Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
Just got copy of colonoscopy report.
Final Diagnosis
Random Biopsies throughout colon: Colonic Mucosa Biopsies, One Fragment shows mildly elevated Intraepithelial Lymphocytes.
Note:
These Findings are non-specific. However, it raises possibilty of boderline changes of Microscopic Colitis. Clinicopathological correlation is recommended.
What does everyone make of this.
Just got copy of colonoscopy report
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Elevated Intraepithelial Lymphocytes are the hallmark of LC, and basically mean there is inflammation there. I don't know how many biopsies were taken, but with only one fragment showing mild changes, hopefully you have a mild case that will respond quickly to diet and medication. LC can be patchy, and sometimes won't be diagnosed properly for this reason. I agree with Tex that an infection like C.diff or someting else that took advantage of your weakened gut immunity while on Prilosec or antibiotics is likely to blame. I too believe a GI infection was the ultimate cause of my LC. What I don't know is whether the infection is still there in a chronic state and our labs simply can't identify it, or whether it could have been cleared, leaving so much devastation in it's wake. What you do need to be mindful of is that once the inflammatory process is there, it means you now have a leaky gut, and you are more likely to develop food intolerances as a result. Fort this reason, I now tell anyone I know suffering from traveler's diarrhea or GI bugs to avoid gluten and dairy for the entire time they are healing.
As Zizzle pointed out, that is a marker of lymphocytic colitis. The fact that only one biopsy sample shows an increased lymphocyte count is irrelevant, though, IMO, and the diagnosis is just as sound as it would be if every biopsy sample showed increased intraepithelial infiltration by lymphocytes. Again, as Zizzle pointed out, inflammation is scattered in random patches around the interior of the intestine, so in some cases it is easy for GI docs to miss MC, because if they happen to miss all the inflamed locations when they are taking biopsoes, the pathology report will show false negative results.Lisa wrote:Random Biopsies throughout colon: Colonic Mucosa Biopsies, One Fragment shows mildly elevated Intraepithelial Lymphocytes.
Personally, I wouldn't put much faith in the "borderline" comment, either, because the collective experience here on the board, shows that the degree of inflammation has no correlation with the intensity of clinical symptoms. While it is true that many doctors often refer to such cases as "mild" cases of MC, many/most of those patients have clinical symptoms that are just as severe as cases where infiltrated lymphocyte counts are much more elevated, and much more widespread, (in stark contrast with the pathological findings). I've seen research reports that concur with that opinion, also. We are all different in our responses to the disease, and in our responses to various forms of treatment.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
The initial description of MC, (actually, CC was defined first, and LC and the other forms were tacked on later), does not even mention pain, so many doctors still believe that MC does not involve pain, (and indeed, some MC patients have no significant pain at all with their other symptoms), but trust me, most of us experience varying degrees of pain as part of the disease, up to, and including, (for some of us), pain on the order of magnitude of that experienced during childbirth.
Severe pelvic pain is quite common with MC, and it was virtually always a major issue during my reaction episodes. While it's not impossible that you might have intercystial cystitis, your symptoms are most likely associated with MC. Whenever I was actively reacting, my bladder usually seemed to be inflamed, also, because it seemed to be very sensitive, and had very little capacity, (probably due to my bloated gut). IOW, for all practical purposes, I had virtually all of the symptoms of intercystical cystitis while reacting, but during periods of remission, those symptoms always disappeared. MC can affect virtually every organ in the body, so it's certainly not surprising that it can affect the organs within the abdominal cavity, where inflammation and bloating are so prominent.
Tex
Severe pelvic pain is quite common with MC, and it was virtually always a major issue during my reaction episodes. While it's not impossible that you might have intercystial cystitis, your symptoms are most likely associated with MC. Whenever I was actively reacting, my bladder usually seemed to be inflamed, also, because it seemed to be very sensitive, and had very little capacity, (probably due to my bloated gut). IOW, for all practical purposes, I had virtually all of the symptoms of intercystical cystitis while reacting, but during periods of remission, those symptoms always disappeared. MC can affect virtually every organ in the body, so it's certainly not surprising that it can affect the organs within the abdominal cavity, where inflammation and bloating are so prominent.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Lisa wrote:I agree Tex. I think even my hair hurts.
I can remember making that comment more than a few times, when I was reacting. It will get better, and soon, with any luck at all.Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.