Newly Diagnosed / What to Expect?

Greetings, all.

 Last month I scheduled my first colonoscopy for screening purposes (I’m 53) and the fact that I’ve been having stomach problems that I first started noticing in April (loose, watery stools, bloating (extreme at times) and loud boiling, gurgling and growling.) I’ve have never had stomach or bowel problems until now, always having what I considered an iron stomach and efficient system. And oh, before the colonoscopy I took a blood test for Celiac Disease that came back negative. After the blood test I went on a gluten-fee diet which I am still on.

The colonoscopy results were fine, no abnormalities, no polyps, and according to my Doctor, “everything looked good.”  However, he did take some biopsies due to my recent stomach problems. The nurse called me yesterday to advise me that the biopsy results revealed “mild inflammation in the colon, mild colitis,” and that I should schedule an appointment to discuss the results with the Doctor and plan a course of treatment.

So, I guess my question is, and I realize it’s all speculation at this point, but does anybody have any ideas as to what I can expect?  Is “mild colitis” treated with medication?  Is “mild colitis” different from ulcerative colitis?  Of course, I’m in unchartered waters here and would appreciate any information.

 

Thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum.

As C_G_K said, you need to push a little and ask if theyr eally meant "ulcerative" colitis. Because the colitis was found on biopsy, I suspect so.... but you need to check.

You might ask your doc if he thinks you could benefit from a moderate dose of the oral 5-ASA meds, such as Asacol...that might calm the inflammation and also keep it from becoming worse. And/or probiotics....?
Again, as has been said, the folks here tend to be the ones with problems in responding....so we are not a representative sample. I have found over the years that I do best when I do research on my own as well as asking my GI about things like meds.

Check out our resources at the top of the forum, and also you might want to look at some of the educational info at ccfa. org.

What's confusing is that I'm not getting stomach pain, no cramps, not throwing up, no blood in the stool and definitely not tired. I run 5 miles four times a week and have been doing so for the last 15 years. But man, the bloat and stomach growling and the discomfort that comes along with it are bad.  And as I stated, the loose, watery stools.  Obviously I'll know more after my appointment on the 31st and thanks to this forum, will ask a lot of questions.  Funny though, I thought after my colon was given a preliminary clean bill of health after the colonoscopy I figured it may be something else.