I slept very well last nite without a sleeping pill and without anti-nauseau medications. I woke and my temp was normal. I am feeling much more hopeful now. Solid food is staying down and I have gained one pound. This is good because I am down nine pounds from the hospital stay and fast.
It was not until this flareup that I finally tried to understand the differences between these two serious conditions Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. Of course there is plenty of information out there, but putting it in my own words really helps.
Both diseases share similarities making diagnosis difficul: each presents itself as an immune system dysfunction by convincing the body it is sick and attacking healthy cells, causing inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the digestive system. There are two sets of intestines, one small intestine, the ileum and the large intestine, the colon. Crohn’s attacks any part of the GI tract including the small intestine. The small intestine feeds directly from the stomach and is really long, about 30 feet. Its all wrapped and squished up in the inner gut below your tummy. Hence, Crohn’s is the more serious of the two given its potential havoc on the entire GI tract and the very nutrients your body is processing right after its passed through the stomach into the ileum.
Inflammation and ulcerations mess with the body’s ability to absorb food and its nutritive value. While UC inhabits the lower large intestine and this affects the colons natural job of absorbing water and flushing waste. During acute flareups both diseases can lead to symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, dehydration and anemia, extreme weight loss, erratic blood pressure and increased white blood cell count, pain and loss of appetite. However, with the known differences I believe that UC is the lesser of the two evil’s. Things could be so much worse, afterall.
Importantly, one must determine the possibility if you have Crohn’s vs. UC. Treatment plans differ and treating one like the other could make you sicker. I had an interesting experience in the hospital in that we were considering putting a pic line (for nutritients). Turns out this not an effective option for UC patients. Because the small intestine works fine in the UC patient, its more effective to try and build up strength and weight through solid food.
