Could this be Ulcerative Colitis?

[Chocol8]

Sorry this is gross, but i am worried and looked online (prob not the best of ideas) and found that most of my symptoms seem to fit UC: different coloured stools which frequently changes but is mostly very loose.
Blood in stools (a lot), if i pass wind, i can pass pure blood but usually mess myself (very unpleasant), stomach churns constantly.
Being sent (eventually) for a colonoscopy to have a look see. Does anyone know what else this could be please? x

I've managed not to take antidepressants and I think its because my daughter figured out ages ago that when I feel suicidal its because I'm sickening and can expect a flare up or similar. It's weird how chemical my mood is actually, and how dependent my view of life is on my health. Same thing happens if I wean off steroids too quickly. The opposite of being manic when on them. Anemia is the worst for low mood.
Once I realised it was my body driving my mental health, my priority became getting my body better.
I am worried about chocol8 At least she doesnt live alone.

Funnyperson - interesting point about Anemia my bloods showed Iron count as 11.....

Still no word? Where are you ladies ?
Motheretc Hope you feel better soon.
Funny- its all very complicated, isnt it?

motheretc I hope you & your ds get your appointments quickly. I think its the nature of this disease that makes us depressed if that makes sense. The unpredictability & the tiredness don't help my mood plus hormones make things much worse!!! Also I'm sure I'm anaemic again so I've been very down for the last week or so. Have been away with DP for a couple of days & that was very relaxing so I feel a little bit better today. Waiting to see the consultant on Friday isn't helping either cos I'm absolutely petrified of what he's going to tell me. DP is off on Friday so will be coming with me to hold my hand!!!

I'm also worrying about Ava & Chocol8 & hoping that they both update us soon.

Take care everyone.

Good luck for your doctors appointment MrsPinot I hope that chocol8 is on hospital getting better or is perhaps on holiday getting better.

I'm wondering if I ought to go and see my specialist and try going on 6MP and weaning off steroids. The azathioprine question thread made me tink I perhaps ought to. Otherwise all is relatively calm here: at home and resting up on increased pentasa. And a vegetarian diet!

sorry..think

Just touching base with my update: all my symptoms remain the same and the main thing that was keeping me going was the fact I would have an appointment soon, yet on Tuesday the appointments line rang to book me in for October....I was quite shocked and she said you are not urgent...

so I rang my GP surgery (upset and quite stressed) and the receptionist was lovely - anyway late about 7pm the GP rang me and she was shocked that it was October and insisted she did put Urgent, she also told me she thinks it is Chron's but the inflammation markers were not raised but she said that can be the case, anyway with her guidance we decided to change hospital and she is faxing the referral for a within 2 week appointment and possible an appointment they do called 'straight to test' so hopefully back on track for answers within a few weeks, which has made me mentally feel a little lighter today.

My son's appointment as also been this week and his hip is ok and not as bad as they thought, he needs a general anesthetic to 100% check but overall we are heading towards the right way...

Look forward to hearing everyones news shortly and hope all as ok as can you can be....

October?! That's ridiculous - hopefully you'll get a much much quicker one now. You can't wait that long! Glad your son's hip isn't as bad as you'd thought.

I hope the missing poo-girls check in soon!

Hi ladies - just a quick update. I am absolutely tonight - I don't need surgery for the fistula!!!! Apparantly its at the very end of the small bowel just where it meets the large bowel so there is no point removing it as its not causing any problems. The Crohn's is still under control & my hair has almost stopped breaking (fingers still crossed though). Don't know if its the change of meds or the Wella SP or a combination of both but I'm not complaining & I'll keep using the serum for a while to help thicken it up. My blood count is still a bit low 9.2 so I'll be having an iron infusion soon but on the whole the consultant is really pleased with my progress.

Motherwifeetc October??? I'm so shocked that they expect you to wait that long . Hope you get an appointment at the other hospital soon. My consultant says that the inflammatory markers aren't the most reliable way of checking for inflammation although he will look at them alongside other factors. At least you'll know one way or the other soon - I found waiting for tests & results far more stressful than the actual diagnosis. Glad your son's hip problem is better than expected as well - I bet that's a weight off your mind.

spider - poo-girls? that made me giggle this morning when I read it!! Also hoping they check in soon!!

Hooray for that MrsPinot what a relief for you! I'm getting Wella SP asap! I'm better by the way- I seem to have got the art of managing a flare up down to a fine art.
I do hope chocol8 is in exotic climes enjoying a holiday and thats the reason she isnt posting because I think if she were admitted she would have been home by now.

Fantastic news MrsPinot :o

Glad you're better, funnyperson

I've started using the serum now as well. My hair's definitely thicker at the roots already, although that might be because the regrowth is finally long enough that it's not standing on end. (The downside is that the new growth at my hairline has decided that it's going to be a quiff! Ah well - it's nearly woolly hat season....)

My GP has now said I will be seen within 2 weeks, is it normal if it is Chron's to have constant symptoms for coming up 4 months without a change? It just feels so horrid having a quarter of my day on and of the loo, with pain and diahhrea for 4 months now......or is this how it is now?

I think that's how it can be during a flare-up, BUT hopefully with the right medication you will get it under control and experience long periods of remission with no symptoms whatsoever. I have colitis rather than Crohn's so it's not exactly the same, but apart form a couple of minor dicky-tum days when I've eaten something that hasn't agreed with me or ben very very stressed, I've been in total remission since last October.

motheretc I have Crohn's but didn't have much diarrhoea before I was diagnosed. I have had symptoms on & off for the last few years before they got much worse in November & then I had pain of some kind nearly everyday until February when it finally got too much & I was admitted. I think a lot of pain requiring regular painkillers would indicate a flare up although I do still get pain some days usually when I've overdone it - either food/drink wise or tried to do too much. My consultant thinks I've probably had the Crohn's for at least 10 years as I've had the pain & vomiting infrequently for that long but he thinks that I was managing it myself until early last year when I became very anaemic. Hopefully you'll be seen soon & get the treatment started. Once I started on the meds I felt better within a few days although it took a lot longer for the pain to subside properly - I did have a very bad flare up though & was apparantly only days away from emergency surgery when I was admitted.

Speaking of anaemia I am very tired & am hoping that they get the iron infusion sorted quickly.

spider so glad the serum is helping - I am intending to keep using it for the foreseeable future until I get some thickness back to my hair.

funny I am hoping that I can learn to manage small flare ups myself by putting myself back on the liquid diet. Hopefully if I can stop it in its tracks I won't need to take so many steroids. Glad you're feeling better.

Hi everyone, having such a downer (again) so I hope you don't mind if I just have a rant on here again, maybe I should start a new thread as I am not really offering any advice to anyone just coming on to update and moan....Anyway here I go: no appointment through yet...I am giving it till tomorrow and then will ring the gp (again) I am not convinced it is Chrohn's reading the info on it, and on my dark days think it is going to be something 'sinister' as my GP called it....but it such a cycle to try and be relaxed when I feel down/stressed two young children to look after diarrhea throughout the day and still a 'need' to go almost constantly - I don't have strong pain, only sometimes but a constant dull ache/pressure in my abdomen I know it could be a lot of things but having never had anything like this to having constant symptoms since Feb is getting me so down...I do feel very depressed but don't want to admit the full extent of that as with a little one the whole Health Visitor declaring you have post natal and getting involved is not what I need either.....I just want to be seen, I don't care what it is but I do want to know....its the waiting that is so hard.....

Thanks for reading

Dear motherwifeetc of course it is Ok to have a rant when you arent feeling great anyway, Poor you, having to go to the loo such a lot, being in pain and feeling grotty. And then because you are a mother wife teacher etc you have to show a smiling face to the family and keep them going.

Lots of sympathy.
Try and think positive. Ask for help around the house so that you dont have to do so much. Ask the GO is they can bring your appt forward. Eat healthily. Good luck.

GP....if

Thank you for replying, I know rationally once I have been seen I will feel a lot better, its just the waiting game and its hard to 'switch' my mind of and not focus on every niggle/symptom etc...

Yes it is important not to let the illness become a focus of living or an excuse for suboptimal living if you see what I mean.
Perhaps these things are sent to try us. It will get better once you have been seen and have a diagnosis and maybe started on treatment.

Hi Motherwifeteacher, I have Crohns and sound similar to you.

For about 20 years I suffered from diarroah almost constantly, the pain I had was not unbearable. I got diagnosed with IBS and because I also have endometrosis the pain was atributed to that.

It was only last May when the pain over a period of weeks became unbearable and I was admitted into hospital as an emergency that I eventually had my Crohns diagnosed. Until the pain was really bad it was more a "dull ache", it was the diarroah that caused me more distress.

Keep pushing for the appointment. I wish I had pushed harder for tests, etc when I kept being told I had IBS as I may not have had the experience I had last year if I had.

Good luck, everyone is different as well but I found that fruit, vegetables, did and still do make my diarroah worse but carbohydrates and rice settled it a little.

MrsPinot - thank you for the info ref: how to recognise a flare-up. I am still waiting for my follow up appointment with consultant but am hoping that he will prescribe some medication as I am still on nothing and keep panicing with every slightest twinge that the Crohns is flaring up again.

motherwifeteacheretc feel free to have a rant - we are all hear to listen & hold your hand while you wait for your appointments. I know how you feel - its now 4 months since I was discharged from the hospital & I can honestly say its only in the last few weeks I have stopped panicking at every twinge. I know its irrational & it is possible to lead a completely normal life with IBD but I am still terrified of what might happen until I get to normal ie full remission. Really don't want to ever go back to how I was at the peak of the flare-up. I am trying now to just get on with life & enjoy being able to eat almost anything & go out without worrying about where the nearest loo is. Hopefully you will start to feel like this once you've been seen, diagnosed & start on medication. I know it seems daunting but its not even a year since my symptoms began to get unbearable & I'm now feeling great (apart from my bloody hair but thats another story).

Take care & try to get plenty of rest.

saturdaygirl I don't think I would be as well as I am without the medication - even though the azathioprine made my hair fall out!!! Up to now no side effects on the mercaptopurine & my hair loss has slowed to almost nothing - just need it to thicken up a bit now but I'll just keep taking the tablets, using the serum & get the ends cut off regularly & hopefully it will go back to normal.

Still no news from our missing poo pals? :(

No news yet, very strange isn't :(

some good news this morning an appointment letter came through on Friday for the 13th July which was fine, but this morning the hospital rang from the original referral hospital and said there is an appointment for me this week - which is obviously very different from the original October - so by Wednesday pm hopefully I will have some news...

Thanks again for your support

ava hasnt posted since 14th May and chocol8 hasnt posted since the 25th May. I hope they are OK.