my daughter was diagnosed with unlcerative colitis and finally after 2 1/2 years of trying everything immaginalble, she had decided to talk to a surgeon about surgery. several days before her appointment, she was told to hold off, because they now went back and looked at a past scan and said that there seems to be something else going on and they want to do another cat scan to see if there is crohns. of course we are beside ourselves with upset and worry. so, my question above stands, can she have both illnesses at the same time? what is the prognosis in a case like this. one was frightening enough, now possibly crohns? she is 39 years old and suffering everyday. we are all sick over this and need some solid advice please. anyone???? p.s. she had 3 remacade treatment which did not help at all.
Q: is it possible to have ulcerative colitis and chrons at the same time?
Hello,
Sorry your daugher is having such a rough time. Yes, it is possible to have what is called Chron's/Colitis, which would most likely mean that both the small and large intestine are involved.
Of course, you will have to talk to her doctor and see what the new scans tells. However, to my knowledge, the best and most definitive way to diagnose both is with colonoscopy and a small bowel series.
In very serious cases of Colitis removal of the colon is an option and can be a 'cure' for some - see our Expert, Jennifer Rackley's current and previous Sharepost on the IBD home page where she discusses surgery for both UC and Crohn's.
This may sound trite, and I don't mean it to be, but you need to be strong for your daughter right now. While stress doesn't cause IBD it is known to make the symptoms worse. And the more she sees you upset, the more it doesn't help her. Don't deny what it happening, but try to be strong. There is no 'cure' for IBD and it can be a long road to figuring out what is going to help her get healthy - medications, diet, stress-reduction, etc. will all have to play a part.
I have colitis, and when my disease is active stress only serves to make it worse. I work very hard to try to control my stress levels via meditation, yoga, rhythmic breathing, and Reiki. She may want to read my book, Living with IBD & IBS for ideas of how to get started.
For now, try to remain calm for her sake. But, do get the next phase of testing started ASAP so she knows where she stands and what her options are.
Best of luck to her.
Peace,
Elizabeth
My brother had UC and had his large Int and rectum removed, the made a Jpouch, however, now it is believed he has chrons, living with only a small int, he was forced to go back to a iliostomy bag due to mal nurishment. He is only 26 and his UC got so bad it became in ER surgery and in hindsight- I wish we went to a few more Doctors, we only saw two and the second was the one who sent us to the ER. At the same time, he was in so much pain and lost so much weight that he didn't have any other options. He also tried remicade which didn't work at all and ended up having 27 blood transfusions, and is now going to have to go on Cimzia for Chrons- which he didn't even know he had. My only advice to you is to find a support group to gain more feedback and or go to at least 3 specialist and make sure they take the time to check you out.
Best of luck and hope things get better soon.
I'm very sorry to hear about your brother! I know exactly what he's going through. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was 14, and my gastroenterologist worked very hard, trying me on different medications, but nothing put the disease into remission. Right before I turned 16, I had to have my colon removed. They created the J-pouch. When I was 19, I started having all sorts of problems. My doctor sent me to a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. They thought it was just a difficult case of pouchitis. I went back to the surgeon who removed my colon, and after several tests, we discovered I have Chron's Disease. I just found out 3 months ago. I start taking Humira injections on Thursday. I'm only 23 myself, so my heart goes out to your brother. Best of luck!
I am so sorry you and your family are going through this. I too, have had chrohn's disease for 15 years being diagnosed when I was 22. I am now starting to have some worsening symptoms in the later secions of the bowels and rectum and I am suspecting someting like ulcerative colitis, ulcerative proctitis, or ulceratice proctosigmoiditis.
For 11-12 years I was on and off of the steiroids with no sucess. Then tried remicaid with little but some sucess until I had a severe allergic reaction to it. We then tried the humira shots and have had great sucess with the symptoms in the upper bowels. But, recerntly have had worsening syptoms in the lower bowels and rectum.
I am going to my GI next week to look into this worsening problem. I luckily have not had to go to the extreme of surgery yet(knock on wood). Even though sometimes the pain was so intense I would have welcomed it if it would relieve the constant pain I had been suffering for years.
I am hoping not to find there is a new problem I have to worry about, but at the same time it woould be nice to know if there is something else causing the newer symtoms so I could maybe try something about it.
My sympathy goes out to all of you suffering with these awful diseases. And my support goes out to all of those Dr's researchers and scientists who work so hard to try to help us all.
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I'm very sorry to hear about your brother! I know exactly what he's going through!