Thats whatulcerative colitisentails: The tender lining of your rectum and colon being riddled with open sores.
The other one isCrohns disease.
Another unpleasant clue that its ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis can cause abdominal pain, cramping, and bloody diarrhea.
Yep, that bloody diarrhea we mentioned.
People may not immediately get help for those symptoms, which can delay diagnosis.
But people with ulcerative colitis usually get care much more quickly because the main symptom is bloody diarrhea.
Thats not something you’re free to easily ignore.
So, what exactly is ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disorder.
The immune assault creates open ulcers severe enough to bleed.
How the disease is classified depends on how much of the colon is inflamed.
Heres what that means officially:
What symptoms should prompt a trip to the doctor?
Too much water in the waste?
But wheres the blood coming from?
Its those open sores.
Thats why its really important to see a gastroenterologist if any of thesesymptomssound familiar.
What can I expect from an ulcerative colitis diagnosis?
So, youve made it from frantically Googling in the middle of the night to the doctors officegood job!
Theyll range in invasiveness from a friendly-but-frank discussion of yoursymptomsto a full-on colonoscopy.
Fourth, and this is where things get a little, well, intimate, is an endoscopy.
This test is done to see whether ulcers and inflammation are present in the digestive tract.
Some people opt for asedation-free colonoscopybecause they can drive themselves home afterward.
For people with anxiety or those who are worried about pain, sedatives may be the way to go.
Because ulcerative colitis can raise your risk of colon cancer, a biopsy is important.
But dont worrythe biopsy wont be painful, though you might notice a bit of extra bleeding afterward.
How do I prepare for a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy?
Truly the worst part of these tests isthe prep you have to do before.
What happens during these ulcerative colitis tests?
But lets not scare those who havent been there yet.
Its really notthat bad.
In the case of a colonoscopy, youll likely be sedated, and wont be aware of anything anyway.
That said, youll be asked to lay on your side with your knees tucked up by your chest.
The camera sends images to an external monitor, where the doctor will look for any issues.
As you recover, you might feel some abdominal cramping and the urge to passgas.
Just let it go, everyone else in recovery is doing it too.
What can I expect from the test results?
Negative results mean nothing abnormal was found during the test.
Positive results mean that polyps or other abnormal tissue was found during the exam.
If your colonoscopy results were positive, your doctor will talk with you about a treatment plan moving forward.
A big part of your UC journey will be figuring out exactly what causessymptoms to flare upfor you.
He recommends an at-home stool test to help you pinpoint when a flare is starting.
What ulcerative colitis treatments should you consider after a diagnosis?
New drugs are making the need for surgery less common.
Dr. East says lots of patients see a change for the better in two to four weeks.
Maintenance medications are considered safer than steroids for longer term use.
The pouch reconnects to your anus so you’re able to go to the bathroom normally.
For some people, the internal J-pouch just wont work.
Surgeons create an opening called a stoma in the abdomen, and an external pouch does the waste collection.
Dr. Philpott also recommends keeping track of your symptoms.
Document your symptoms down to the number of bowel movements you have.
Life can be so hard with this condition that people sometimes have a hard time communicating.
If you keep track of the symptoms objectively, its easier for your doctor to see how youre doing.
Long-term poorly controlled inflammation increases your bowel cancer risk and decreases your quality of life.
New treatments could ease you intoremissionfaster and keep you there longer.
