Hey Terch Welcome to the forum... I wasn't officially diagnosed until my 50's, even now they aren't sure/can't differentiate whether it's [wiki2="Ulcerative-Colitis"]Ulcerative Colitis[/wiki2] or Crohns... My doctor now suspects my disease goes back at least 17 years... So, u aren't 2 old. As for symptoms, I experience fatigue, weight loss, joint pain, bouts of diarhea (that has slowed down from my worst point in time thanks to the treatment I am on now), plus daily abdominal discomfort, and.. a warning sign of a flare-up for me is mucous in my stool - typically followed within days by increased blood loss too. My problems seem to be centred for the present in the colon, one reason my dx is being debated.. I've left out other symptoms I have that you have not mentioned, but because this illness treats everyone a little differently, it really is not helpful to try to self diagnose based on any similarities or differences you may have to those expressed by people on here such as myself.. you get me?
Your GI must have good reasons for not putting Crohns at the top of the list, and they are the experts at diagnosis (altho dx'ing IBD correctly can be problematic). I personally always saw more than one GI, just to cover my a@# ( if you'll pardon the expression).. Has your GI offered a reason for not doing any colonoscopies or sigmoidoscopes? As for MILD Crohns, I'd be thankful for small favours. If my doc is correct about having had this for 17 years, then at times mine was so mild I didn't know I had it.., but the last few years it made up for lost time with a vengence, OK
