Not really. I am a classic case of Uc - continous inflammation instead of patchy. But every now and than it does enter my mind, especially because my mother had Crohn's.

I had all the tests done that I could possibly have to rule out Crohn's. Uc runs my family so I was pretty confident that I had Uc. My doctors were able to come to a pretty solid conclusion by how my colon looked and how the symptoms presented themselves that I had Uc not Crohn's. Plus the test results from the small bowel series showed my small intestines were fine. Have you had that test done?

I have the barium test tomorrow at nine. Yay. Can you drink anything before it? Just found out yesterday and my doc didn't hove a
L the details except don't eat 4hours before

beatUC said...
UC/Crohns are many times interchangeable and can be present at the same time.Thats one thing they don't tell you when they do surgery.
Surgery is wrongly considered a "cure" for UC, but many people find that CD develops after surgery -some cure huh?
Just because inflammation and ulceration is confined to the colon, doesn't mean it won't move to the small intestine, which is often does.
IBD is both UC and CD, they are just names.

Doctors with the proper testing and with the way someone's symptoms present can make a good conclusion if someone has UC or Crohn's. Is it tricky? Yes. But with most cases it can be determined one way or another.

CD does not develop after surgery...it would mean you had it all along. UC cannot "move up" to the small intestines...hence the name colitis.

UC and Crohn's are both forms of IBD but are two different diseases....they are not the same. You are giving out wrong information here.

CD/UC is mis diagnosed often, because as you said, CD can manifest itself anywhere in the intestinal system. Therefore, someone who has surgery for UC, only to find that their small intestine is involved after the colon is removed, is told, well, it was CD all along.
This is more common than you think and one of the reasons my GI recommends against surgery unless you absolutely have no other choice.

nope, I never worry or even think about it. The meds are so similar, is terms of treating it. I would only wonder if I were to want a j-pouch, which I don't. If I ever do need surgery, I'm opting for a perm ileo- I've pooped enough the normal way to last a lifetime, thanks. I ought to wonder, as I've been told by reputable surgeons that the presence of an RV fistula signals crohns to a surgeon- to the medical world a j-pouch is simply not an option for me. So, it makes no difference either way. I have also been told (by yet another, extremely reputable surgeon) (and my own GI, come to think of it...) that the only definitive way to tell the diff between crohns & UC is a pathology report done on the colon AFTER it's been removed.

Another important factor that differs UC from CD, a CDer that has crohn's colitis will often have perianal disease as well (often in the form of perianal crohn's skin tags and/or anal fistulas) although some UCers do get fistulas (though if it's a true UCer then their fistula wouldn't be connected to them having inflammatory bowel disease) BUT, the perianal crohn's skin tags are indicative to crohn's and NEVER UC (google pics of perianal crohn's skin tags) if any "UCer" has these skin tags, I guarantee that you have crohn's.

To clarify, crohn's colitis is not the definition of one that suffers with both UC and CD but in fact it's CD that is affecting the colon where UC typically hangs out, however, the inflammation of true crohn's colitis is patchy inflammation just as it would be in the small intestine and same goes for the rectom (proctitis).

Listen, I'm not pro this or anti that, I just want people to be as informed about these debilitating darn diseases as is humanly possible.
UC/CD they both suck big time and we have to deal.

beatUC, I want people to be informed as well, that's why when you say that CD and UC are basically one in the same, I felt it was important to explain that in fact they are not...just because they have similar symptoms and can both involve inflammation doesn't mean one can turn into another or that they are "the same"....that's like saying irritable bowel syndrom is an IBD and it's not because there is no inflammation with IBS like there is with IBD yet IBS can be constipation or diarrhea just like IBD can be as well as urgency issues. Yes, they both suck (so does having IBS) and we have to deal but it can be more helpful to people knowing what they are dealing with, afterall different meds treat different parts of the GI tract that has inflammation so it is important for a patient to know which IBD they are dealing with....even thought the same meds used to treat UC are also used to treat crohn's colitis (but not CD of the TI).


mkl11, if you had/have patchy inflammation, that would be indicative to crohn's and not UC, keeping in mind, if you had/have patchy inflammation in the TI and your colon shows the entire area being inflammed with no skipped pattern of inflammation (patchy) then that would likely put you in the 2% of those that have both UC and CD. Also, crohn's colitis symptoms also tend to include bleeding compared to when CD is affecting the small intestines only. And, just like with UC, CD affects each person differently.....I've never had much issues at all with ab pain but I have other CD issues that some other CDers don't or likely won't, IBD in general is individualistic (there are 5 subtypes of crohn's disease, you might want to google that if you have concerns that your IBD may actually be crohn's and not UC).

notsosicklygirl,

Stories like yours always boggle my mind, sadly. If it walks like a duck....personally if it were me in your shoes (as well as mk11) I'd be getting another GI's opinion, not always a guarantee but really as a patient you deserve the best quality and care, not just guesses and assumptions, especially when based on what your reply says points away from UC (IMHO) I'm no doctor but I've had crohn's for 20 yrs and my mom had UC for almost 20 yrs as well, so I'm up to speed on the differences between the 2....gotta love the CCFC which has taught me alot over the yrs of being a member. The medical journals they send out quarterly have been real eye openers for me.

Pam222, it's looking more and more like this. Whatever the GI can see is not what's going on in the cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21396639

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20962621

thank you!
You are saying it much better than I can.