Do ulcers always mean Crohns??

[mayta]

Hi there. No official diagnosis yet but pill cam just showed ulcers in the small bowel. Prior to this they only found inflamation in the stomach and the terminal ileum but no other signs of crohns. I am still being told, this may be Crohn's or this may be a resolving infection so the next step is an enteroscopy to biopsy the ulcers. Anyone ever heard of something like this turning out to be just an infection? Wondering if anyone else has some experiences similar to this. After months of symptoms that have changed my life I am hoping for more clarity. Thanks guys!

 

[moogie]

One does not mean the other. You can have ulcers and not have Crohn's.

You'll just have to do the tet to find out.

Good luck to you.

 

[mayta]

Thanks! Thought several ulcers in the SI would be a good indicator, but guess I'll have to see what the biopsies say...

 

[tobyjug]

Hi Mayta,

something quite similar happened to me. Despite several tests I was undiagnosed then they sent me for the pillcam.

Report came back as crohns of the terminal ileum. I was immediately put on medication but the GI wanted a closer look at a specific area so I underwent a colonoscopy several months later.

Quite a few ulcers were picked up during this check and biopsies were taken. The test report for these ulcers came back as "inconclusive". The GI was not surprised by this and was confident to confirm the crohns diagnosis.

Hope this helps,

tobyjug

 

[mayta]

Thanks - sounds very similar to my situation. I have been through many tests and it was just the pillcam that picked up the ulcers in my small bowel. I don't understand how a biopsy can still be inconclusive. Makes me nervous that a diagnosis comes down to the discretion of a physician after some signs point to IBD and others are non-specific. I guess that's why it's important to seek out a good doctor. Thanks for sharing!

 

[archie]

Hi I have crohns in the TI for which I had a resection last year. Post surgery I had another colonoscopy which showed ulcers at the surgery site. These where biopsied but didn't show active crohns therefore just described as mild inflammation. So from that I take it that not all ulcers means crohns and from what I gather is yes they could be post infection etc but you would need a repeat colonoscopy down the line to check they haven't got worse and developed into crohns. It sounds to me though that you have some sort of IBD if you have inflammation and ulcers at all. Hope the biopsies shed some light for you and you doc is able to give you a diagnosis.