Ulcerative colitis?

[Nenalicia2]

I was told before that they "think" that I have ulcerative colitis. I was put on medication. But after it stopped helping, I stopped taking it, and I was fine. Then just recently I have been feeling horrible. Stomach pain, mostly on the right lower region, gas, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and sometimes stabbing pain in my right lower abdomen. I am not pregnant ( that I know of, I have an IUD) And this has been going on for 3 weeks, non stop. I don't know if this is ulcerative colitis, but I wish someone could figure it out.....

[postal926]

Hi Nenalicia2,
It's possible it has something to do with the IUD.  Have you had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy?  The pathologist will look at cell samples and let you know if it looks like you have acute or chronic colitis.  Chronic is associated with conditions such as Crohn's or UC, while acute colitis could be the result of an infection or antibiotic aftermath.

I had a copper IUD (paraguard) inserted in the fall of 2007. A few months later, I started having diarrhea, passing blood, and experiencing intense lower abdominal pain.  After a few endoscopies, it was determined that I had chronic colitis consistent with Crohn's disease.  I took prednisone to temper the flare and pentasa (or asacol) to manage the symptoms.  I enjoyed six months or so of no symptoms, and thought everything was under control. But in the spring of 2009 I began having intense lower left side pain.  The pain felt like it was coming from the bowel, and was entirely different than monthly cramps.  But I did notice that it seemed to occur on a monthly basis, right before my period started.

I consulted both my GI doctor and gynecologist, but both didn't understand why I would be having this intense pain for 18-24 hours, once a month.  I began looking into how the IUD works.  It actually invokes an immune response, so that your body attacks the IUD and creates an unsuitable environment for embryo implantation.  I read that one doctor does not recommend an IUD for anyone with an autoimmune disorder, which Crohn's and UC are.  I decided to remove the IUD and monitor my response.

I have kept diaries where I recorded the food I ate, day of mense, presence of pain, bloating, ect.  But as soon as the IUD was removed I felt absolutely no pain!  From March through October I had pain every month, and since November I have not felt a twitch in that area.  I am not ready to say that the IUD caused the Crohn's but I can confidently say that it irritated the region and caused pain.  It's possible that it is causing an all-out flare with you, since you have been experiencing pain for 3 weeks.  

I am sorry you are feeling badly. I have felt that pain and it is truly awful.  Please consider removing the IUD and report on whether you improved.

[coughting]

This sounds more like chrons tha UC.  Both are not cureable.  You will have to take maintance meds until a cure is found.  Go back to the GI dr.  You really don't want to play around with these.  Sometimes with chrons you will be doing great on a med and it quits working.  They then have to switch meds to keep it in control.

Unless it is something like appendix you will need a colonoscopy to figure it out.

Best of luck