Ed's Ulcerative Colitis
How I think I got Ulcerative Colitis
In September 2002 I moved from Waco, Texas to Seattle, Washington and my buddy and I rented a truck and drove cross-country with my stuff. I still believe that somewhere on this trip I ate or drank something that gave me Ulcerative Colitis. One thing that stands out is the rustic cabin we stayed in near Yellowstone that was part of Buffalo Bill's hunting cabins back in the day. Was it the sulfur content in the Yellowstone water? Who knows.
When I noticed abnormal visits to the bathroom
Soon after I moved to Seattle I noticed that I was visiting the bathroom more often. I also noticed mucus and I thought that I must have picked up a tapeworm or something like that. I went to visit the doctor and he gave me a parasite test kit. That's when I noticed trace amounts of blood. The test came back negative and the doctor said I had IBS. He never mentioned a colonoscopy.
Should have got a colonosopy
After about 7 months it continued to get worse. Urgency to find a bathroom, severe cramping, and blood all the time in my stool. Then one night I started bleeding and there was so much blood in the toilet I started to panic. I used lots of internal hemroid cream and imodium AD to stop it. That is when I decided it was time to find a new doctor. I moved to a new house in Puyallup, Wa and found a new family practice doctor who told me I needed a colonoscopy. He set me up with Dr. Hung at Digestive Health Specialists in Puyallup and I then went in for a colonoscopy.
The Diagnosis
On 4/1/2004 I had the colonoscopy and was diagnosed as having Ulcerative Colitis. My colon was so bad that then could not go past the first big bend in my colon. It's been over a year now and I expect I will have another one soon to see how things look now.
In the next few blogs I will talk about my colonoscopy and the drugs.
In September 2002 I moved from Waco, Texas to Seattle, Washington and my buddy and I rented a truck and drove cross-country with my stuff. I still believe that somewhere on this trip I ate or drank something that gave me Ulcerative Colitis. One thing that stands out is the rustic cabin we stayed in near Yellowstone that was part of Buffalo Bill's hunting cabins back in the day. Was it the sulfur content in the Yellowstone water? Who knows.
When I noticed abnormal visits to the bathroom
Soon after I moved to Seattle I noticed that I was visiting the bathroom more often. I also noticed mucus and I thought that I must have picked up a tapeworm or something like that. I went to visit the doctor and he gave me a parasite test kit. That's when I noticed trace amounts of blood. The test came back negative and the doctor said I had IBS. He never mentioned a colonoscopy.
Should have got a colonosopy
After about 7 months it continued to get worse. Urgency to find a bathroom, severe cramping, and blood all the time in my stool. Then one night I started bleeding and there was so much blood in the toilet I started to panic. I used lots of internal hemroid cream and imodium AD to stop it. That is when I decided it was time to find a new doctor. I moved to a new house in Puyallup, Wa and found a new family practice doctor who told me I needed a colonoscopy. He set me up with Dr. Hung at Digestive Health Specialists in Puyallup and I then went in for a colonoscopy.
The Diagnosis
On 4/1/2004 I had the colonoscopy and was diagnosed as having Ulcerative Colitis. My colon was so bad that then could not go past the first big bend in my colon. It's been over a year now and I expect I will have another one soon to see how things look now.
In the next few blogs I will talk about my colonoscopy and the drugs.
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