused his condition to debilitate and was pushed out of the door several times by the GI as she wanted his colitis to develop further.Suffice to say,we dont have much faith in his GI.

Hi Navy Wife,

My experience is that I went to a doc at a clinic mid February, with 6 weeks of severe diarrhea with blood, cramps, grumbly tummy and just feeling awful. She chalked it up to my IBS diagnosis...did blood work and sent me on my mary way. Blood work came back perfect. A month later I still had the same symptoms. I asked a girl at work for her docs number. This new doc did a rectal exam (never had one before and she found blood) and sent me for blood work and stool sample. The doc or her nurse called me every day. They put me on cipro for 5 days and when the bleeding hadn't stopped, my doc called me and told me she needed to refer me to a gi doc. The new gi doc's nurse called me the following day and scheduled me for my consult 2 days later. That was a Thurs. I went in and he did an exam and scheduled me for colonoscopy on the next Monday. I was diagnosed the same day due to biopsy. THIS is how caring docs work! I feel very lucky to have found a caring doc, who then sent me to a very caring doc who was concerned enough to get me well.

First hand, you need a doctor you can trust. I am not a doctor person...I don't like them "practicing" on me. That's just me...But I think you need to see if anyone else is available for your Husband to see.

Lastly, on the Monday colonoscopy, I told my doc I was going on vacation the next week...to the other side of this country. That is why he prescribed the Asacol. Most don't have any side effects. He initially wanted me on Sulfazine, but it comes with side effects. He didn't want me on the East coast with a rash or migraines. When I got back to town he had me start mixing the 2, to see if I had any side effects. I haven't, and am waiting for my next visit to see what I have to take for the rest of my life.

I too think its GREAT that you're Husband is doing so well!

Loves-Pearls said...
Hi Navy Wife,

My experience is that I went to a doc at a clinic mid February, with 6 weeks of severe diarrhea with blood, cramps, grumbly tummy and just feeling awful. She chalked it up to my IBS diagnosis...did blood work and sent me on my mary way. Blood work came back perfect. A month later I still had the same symptoms. I asked a girl at work for her docs number. This new doc did a rectal exam (never had one before and she found blood) and sent me for blood work and stool sample. The doc or her nurse called me every day. They put me on cipro for 5 days and when the bleeding hadn't stopped, my doc called me and told me she needed to refer me to a gi doc. The new gi doc's nurse called me the following day and scheduled me for my consult 2 days later. That was a Thurs. I went in and he did an exam and scheduled me for colonoscopy on the next Monday. I was diagnosed the same day due to biopsy. THIS is how caring docs work! I feel very lucky to have found a caring doc, who then sent me to a very caring doc who was concerned enough to get me well.

First hand, you need a doctor you can trust. I am not a doctor person...I don't like them "practicing" on me. That's just me...But I think you need to see if anyone else is available for your Husband to see.

Lastly, on the Monday colonoscopy, I told my doc I was going on vacation the next week...to the other side of this country. That is why he prescribed the Asacol. Most don't have any side effects. He initially wanted me on Sulfazine, but it comes with side effects. He didn't want me on the East coast with a rash or migraines. When I got back to town he had me start mixing the 2, to see if I had any side effects. I haven't, and am waiting for my next visit to see what I have to take for the rest of my life.

I too think its GREAT that you're Husband is doing so well!

Thank you Love-Pearls.You are lucky you have a good caring GI who didn't make you wait and gave you a colonscopy right away.The time line seems pretty fast too considering the fact that you mentioned the biopsies were taken on the same day.The GI doesnt seemed too confident when she was assigned to my husband's case.Her main concern was not to get my husband into remission like any other GI would but to wait further for the colitis to develop which my husband and i find strange since all the symptoms were evident..I think my husband is going to go ahead and schedule an appointment for a 2nd opinion just so we can get this off our chest even if the biopsy results comes back the same.