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Hello everyone, I've joined because my daughter is waiting for a diagnosis. Shes 17 and told me her problems 2 weeks ago, we contacted our GP immediately and everything has rushed forward since then. Within 5 days she'd done 2 stool samples, was rushed in for a colonoscopy (which found multiple lesions) and she had 5 biopsies taken.

The dr said he suspects colitis but we are waiting for results.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help.

Can anyone tell me if the biopsies would confirm colitis or ulcerative colitis or chrones?? (I'm a stage 4 breast cancer patient so the only experience of biopsies I have is to confirm cancer)

Also, she takes paracetamol and buscopan daily as our gp told her a couple of years ago she has IBS.
Would the buscopan be helping now? Also is there anything I can ask our gp for to help her with pain? she gets a lot of tummy pain, pain in her hip joints and pain in her ribs.

Thankyou for any input you can offer, it's so hard to watch her suffering 😖

  1. Hi , thank you so much for joining us here. I can only imagine how difficult it is to see your daughter go through this and I really applaud you for finding a community to get help. If you'd like, you can even suggest that your daughter join our community, in case she has any questions she'd like to ask.


    Typically, colonoscopies are considered a gold standard for diagnosing UC and Crohn's. Therefore, I think you and her doctor have embarked on the right step. The biopsies should give some more information about anything else that might be going. For your reference, I have UC, but my biopsies always come back "normal," so I believe it's more about checking for anything else. A lot of times doctors can tell through the colonoscopy whether or not there is inflammation and what pattern it is, which helps determine the diagnosis. My guess (as a non-medical professional!) is that if the doctor suspects colitis, that means the doctor has seem inflammation from the rectum up.


    In terms of the pain, I would stay away from NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc) which can exacerbate IBD issues. Typically, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is safer. You should reach out to either the GP or the GI to make sure this is recommended before giving it to her. I would do the same with the Buscopan, and any other drug you want to give her. As I'm sure you're aware, drug interactions or exacerbating symptoms can be something to look out for, so it's always good to check in with the doctor before adding anything to your daughter's regimen. I would also recommend making use of a heating pad and maybe hot baths/showers. It may be useful to stick to a lighter diet at this time too, like white bread, rice, boiled chicken. It might lessen the cramping if her stomach is getting more tolerable foods.


    I know this is a lot! I hope some of it helps. Please do keep us updated and ask us any questions you may have. We are here to help! <3 -Eshani (IBD Team Member)

    1. Surya thankyou, you've put my mind at ease now and thankyou for that advice. She's been prescribed some codeine to try for the pain so I'm really hoping she'll get some relief

  2. I'm sorry your daughter is going through this but know there is hope and it is possible to live a productive like with IBD.


    I am not a doctor so I am just speaking from experience as I was diagnosed with Crohn's back in 2011. Biopsies certainly detect cancer but so much more. It can show inflammation and the type of inflammation so that's why they are so important to take during a colonoscopy. Anytime I have a colonoscopy, biopsies are taken and should be taken.


    As far as pain meds, I don't really have an answer for you as far as what to do with those meds moving forward. However, here is was has helped me tremendously with pain: prednisone, cbd oil, and copaiba essential oil made in a roller with coconut oil and applied on the abdomen, and being diligent with diet (no wheat, no corn, no diary, no rice.) As a side note, those are my personal trigger foods which cause me pain. Everyone is different.


    Please don't hesitate to message me if you have more questions.


    Hugs, Elizabeth (team member)

    1. Thankyou for your reply that's really helpful. I've been wondering about cbd oil for her as I use it myself so I'll definitely have a talk with her to see if she'll give it a try. Were going to start cutting out certain foods to see if we can find a particular trigger so hopefully we'll be able to control her diet better from now own.
      Our GP has prescribed her codeine, have you had experience or successful relief with codeine? I thought it could cause more tummy problems

      1. You are so welcome.


        I personally didn't like Codeine. It made me feel sick. But that was just my personal experience.


        -Elizabeth (team member)

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