Biopsy and colitis vs ulcerative colitis

[apricot37]

Hi there,


Firstly thank you to everyone who posts on here - although this is my first post I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months reading through posts on here, and I've found it to be a great help :ysmile:



I am currently in the process of finding out the cause of my symptoms (bloody diarrhoea up to 20 time a day, weight loss, pain, fatigue etc). The diarrhoea has eased in recent weeks although I'm still left with pain and fatigue. I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy recently, which showed inflammation, red areas with spontaneous bleeding etc...I was told at the time that the biopsies that were taken would determine whether this is colitis, or ulcerative colitis (nurses seemed fairly confident it's ulcerative colitis and I've been started on treatment that I think is for that, but doctor was understandably reluctant to diagnose that until biopsy results come back) - I suppose I was wondering whether anyone has experience of what might cause a colitis (rather than ulcerative colitis), and basically what a biopsy can tell you?


I'd appreciate any experiences/advice/info - it's a bit of a bewildering and lonely process :redface:

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

According to WebMD there are two. Sadly, I didn't know this as long as I've had IBD. But, here's the info I found. I hope this helps.

There are two: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. They have a lot in common, including long-term inflammation in your digestive system. ... By the way, if you hear some people just say “colitis,” that's not the same thing. It means inflammation of the colon.

 

[apricot37]

Hi,

Thanks so much for replying. I was aware that colitis and ulcerative colitis were different...I guess I just need to wait until biopsy results come back.

Thanks again

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

No problem! For me, usually when they take a biopsy it's during a colonoscopy and it's to check for cancer. I didn't realize they could do that to determine a diagnosis.

My inflammation when active is rectal, which sometimes can be more serious because it could the vaginal area as well. This is why my GI wants to keep an eye on mine so closely. I hope they'll be able to figure something out to help you! Please keep us updated!