Colitis or Ulcerative Colon

[max802]

I just had a CT scan and have been diagnosed with a "mild wall thickening of the ascending colon and hepatic flexure" suggesting a colitis.  Endoscopy may be helpful to further evaluate.  Everything that I have been reading says that the most common symptoms are stomach cramping, diarrhea (even bloody diarrhea), frequent loose stools, fever chills, nausea, weight loss, and tiredness.  Out of all these I only have lower abdominal pain and tiredness.  I have never in my life had regular bowels movement but now when I have the urge it is accompanied with lower abdominal pain and I will go to the bathroom and it is sometimes still a strain or only a little comes out and the pain still remains.  TAnd his has been going on now since right before Christmas '08.  I am taking two medicines and my doctor is going to refer me to a gastrologist.

My question is, how serious is this?  And should I have reason to be nervous?

[coughting]

Max, it says mild thickening.  So therefore your symptoms would not be as severe.
The thing is, now that you know what you have you can watch for symptoms of flare ups.
For example you might have thought you had a virus if you had -   high fever and chills and maybe diarrhea that lasts only a couple of days but leaves you washed.
Now you know that it could be your colitis and you should call your dr for meds.  Read all you can about the condition.  I have chrons, it was raging for some time and I was very sick.  However, I am now doing great and living a normal life.  But the fever, chills were my first signs of chrons and I didn't know what it was.

[CalGal]

Max, there's no way to be able to tell you how serious the condition is. Forms of colitis can be very worrisome depending on the type of the condition and the extent. A colonoscopy with biopsies will be able to tell you what form of colitis you have and help you to decide what treatment plan should be used. Some forms of colitis are apparently self-limiting, others aren't. And symptoms can vary with the form, the severity, and the individual, etc.