ulcerative colitis? - Crohn's Disease / Ulcerative Colitis Message Board

ImASadGirl22 · 01-23-2005, 03:49 PM

Hi all....
Some of you may have read my other 2 posts about my bf. For those that havent I will try to give u a quick rundown. For the past month he had really bad stomach pains and had diarrhea all day long. Then it started that there would be blood every time he went to the bathroom. Finally he went to the hosptial. They did a cat scan and did blood tests, but did NOT do a colonoscopy- which i personally find odd. He was in the hosptial 6 day. They let him go w/o a diagnosis except that they see his stomach is inflamed but gave him meds and said if it persists to come back. They called him the day after he left saying he has "ingestive colitis". Anyway i posted about that bc i couldnt find anything on it online, and everyone said they have never heard of it and maybe they meant ulcerative colitis.Needless to say, he is still in pain. The meds are not working and he is going to be going back to the hospital shortly. I dont understand how they could have given him a diagnosis of colitis if they did not do a colonoscopy but what do i know. I am not a dr. Anyway, I am looking for anyone that knows anything on this subject. A nurse or doctor or anyone that has first hand experience wtih this would be great. As i stated in other posts, his emotional state is really bad. We have a vacation planned for the end of next month and he is thinking we are going to have to cancel since it has been a month and he is still going through this. He wakes up in the middle of the night with pain and everything he eats goes right through him. Does anyone know of anything specific he should ask the drs for- either a test or medication or procedure? I am trying so hard to be positive but it has been a month. I don't know the exact name of the meds they gave him. I am not good with that stuff. But it was just some antibiotic for a week.
Does this sound like ulcerative colitis- since apparently there is no such thing as ingestive colitis?
Sometimes I really don't like hospitals and doctors. I just dont understand why they didn't do the colonoscopy while he was there and possibly give him a diagnosis right off the bat.

So frusterated
Well, any one with knowledge of this would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. The people on these boards are great!!

chigs489 · 01-23-2005, 06:54 PM

I guess the first question is, how old is you boy friend?

Many conditions can cause diarhea and stomach pain. Parasites, food poisoning, IBS, Crohn's, etc. If he is young (in his 20s) the chances of something really serious are slim.

It sounds like it might be IBS, but I'm not a doctor. All the diarhea can cause blood for sure, since the colon gets all inflamed. Have him see an gastro-interologst to be sure.

Aside from that, have him alter his diet. Avoid all dairy and caffeine for at least a week. Have him take milk of magnesia and take hot baths. Being in the hospital for 6 days is pretty rare, but maybe there is such a thing as ingestive colitis (acute inflammation fo the upper digestive tract).

Don't panic and get worked up. He's going to recover, but you need to find a good specialist.

ImASadGirl22 · 01-23-2005, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiggins1066

I guess the first question is, how old is you boy friend?

Many conditions can cause diarhea and stomach pain. Parasites, food poisoning, IBS, Crohn's, etc. If he is young (in his 20s) the chances of something really serious are slim.

It sounds like it might be IBS, but I'm not a doctor. All the diarhea can cause blood for sure, since the colon gets all inflamed. Have him see an gastro-interologst to be sure.

Aside from that, have him alter his diet. Avoid all dairy and caffeine for at least a week. Have him take milk of magnesia and take hot baths. Being in the hospital for 6 days is pretty rare, but maybe there is such a thing as ingestive colitis (acute inflammation fo the upper digestive tract).

Don't panic and get worked up. He's going to recover, but you need to find a good specialist.

he is 28.

he has not had any caffeine for about 2 months, which is good. But he is away doing some volunteer type work at a retreat and will be there for another month. Therefore he has to eat the food that is given to him. When the dr said they saw his stomach was inflamed he thought that maybe he had gotten sick from the food there. But then the dr told him it was that ingestive colitis. With the term ingestive, i thought that this was all caused bc of that food?? He was originally going to the bathroom about 12-15x a day...Every single time it was diarhea. The nurse and dr at the retreat kept giving him kaopectate (sp?) every time he went to the bathroom and said to try that but that didnt work at all. Now hes down to about 7x a day with the medication the drs gave him and there is not always blood but the stomach pains are still there- which are really bad. I told him to ask for a specialist and insist they do the colonoscopy this time.
Does anyone know how long it takes to get ulcerative colitis under control? with the medication does it take days, weeks, months? I have read some things about it online and it doenst say. It just says medication is needed.

Thanks!

quincy · 01-24-2005, 02:00 AM

Hi,

I suggest your boyfriend go BACK to the hospital and insist on a colonoscopy and fecal tests.

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) does not cause bleeding. It may cause anal bleeding because of a fissure or hemorrhoids, but IBS does not cause bleeding.

Just because your boyfriend is young, it shouldn't be assumed that there is nothing seriously wrong.

Ulcerative colitis...it's a life-long disease. There are many factors in symptoms (where in the colon it's extended), medications, food intake (it doesn't cause flaring, but can make one more uncomfortable -- what goes in goes out). A patient has flares and quiet states called remissions. It can take many months for a patient to get a flare controlled....and some patients never get flares controlled and opt for colon removal. But, rather than going into it further.....none of this applies unless he has ulcerative colitis.

In the interim....if he can get ahold of acidophillus, that might help as well to get the gastro flora back into some kind of balance.

Is he the ONLY one with diarrhea at the retreat?

Since he's volunteering where he is....maybe he should reconsider and leave to get appropriate medical attention. A week would be fine, but a month more could possibly put his health into a more serious state.

Keep us posted for sure.

quincy

ImASadGirl22 · 01-24-2005, 06:41 AM

thank you for the info. From what i got reading online i didnt understand that it was a lifelong problem. Nor did i realize that it could take months to get a flare up under control. how awful!

He is the only one there thats sick. I wish other people there were sick and it was just a bad case of food poisoning. That would be a lot easier in the end.