New colitis patient

[Ifayed81]

Hello everyone,

My 15 year old son was just diagnosed witb colitis and he also has edema in his terminal eilium...

He's been having gastric issues for years now, delayed puberty, weight loss ,diarrhea stomach pain from hell..his fecal calprotectin level was 680....the works. Anyhow ,he had a colonoscopy and colitis was confirmed after biopsy.

Now the doc says its a precursor to Chrons....and he iup)prescribed a cortisone for the rime being. Since starting the tratment his pain and diarrhea jave almost completely gone away.

Can anyone tell me if there is a chance that maybe if ur diagnosed with colitis and you start getting trated at a young age...it wont develop into UC and full blownChrons?

Thank you.

Izabella

[Blossom65]

You can have both

Depends on whereabouts the intestine and stomach are affected

My daughter 13 dnx at 5 has uc but they check when she has scopes to make sure she hasn't developed chrohns as well

[Shoeysmum]

Colitis is Ulcerative Colitis.

I've never heard of the fecal calprotectin level so don't understand the relevance of it. However just because your son has UC it doesn't mean he'll get Crohn's as they're two separate diseases.

[CormorantWatcher]

I'd be worried about that advice. UC and Crohns are separate things. One doesn't develop to the other. One should also be able to be diagnosed distinctly from the other. The check for Crohns can be much harder and it can affect much more of the digestive tract. I would ask to speak with a specialist who can explain everything, as that seems vague.

As for the UC your son is experiencing, steroids can have a rapid effect - they can give the system the chance to heal where otherwise it wouldn't (because of where is affected). Every diagnosis is different and everyone's symptoms will differ, but he may experience flare ups, signified by the symptoms he has already experienced but at a lower level and building. If he does, he/You should contact the doctors immediately and ask for another steroid plan.

[willow24 Administrator]

Hi and welcome.

I have Crohn's colitis which means my colon and rectum are diseased, however over 25yrs it has spread to part of small bowel & I have enteropathic arthritis and skin problems. Saying that the medications in the last 10 yrs have come on leaps and bounds as well as the research and understanding of Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.

The disease does have flare ups and your son may need medication just at these times or daily medications to help keep in remission. Whilst steroids are good for immediate short term use they are not good to have long term due to side effects.

Ask the Doctor if there is an IBD nurse at the local hospital so you have a point of contact when things get bad, or otherwise the number of the Consultants secretary. These are useful to have as they can make urgent appointments if needed

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have identified a series of genetic variants that affect the severity of Crohn’s Disease which helps explain why some people are affected more or require surgery. Its difficult to know what bracket a person will fall in, but hopefully this research will develop to enable tests to be done.

The faecal calprotectin is a test which shows inflammatory cells in the stool, and is one of the indicators to use in the diagnosis of inflammatory disease and to distinguish from IBS.

I understand it is very daunting, but try looking at crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/ , it is a very useful site and they have information for younger people.

Please dont hesitate to ask any more questions. Hope Iv been of some help. And all the best x