Does biopsies pick up on Crohn's or colitis

[Leeanne85]

Hi for months iv had problems with my bowels my stopls been lose and bloody i was refered for endoscopy after my stoll and blood test from gp came back normal i went fir endoscopy after waiting weeks and dr doing it says i need full colonoscopy as my bowels and insides were realy inflamed i only had gas and air and found it painful so they took 9. Biopsies and says results take 4 weeks to come back and once they back ill get another app for colonoscopy but with sedation this time so they can look high up but he said it deffo seems like Crohn's or colitis so niw i waiting but i still suffering with bowels and get bad stomach cramps when drink alcohol now so cant drink now people wifg Crohn's gave to change diet as lots of food make them flare up n sore but im ok with most foods i feel exausted a lot so i just confused

 

[ronroush7]

Welcome. I hope that you can get some answers soon and the doctor can get you feeling well. Not all people react the same way with IBD. Keep us informed on how you are doing.

 

[valleysangel92]

Hello and welcome

The biopsies taken should help to determine which type of IBD you have and work out the best way forward in terms of treatments.

Although for some people diet is a factor in triggering symptoms, food does not cause ibd and is not always linked to flare ups or pain. In some cases people don't notice any impact on their condition when they eat, so the fact that your symptoms appear unaffected by your diet does not make it unlikely that you have a form of ibd. Every person is different and the condition can even change from flare to flare especially if the condition has appeared in a new part of the digestive tract that was previously unaffected.

 

[RNGirl]

Hello Valleysangel, can you elaborate a bit on the biopsies and how they relate to a crohns diagnosis? My results just said "inflammation". They took the biopsies from the ulcers that I have in my terminal ileum. I talked to the pathologist because I felt it was too vague and said nothing. I was told they can't be more specific unless they get down into the deep tissue in the bowel, like if they were operating on you. I'm not happy with my GI because he didn't take pictures either. Any advice is helpful. Thank you

 

[valleysangel92]

Hello Valleysangel, can you elaborate a bit on the biopsies and how they relate to a crohns diagnosis? My results just said "inflammation". They took the biopsies from the ulcers that I have in my terminal ileum. I talked to the pathologist because I felt it was too vague and said nothing. I was told they can't be more specific unless they get down into the deep tissue in the bowel, like if they were operating on you. I'm not happy with my GI because he didn't take pictures either. Any advice is helpful. Thank you

I don't know the exact science or the specifics of how they do it, but they can look at the samples with a microscope and look for the inflammation, usually they can see the "pattern" of inflammation and use this to determine the most likely cause. When I've had biopsies they've come back with "muccousal changes consitent with Crohns disease". Although they can't get samples of the whole depth of tissue, they should be able to get samples deep enough to see the first layer or two, and they can look to see if its just the surface that's inflammed or if its the under-layer as well. If the under-layer is affected then that means its more likely to be Crohn's disease than UC. Also, in your case, if you have inflammation at the terminal iluem and further up then that rules out UC as thats restricted to the large bowel.

 

[RNGirl]

Thank you very much appreciate your getting back to me. Take care!

 

[Scipio]

The additional thing that can be seen by biopsy is the presence of granulomas. Granulomas are clumps of immune cells that sometimes form in response to inflammation or certain infections. In the case of IBD they are common in Crohn's and rare of absent in ulcerative colitis, so they are in effect a way to distinguish those two different diseases. So when a pathology report says "consistent with Crohn's disease" it may be a reference to having seen granulomas.

 

[Blu's Tale]

Hello Valleysangel, can you elaborate a bit on the biopsies and how they relate to a crohns diagnosis? My results just said "inflammation". They took the biopsies from the ulcers that I have in my terminal ileum. I talked to the pathologist because I felt it was too vague and said nothing. I was told they can't be more specific unless they get down into the deep tissue in the bowel, like if they were operating on you. I'm not happy with my GI because he didn't take pictures either. Any advice is helpful. Thank you

Hi I am having the and issues at the moment so know how you feel. My colonoscopy report said about inflammation and an ulcer, my GP said my biopsies showed mild inflammation my consultant not convinced I have Crohns so referring me to a dietitian

 

[RNGirl]

Hi everyone, there is no mention of granulomas, my inflammatory labs like CRP and Sed rate are normal, no symptoms, feel good and have no pain etc. I do have ulcers in my terminal ileum, but don't know the extent of the damage because he didn't take pictures. Wants to start me on a biologic now. Really hard to throw chemicals in my body that could cause cancer when the root cause of my issues is so vague. Anyone taking cannibinoid oil for inflammation? Think it's called CBD oil. Marijuana oil without the THC. Thanks again for the great support!! Happy thanksgiving tomorrow!!