UC or Crohns

[Lynne1408]

Does anyone know the difference between Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns? I have been told that I had UC by some doctors, and Crohns by other doctors. Does it have anything to do with the severity of the symptoms or the location in the digestive tract that is effected?

 

[avellasher]

actually early on in the disease process the only big difference is the finding of pus which indicates u.c. I have been blessed with both. Maybe go to a third MD for another opinion. Also they will try different meds. to see which one works that will confirm what you have. I wish you the best of luck. sherri

 

[Sophia]

UC and Crohn's can be hard to distinguish from one another. Rule of thumb is that UC occurs in the colon/large intestine and that Crohn's can occur anywhere in the digestive tract. Crohn's is also usually associated with deeper inflammation of the tissue. I found this site useful when reading about Crohn's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn's_disease

The pictures on the right hand side show the most common places where Crohn's appears.

This one is about UC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis

Someone in this forum showed me some video on youtube the other day, where they described the difference between Crohn's and UC too. I'll see if I can find that for you.

xoxo

 

[Crohn's 35]

actually early on in the disease process the only big difference is the finding of pus which indicates u.c. I have been blessed with both. Maybe go to a third MD for another opinion. Also they will try different meds. to see which one works that will confirm what you have. I wish you the best of luck. sherri

I was told by not only some from the forum but my Gi says it is impossible to get both?? My sister was dx with both, so there is confusion as to who is correct.

Anyone have any arguments/thoughts on this?:shifty-t:

 

[Sophia]

My thought is that doctors sometimes have real difficulty in distinguishing the two. I was first diagnosed with UC after a sigmoidoscopy and biopsies. A few months later they were able to do the whole colon in a colonoscopy (earlier on I was too inflamed, so the risk of perforation was too high), and they then changed their mind and said it was Crohn's. The biopsies were also consistant with Crohn's the second time around. The doctor told me that he classified it as Crohn's especially because of the two inflamed segments in my colon with a healthy part in between - this was typical for Crohn's. So I think that the fact that the diseases are so hard to distinguish makes doctors unsure of which one it actually is. I've also heard that nowadays they are not that bothered about distinguishing the two as long as they can identify that there is indeed an IBD. I've never heard of anyone having both Crohn's and UC at the same time. Especially since Crohn's can appear in the colon, it sounds a bit strange to me that they are able to identify the inflammation in the colon to be UC and not Crohn's, whereas the inflammation elsewhere is said to be Crohn's.

But I'm not a doctor, so obviously I wouldn't know this for sure. It's just a thought!

 

[Lynne1408]

Thank you so much for those quick replies. I guess it doesn't really matter what it is called; I have it. I'm tending to think now that it may be UC, since I had lots of pus and it affected mainly my colon. My stomach was always fine. Maybe that's why it took so long to see the effects of foods; I had to wait until they reached my colon. Nonetheless, whether Crohns or UC, I am doing very well, medication free and disease free. I control it through diet alone. It may not work for all, but if you'd like to check out my website to see my diet:

www.HowIbeatCrohns-Lynne.blogspot.com

 

[Sophia]

Thank you so much for those quick replies. I guess it doesn't really matter what it is called; I have it. I'm tending to think now that it may be UC, since I had lots of pus and it affected mainly my colon. My stomach was always fine. Maybe that's why it took so long to see the effects of foods; I had to wait until they reached my colon. Nonetheless, whether Crohns or UC, I am doing very well, medication free and disease free. I control it through diet alone. It may not work for all, but if you'd like to check out my website to see my diet:

www.HowIbeatCrohns-Lynne.blogspot.com

Hi dear,

I also have my colon affected only, and I think that when the colon is affected (whether it is Crohn's or UC) you are likely to see pus. I got pus and blood only, up to 18 times a day last year before ending up in hospital, and they instantly thought it was UC because of the way it looked (both what came out and what my insides looked like). Only a few months later did they realize it was Crohn's though. No matter what it is, it is certainly something!

I'm definitely going to check out your diet! I'm on a diet myself (just started a month ago), and I'm very interested to hear about others having an effect of being on a diet. Very eager to see what you eat!

Take care, dear!

 

[Walt]

super-condensed explanation...

Hi Lynne,
my briefest grasp of it:
UC occurs in 2 of 4 layers of intestine
UC occurs only in intestine
removing intestine can remove UC

Crohn's occurs in all 4 layers
Crohn's is from lips to behind
impossible to remove all Crohn's susceptible tissue

This is my oversimplification I have sometimes mentioned to curious folks.
It's actually more complicated, and both can be severe.
Sometimes it is tricky to diagnose which form of IBD is present.
An ambiguous Dx can be an obstacle to getting certain treatments covered by medical plans.(such as biologics)

For me the presence of aphthous ulcers (mouth cankers) all the way to granulomas in my colon helped my Dx.
Biopsies and bloodwork sealed my deal.
Again, an oversimplification... plus many other indicators present for me.

Folks frequently confuse IBS with IBD.(no big surprise)
And sometimes even doctors will use UC and CD interchangeably.
I guess either as a catch-all, or just in sloppy casual conversation.
Makes me uncomfortable and want to question their credibility.
Me, I absolutely have Crohn's and will keep it for the rest my days.(shucks!)

Sorry you are sick.
I hope you feel better soon,
be well
Walt

 

[Walt]

apples and oranges...

Someone in this forum showed me some video on youtube the other day, where they described the difference between Crohn's and UC too.
I'll see if I can find that for you.

xoxo

Hi Sophia,
I'd be very interested to see this informative video too!
Please let us know if you find it?
thanks,
and be well,
Walt

 

[Sophia]

Here's the video I got from Crohnicaly Stinky the other day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WZNYP-sWnY