Hey, i am looking for some advice. For about a year now ive been suffering from horrendous stomach pain. Ive always had some stomach aches but not to this extent. So, within the past 6 months my symptoms have started to get worse.. mouth ulcers, b12 deficient, blood in stool, mucus, bright red rash occasionally around face, neck and upper arms, bloating and obvious stomach pain. Had a flexible sigmoidoscopy yesterday, apparently the part they looked at was okay, however they took 10 biopsies.
So my question is, is that many normal? and should i be asking for more tests (ie. colonoscopy and small bowel ct scan)
Any help would be much appreciated
Did they not tell you at the colonoscopy? Maybe coliis but they would have seen that. Biopsys are normal. They can look for microscopic colitis that they can't see during the examination. Uc can affect many parts of the body like sores in eyes and mouth and can be controlled by pentasa a suppressive drug
So i only got a sigmoidoscopy, the nurse said i should probably get a colonoscopy as they couldn't actually see a reason for the bleeding. Yeah i get red, sore eyes quite alot. I never realised 10 was quite alot, until reading other peoples experiences. Just worrying now
Colitis can affect your body's ability to take nutrition so you can loose weight and feel quite rough and weak. It can also make you visit to loo after eating
Is the blood dark or bright in colour?
Have they tested for Chrons ??
usually bright red, but they couldnt find any piles or polpys so unexplained
i am not sure, nobody has really told me what they are looking for. Just took 10 biopsies, i had a blood test and it found that i have a b12 deficiency and have been on b12 injections and folic acid since then. But apart from that i dont seem to know too much
Not to be likely as uc chrones would probably not cause the mouth ulcers
yeah badly, i get bad back and leg pain, occasionally have pain around my elbow and shoulders
I would dis cuss it with Dr
I have an appointment with my GP on the 14th to discuss biopsy results, as i am still awaiting those. Just hopefully we can find some reasoning behind this
A colonoscopy shows more of your bowel than a sigmoidoscopy. So perhaps you will get more answers with the colonoscopy. Make sure that you find out exactly why ten biopsies were taken and what they were for.
So am I right in thinking 10 is quite a lot, especially considering it was only a sigmoidoscopy, so a much smaller part of my colon?
If 10 biopsies were taken, they must have done a very thorough examination. I think it depends on what they were looking for and what if anything was found. They also need to take enough tissue for testing. Maybe this is the reason for so many samples being done. However, your doctor should be able to give you a more definite and clearer explanation when you get your results.
Dear Cait96 -- just checking in to see if you have received any answers? Please let us know how you are doing.
So sorry to hear that. I know it does not solve your concern, but I have had some similar symptoms for 7 months. In the past I have had multiple investigations -- nothing diagnosed except IBS & GERD. Strength to you - keep us updated?
