hukleberrie

Hello to my fellow pain in the a-- friends on this board....

I have been having problems for a while, since June. I am normally a constipated person, but since then have been going every day, sometimes up to 5 times a day. I have lost 45 lbs. This all began after a very severe kidney infection. I tested positive for a fecal occult blood test (hidden blood in the stool) and started to take notice & look at my stool after going. I noticed blood a few times, in the stool. It used to be difficult for me to go, constantly constipated, going maybe twice a week, so I thought everything was finally good with my bowels. When the doctors were thinking colon cancer (with all the weight loss & my brother being diagnosed at the same time with pancreatic cancer), I thought they were crazy. I thought I was going #2 very well! Well, I had a colonoscopy & EGD done at the same time (NEVER do that–I was sick for a week!!) & found that I ulcers & inflammation of my colon. The surgeon thought colitis. The biopsies came back "focal active colitis" with mild edema in the transverse/descending colon, and "Focal Active Colitis" with mild crypt distortion and mild edema in the rectum/sigmoid colon. I was told it would go away after a month on azulfidine. As soon as that month was over, I lost another 10 lbs. So they put me back on it. My osteo said he was thinking Crohn's, some sort of IBD. I thought I had already been diagnosed! I am confused... Then my mom talked to her gastro about it & she thinks it's Crohn's, too. I couldn't believe it when I got the script filled & I have 5 refills!!! Am I going to have to take this forever??? UGh...

Please respond if you have any info. I do NOT have diarrhea or anything, just weight loss & I feel like crap, tired & such. I also have pain in my left rib, but they think that is due to a rib out of joint, so not related.

How do they tell if it's Crohn's as opposed to Colitis? Can't it just go away?