Is there more people with crohns

[matty]

is there more people with crohns

I've noticed on this site and another one that the majority of people have crohns. I was dx in 07 with mild colitis, but did a 2nd colonoscopy 2 weeks ago and dr. said maybe crohns, but waiting for biopsy results. Are people with colitis less sick, there aren't alot of them on ibd sites, at least the ones i've checked. I don't know anyone with ibd, but i know the guy on american idol has uc and has it bad, so i'm confused by these site no.s on ibd.

 

[Cookie]

I think that because the site is called Crohn's forum, it may tend to draw more people with Crohn's. Statistically, I have never seen any numbers comparing the two, but I don know that they are often confused in diagnosis. While the diseases are similar, they both offer their own set of problems. I don't think that you can say that people are any more or less sick than one than the other.

 

[matty]

i'm sorry, i'm not saying people with colitis are less sick, i'm just trying to find more info on ibd. When i look for support groups i write in ibd support groups, maybe i should write uc instead. I don't know what i have yet, so i'm checking both diseases.

 

[Lee]

UC like crohns can act up at the spur of the moment but I believe that colitis flare ups for many people with it are food related. I could be wrong, but that is the impression I got when I first started doing research after I got sick--when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

 

[Jennifer]

Neither are food related. They are both very similar yet the only difference I'm aware of based off of the description of both is that UC is located only in the rectal area and colon rather than affecting the entire digestive tract like CD does. There are people on this site who have UC and both UC and CD.

 

[Rebecca85]

The types of lesions can be different too. UC affects a continuous piece of colon, CD can have healthy patches in between. The ulcers in UC are restricted to the inside layer of 'skin' in the intestines, in CD they can go deeper and in some cases even perforate through the intestinal wall. And I think fistulas can be a feature of CD but not UC.

 

[Lee]

Thanks Crabby & Rebecca~

It was great to finally hear someone say it! I agree with you crabby, but I think some people might argue with us :ywow: because if you read websites, other forums and even many threads on this forum a person would be likely to believe that crohns and uc are food related. Some foods do cause me to have diarrhea (but not to flare), but I know food has nothing to do with the lesions in my colon and small intestine. Right now I'm housing down every food I ate when I was flaring. The nurse practitioner I 1st saw before I had my colonoscopy told me that any of the foods I was eating when I was flaring were foods I could never eat again. But my GI told me that I only needed to be on a special diet only until my flare stopped.

 

[Cookie]

I agree Lee. I don't think food can cause you to flare, but it can aggravate and cause pain because of how you digest it. For example, popcorn is so hard on many in a flare. It goes through you practically undigested and all of those rough edges can be murder on a flaring gut. The low-residue diet is helpful to so many in a flare because your body does not have to work so hard to get these foods through.

 

[teeny5]

Neither are food related but can be worsened by food and stress. My GI said anything that normally affects a healthy digestive tract can really upset the digestive tract in an IBD sufferer. I have Crohn's Colitis. Patches of ulcerations, but only in my colon. Crohn's may occur in any area of the digestive tract from mouth to butt. Ulcerative Colitis only occurs in the colon. With Ulcerative Colitis there is a cure....remove the affected part of the colon. With Crohn's there is no cure only treatment. If they remove the affected parts of the large or small intestine it can pop up in a different spot. Both are forms of IBD and often have similar symptoms. We have both on this forum. Many people like myself never heard of the disease until being diagnosed. Others are still waiting for diagnosis. It is just nice to be able to talk about poop issues with people who understand. The severity of either disease differs from person to person and changes throughout their lives. I am as close to normal as I have been in years now, but a few years ago I was on the verge of being hospitalized and possibly being fed through a tube. I wouldn't say either are more sick than the other. With Ulcerative Colitis I believe there is a increased risk of developing cancer and with Crohn's there is no increased risk.

 

[KaLa]

Hi Matty. I have UC, not Crohns. From reading all of the posts, it seems like there's a lot more bleeding with UC (at least for me) when I'm in a flare. My UC is in the lower colon area, as is most UC. Crohns is usually up higher, and in the small intestine. I agree with Rebecca about the type and depth of "sores." UC is more surface ulcers, where Crohns is deeper into the tissue. I hope that you get a definite diagnosis.

 

[Lee]

Hi:ybiggrin:

There is lots of bleeding with Crohns Colitis too:thumleft: