Ulcerative Colitis: An Inherited Disease

Ulcerative colitis effects five hundred thousand American's. It is an inflammatory bowel disease, which means it is a disease that affects the bowel through inflammation. There are two types of inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn's which effects your whole intestinal tract, and ulcerative colitis whihc only effects your colong. It is believed to be caused by an overactive immune system. For instance, your body feels a foreign object in your colon, so it decides to fight it off. Unfortunately, it fights it off more aggressively than necessary, resulting in inflammation and ulcerations.

Ulcerative colitis also acts differently in every patient. Some will be able to control it without medication, while others can adjust their diet, take medications, and never be able to control it, until they finally have to have their colon removed. I was in the latter group. Essentially by removing your colon, you are being cured of the disease, but I use the term cured very loosely. You can live comfortably, but not necessarily the same as a healthy individual.

One thing that can affect the severity of ulcerative colitis is what portion of your colon is effected. If the left side is affected, then they will say you have distal/limited colitis. This is generally the most easily treatable, and can be treated with steroid enemas, as well as, certain medications. One can also have ulcerative prostates which means that the bottom half of the colon is inflamed with ulcerative colitis. The most severe, which again was me, is when the ulcerative colitis affects the entire colon, that is called pan colitis. Although just because your entire colon is affected, does not mean that you won't ever have moments of remission, meaning periods where your ulcerative colitis is not flaring. That being said, even if only a portion of your colon is affected, it does not mean you could not have severe symptoms. That is why it is very important to keep in contact with your docto,r as well as FOLLOW his directions and prescriptions.

Unlike Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis only affects the innermost lining of the intestine, though it is not necessarily less severe than Crohn's disease. Each case is different, which is why it is not true to state Crohn's is worse than ulcerative colitis. You can find other differences between the two disease by reading this article.

Most basic symptoms of ulcerative colitis are:

• persistent or reoccurrent diarrhea
• bloody stool
• abdominal pain
• fever
• sense of urgency

Although, the disease itself is not truly defined without knowing how it effects someone. One of its most defining symptoms is a bloody stool, as well as abdominal pain. Most people will start showing symptoms by having diarrhea, as well as a severe urgency when they have to use the restroom. This can often cause ulcerative colitis to become confused with irritable bowel syndrome. For this reason, many people are first diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrom (ibs) before being diagnosed correctly. There are other non-digestive symptoms that sometimes appear including: eye problems, skin lesions, joint pain, and in children slow growth. Although nausea is typically a Crohn's symptom, in more severe cases, nausea can play a huge role in ulcerative colitis. In my last year with the disease, before my emergency surgery, nausea was probably the worst part of the disease.

I was told the reason I was throwing up was because my colon was so inflamed it was pressing against my stomach. So whenever my stomach had food in it, there was too much pressure on it to digest properly.

The bottom line is that if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you need to be seen by a doctor so they can do testing, to illiminate possibility of the disease. If you do find that you have ulcerative colitis, do not be fearful. You are not alone.

Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis: It's Not In Your Head

Crohn's and Colitis: A Real Disease

Who Is Most Susceptible to Having Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis

Curing My Ulcerative Colitis: Kind of

Important Dietary Facts For Those Suffering From IBDs: Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's