Questions for people who have UC, thanks for your time :)

Hey guys, I have a few questions that I hope those of you with Ulcerative Colitis might be able to answer regarding it's symptoms. This is kind of a long read, I apologize.

I first had pain in the lower left abdomen that started in Dec 2010, near the pelvic area and up to just under the belly button line. The pain felt like a dull ache that lasted all day, at times would get worse, and then would lessen. The pain also appeared to sometimes leave the left side and go to the right side pain only lasted for maybe and hour, and then would move back to the left. The thing that bothered me is that the pain was always there, even though it was not to severe, it was definitely noticeable. I finally saw a GI about 8 months after the pain started(June 2011), he did a colonoscopy, upper and lower endoscopy. Everything came back normal, but the ache still was there. For some reason after that, I had c-diff which was a pain to get rid of, but it went away. I also took bacteria overgrowth and lactose intolerance test a few months later, all normal. I saw the GI again just 2 weeks ago, I'm still having the same exact pain in the same location, lower left abdomen area. It seems to be there all day, and the pain still fluctuates from noticable to maybe a 6 or 7 at it's worst(Which is not to often). There is never any blood in the stool, just from Hemmorhoids. Sometimes I have an urgent restroom urges, but mostly if I didn't take the acid reflux pill and ate a big meal. Other symptoms I have are gas and bloating and just the constant abdomen pain. I can't say I have suffered any severe pain in the area except for one time when I ate some really nasty and greasy chinese food(Never again lol). Does this sound like Ulcerative Colitis to any of you? The GI said it's IBS, but I just want to make sure. Some of the questions I have are:

Would the Doctor be able to easily see if somebody has UC by using a Colonoscopy?

Can you tell a difference between actual inflammation instead of a dull ache and what's the difference, or does inflammation feel like a dull ache?

Does there have to be ulcers in the colon to have UC and would they be visible even if you werent having a flare up?

Did any of you have rectum pain before you got diagnosed with UC? The reason I ask is because about 3 years ago I had a really bad ache/pain in that area. Went to a GI, he wanted me to get colonoscopy but I did not have insurance at the time, he said it thought it was an anal fissure and gave me specific medicine to take. The pain went away about a month later. This type of ache is very similar to ache in the lower abdomen, so I was just wondering if any of you had experienced that. The Doctor did say after the colonoscopy that he saw the anal fissure I used to have. Thank you guys and any advice about the questions would be greatly appreciated.

Post Edited (rawkstar2k) : 3/27/2012 5:00:51 AM (GMT-6)

UC is different for everyone and I would disagree about diarrhea being a symptom that all UCers share. I had UC for 10 years before diarrhea was ever a symptom. My UC was constipation based until the end. As for getting a proper diagnosis it can sometimes take months or years to get a definitive diagnosis. I know that I had problems long before I was actually diagnosed. Looking back I'm not sure if my early symptoms were UC or IBS.

Where you are now it sounds like you have IBS. I agree about looking at your diet and doing more research on how to treat IBS.

Sue

I've had diarrhea for over 15 months straight - no break, up to 20 times a day. It took 3 scopes before my biopsies finally came back positive. I think a dr. can suspect IBS or UC or Crohns but at least mine wouldn't officially diagnose or give IBD meds until the biopsy finally proved UC.

Rawkstar, did your scopes show visible issues? Inflammation, redness, bleeding? Did your dr. do biopsies?

I think you need to trust your instinct - we know when something isn't right with our bodies. Just because the drs. can't figure out what it is doesn't mean it isn't there, or isn't something to be concerned about. That said, it could also be nothing serious.

It's very possible that the pain your experiencing is a number of things, but it sounds like one of the issues I've had, which is pain after meals. It could be your gall bladdar, may want to get an ultrasound on that.

Red_34 said...
Usually a scope can tell you if you have Uc or not but if nothing shows up visually than they can most times tell thru the biopsies. Did your doc do biopsies?

As for if the doc will be able to tell without inflammation, it depends. If someone has severe Uc but is in remission, the doc may be able to see scarring. But not always.

It could very well be IBS. My daughter gets the same type of pains you are referring and she was recently diagnosed with IBS.

Uc manifests itself differently sometimes in different people but one of the main things that most of us share is diarrhea. Not all of us have bleeding or pain.

Some of us have the same issues as you for years before they are diagnosed finally with Uc.

I have seen so many different stories of Uc over the years that I came to the conclusion that anything is possible.

Thanks for the reply. The doctor did do biopsies, all came back normal. So your daughter is having similar pains, does her pain stay there constantly?

stereofidelic89 said...
It's very possible that the pain your experiencing is a number of things, but it sounds like one of the issues I've had, which is pain after meals. It could be your gall bladdar, may want to get an ultrasound on that.

Already had that removed due to gall stones in 2010. Now those were some horrible pains, extremely painful.

My daughter's pain was there all the time until she changed her diet. She eats a high fiber diet and stopped drinking soda. This seems to have helped her tremendously. Occasionally she still gets those pains so when that happens, she takes a Bentyl (anti-spasmodic) and it helps ease it.