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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/30/2007 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know:  If a biopsy says UC can it be a mistake?  My sister thinks Rebecca had a reaction to meds and that she does not have UC.  The biospy said she does and I always thought that a biopsy is 100%.
Posted 8/30/2007 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't pay much attention to good intentioned (but misguided) relatives who try to tell you that your diagnosis is wrong or your treatment is lacking. You will get much more of this by friends and family as time goes on. A biopsy along with patient symtoms and blood work usually tell the story. Sometimes UC will be diagnosed but years later it is found to be Crohn's (or vice versa) but it's not often the case where UC is diagnosed and it is later to be found to be something benign. If your daughter's protocol is currently working I would stick with it. To make yourself feel better you can run your sister's idea by the GI for his/her input.

Sue
Posted 8/30/2007 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor said that both ulcerative colitis and infectious colitis present themselves in much the same way. The only way to rule out/in the latter is by finding the bacteria that has caused the reaction. Infectious colitis will present as ulcerations of the colon. I stand to be corrected on this point though my doc did say that over his career he has seen 3 patients who have diagnosis changed from UC to IC. In Ireland and the UK at least the normal practivce seems to be to assume UC since this is the most likely outcome. That says a lot about our bad bad health system which is purely symptom orientated.

Does anyone know how often UC turns out to be CD - ball-park figure.

I have a slighlty different question. Is it possible for UC to turn into CD ie suppose you are diagnosed with UC and this is the correct diagnosis. Can UC "mutate" to CD? The literature online seems to indicate no, ie if you have a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting CD than it remains 1 in 10,000 even if you have UC

Thanks
Posted 8/30/2007 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
UC never mutates to CD it's just that the diagnosis was wrong or that it didn't manifest itself until later.

Sue
Posted 8/30/2007 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
There are some Crohn's patients who only exhibit Crohn's symptoms in the large bowel. My GI said that this is why some patients are misdiagnosed with UC at first, then later diagnosed with Crohn's. I guess, typically, if a Crohn's patient starts with only large bowel issues, it will then progress to the small bowel. That is when the diagnosis is changed/corrected.
Posted 8/30/2007 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
The physical symptoms of CD becomes more apparent eventually because it can affect the entire depth of the digestive tract wall (anywhere from mouth to anus). There are many with CD that don't have it in the small intestine. Some CDers do become affected with some other extraintestinal afflictions that are more prevalent than would be with UC.

It's one or the other....and some doctors would never admit it was a misdiagnosis.

quincy
Posted 8/30/2007 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
ithurtsmom...was the diagnosis UC or was it "colitis"?

q
Posted 8/30/2007 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
Is it not the case that the more mucus your condition produces the more likely it is IBS or UC. I remember reading that CD tends not to produce mucus as it attacks a deeper layer of tissue - even in the bowel. And by a similar argument some form of pain is always present in CD whereas it is possible for UCers and IBSers to be completely pain - free (thats not to say that most UCers dont go through severe pain). This is rare for CD.

The original name for UC was mucus colitis.

Posted 8/30/2007 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
I was told that it is UC, but they can not tell me 100% it's not CD until 5 years afer diagnosis because of her age. Just wondering if a biopsy is 100% accurate or if it could have been a reaction to meds.
Posted 8/30/2007 10:25 PM (GMT 0)
Damo, just to clarify... mucus colitis doesn't cause inflammation. It was called "colitis"...but not meaning ulcerative colitis...and again incorrect because of the fact that mucus colitis has no inflamation. Today, it's called IBS..irritable bowel syndrome.
Posted 8/31/2007 11:35 AM (GMT 0)
Joan, biopsies are fairly accurate. Of course with any medical procedure/test/etc there is always the slim chance of mistake. But I agree on the possible Cd diagnoses. So many people have had what they thought was Uc only to find out later that it was Cd instead.
Posted 8/31/2007 12:16 PM (GMT 0)
Quincy,

You are indeed correct. I had my facts wrong on the definition of MC. I apologise.

D
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