Symptoms Of Colitis?

[willabec]

Any of you out there have colitis? i know that there are a few different forms of colitis and i myself have not yet been diagnosed with it, but internet research suggests that maybei have it. for those of you who have it, do you also have celiac disease? what are your symtoms? i have celiac disease, have been gluten free for 7 years. lately (actually quite some time) i have had intestinal issues. more of loose stool, sometimes explosive D (sorry to be explicit) and for the past few weeks i have noticed a nagging "pain/cramp" in the lower left portion of my stomach, near my pelvis but on the left side. not sure if that pain is related to something else or what. for those of you out there that have both celiac and colitis, any information you can give me would be helpful. my gi did a stool sample test about a month ago, it came back with undigested food in the stool. he put me on a pancreatic enzyme for about a week. things got a little better but not enough for him to keep me on it. after that though, things did get better, the frequency and consistency of the stool was much better. however, now this past week, things seem to be getting like they were before. today i went to the bathroom 4 times before lunch, quite a bit and it was loose, not watery D, but not a formed, solid stool ( have not had one of those in quite some time). any help would be appreciated!!

[jststric]

I am not diagnosed celiacs or colitis. In fact, should investigate colitis a bit more. But when my gluten-intolerances and other major food-group intolerances kicked in, my digestion was much like you have described. After many different doctors and research on my own, I concluded that I had a "leaky gut", which was described as the intestine lining becoming much like swiss cheese. The "cure", if you will, was needing more of the good bacteria, or probiotics, like you find in yogurt. But being lactose intolerant made yogurt impossible. It took awhile but I found a allergen-free supplement company that had dairy-free probiotics and started taking them. It took a couple of weeks, but things did improve greatly. I still have issues from time to time with fiber and greasy/fatty foods. I tend to not eat veggies/fruit on a regular basis so when I do, its hard on the system. When I do what I should, all works much better.

[robinttu]

I have colitis and celiac. I had a scope and it was confirmed that way before I knew I had celiac. It is painful. However, the drugs work well. Your GI doc may give you the meds without any tests. Who knows. Your symptoms are very familiar. I had up to 15 BMs some days. I ended up in the ER because my potassium dropped so low. So, be sure to stay hydrated. Good luck.

[willabec]

I have colitis and celiac. I had a scope and it was confirmed that way before I knew I had celiac. It is painful. However, the drugs work well. Your GI doc may give you the meds without any tests. Who knows. Your symptoms are very familiar. I had up to 15 BMs some days. I ended up in the ER because my potassium dropped so low. So, be sure to stay hydrated. Good luck.

are there certain foods you cannot eat? what meds are you on? i hope it's something that can be dealt with....sometimes internet self diagnosing can make your mind wander.....i hope it's nothing too serious. my gi dr. wanted to do a CT scan thinking maybe there was a blockage or that there was some sort of complication of the celiac disease. i did not have the ct scan b/c my symptoms got a lot better. but now they are getting worse today. it's very frustrating!

[srthomas21]

I have Ulcerative Colits and Celiac. My UC was so bad that I had my colon completely removed about 10 years ago.

My symptoms were:

anemia

SEVERE stomach cramps

Bloody stools (usually the most telling sign of UC)

Explosive D

Not fun stuff.

I get along great despite not having a colon (I have what's called a internal J pouch) which is basically a pouch formed from part of your small intestine.

I was diagnosed via endoscope and biopsys

There are milder forms of colitis that can be better managed than UC can.

The main treatment for UC is predisone (awful awful drug if on it for prolonged periods) or other immunosuppresant drugs. There may be other better treatments out there now but I don't have the symptoms of UC anymore because I don't have a colon and not having a colon I think may be a benefit with Celiac since if I get glutened it gets out of my system fast.

[endrunner]

Well, may I respectfully opine that no one benefits from Celiac because getting glutened out triggers the pathology in the small intestine, and as long as we avoid that, we are doing one very great thing...

I too have ulcerative colitis recently diagnosed by colonoscopy and biopsy. I probably had it for years before recent diagnosis. Mostly I had severe cramping and mucousy stools with something that looked like blood that raised my hackles. Actually I was in the hospital that day getting a liver biopsy when I discovered the blood in the mucousy stool and opted to get it checked and spent a few days as an inpatient.

I have three issues related to one another:Celiac, Ulcerative Colitis, and Sclerosing Cholangitis(autoimmune disease of bile ducts/liver). As such the issues go in tandem, meaning that at this point the immune system is bugging out even more than it used to.

I haven't consumed or tried to avoid gluten since 2002. I wish I had done it longer. Doctors are positively pathetic with Celiac. They don't know their heads on that from a hole in the ground. They have heard about inflammatory bowel disease--that's almost like "graduating to something they learned about." Still no cookbook treatment. I am on Mesalamine. It is helping moderately I would say. I may eventually need the surgery too. I am also on added antioxidant vitamins and selenium as per Sandra Cabot, MD to try to save my liver from crapping out due to the autoimmune stuff.

That's my story. Thanks for letting me share and if I can help anyone in any way, please let me know.