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UC with possible Crohns???

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/1/2020 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
After having a scope my doctor told me I have UC with possible crohns.... what does that even mean? You just looked in my intestines... is it or is it not? I do not feel I have crohns. I know people with crohns and they are skinny, cant eat, live in the bathroom... luckily I am not like that....
Posted 2/1/2020 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
You can have mild to severe Crohn’s disease just like UC. The only way to know for sure is to biopsy the colon to see how/what the structural changes are. Best to know what you have for sure since it may change treatment options. My grandmother had crohn’s and she was obese, not sure how she managed that, but she was.
Posted 2/1/2020 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
Did he happen to say Crohns colitis?
Crohn's in early stages can act like UC until it becomes more obvious.

Im told by my GI...one or the other. There are misdiagnosis. Some here had UC diagnosis but iffy, eventual surgery and final diagnosis CD.

Future scopes and biopsies and location pattern will hopefully become clearer.

Most meds are the same....sometimes a struggle to find the right one. If you have rectal involvement, rectal meds are helpful.

q
Posted 2/1/2020 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
I am in the same boat as you. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 2 1/2 years ago. Last July, after a colonoscopy, my doctor said that she is quite sure that I have Crohn’s disease because there is inflammation near the small intestine. I had only been using suppositories for two years, and for the last six months I’ve been taking Pentasa orally. This, I may be the prednisone or my change in diet, but it seems the pentasa has put me in a position now where I don’t have bloating or much pain anymore. I still might have to go on Biologics in March but we will determine that at my next appointment. My doctor said she did biopsy the inflammation and it came back inconclusive, but in her opinion I have Crohn’s. She will biopsy again when I have my next colonoscopy.

The symptoms that are bothering me the most at the moment are arthritis pain And really bad fatigue! My iron was low so I’m being quite aggressive with bringing my iron up. I know I’m going off topic now, but as my iron levels are rising my fingernails are getting stronger, and my bowel movements symptoms are improving. I’m thinking for me, making really sure I have sufficient iron, vitamin D, and maybe B vitamins might be helping My gut to heal too.
Posted 2/3/2020 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
That is alarming....

A good GI should be able to easily discern the difference via a biopsy, that you probably got during your colonoscopy. If it was just a scoping, that would not be enough in my experience.

Crohn's and UC in early, mild, stages can be confused, but you, and the rest of us, have one or the other.
Posted 2/3/2020 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
The GI doesn't examine the biopsies...a pathologist does. The GI makes diagnosis based on those findings that are consistent with, etc.

We've seen quite a few with misdiagnosis once things progress...not all GIs are good and some patients don't want to know details.

q
Posted 2/3/2020 8:36 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes it is hard to tell from scope only if you have crohn's in colon. He can tell from the spread of inflammation but only biopsy can confirm that.
Symptoms depends on where your inflammation is. If you have crohn's in small intestine then you can have diarrhea and have difficulty absorbing nutrients and that is why people may not gain weight. But if you have crohn's in colon than your symptoms might be more in line with UC. I have Indeterminate colitis that means they can not tell for sure if it is crohns or UC. Even with biopsy I get with each colonoscopy. My GI says he will see how it progresses in future.
If you have crohn's in colon only then it is like UC only difference will be what kind of surgery you will have, if you ever need one else treatment is same.
Hope you get in long remission.
Posted 2/3/2020 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
I'd get a copy of the colonoscopy report and biopsy report and see why was mentioned. We can help translate the doctor jargon.
Posted 2/4/2020 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
Ditto ipoop!
q
Posted 2/4/2020 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes it is hard to tell if it’s chrohns or UC. Lots of similarities. I was diagnosed as UC then as years went by doctors started leaning towards Chrohns even after many scopes, and it has only ever been in my colon. The inflammation started going past the surface for example, so that’s more indicative of chrohns and fistulas had started. Treatments are pretty much identical, except for surgery considerations if it ever came to that. While my weight has fluctuated, I’ve never been super skinny. I can tell you that surgeons I saw all agreed that about 1/3 of people they operated on that had UC turned out it was chrohns. At this point I don’t care what they call it but I get it, it’s frustrating. You just want answers.
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