UPDATE
Hello everyone!
So i finally mustered up the courage to have myself checked out, and today had both a Pouchoscopy and upper Endoscopy under general anasthetic, this was to see if we could find any sources of bleeding that could be causing my rapid iron depletion.
Unfortunately when i woke up in the recovery room my surgeon was away in another theatre performing surgery, he had a busy day.
So i asked the nurses for any info and they tried to decipher his renowned terrible handwriting on the notes, and could make out i had an ulcer in the ileum / junction, and to see me as an out patient in 2 weeks.
A bit of background on this - a few years ago during a routine Pouchoscopy he found a tiny bit of backwash ileitis, he said a the time it was irrelevant as it was merely very a mild rash type of inflammation and didn’t want to do anything about it.
So, putting 2 and 2 together i’m guessing this area over time has turned into an ulcer.
I should point out that back when it was mild inflammation i still had quite rapid anemia.
I was just wanting to ask some questions on this as i have health anxiety, and waiting 2 weeks for my follow up is going to drive me crazy unless i can speak to you guys about it
(i know CTBarrister is well versed in this)
1) Could this simply be a case that the backwash ileitis has gotten worse and developed into an ulcer?
2) Does an ulcer mean i have Crohn’s? Or can the Backwash Ileitis be a seperate thing on it’s own even with an ulcer?
3) What is the usual treatment for this?
4) Could this be contributing to me losing iron so quickly? I do think i have the common absorbtion issue that many here with anemia have, but i’m wondering if by fixing the ulcer it could improve it somewhat?
Some concluding points to consider are that - my pouch function is fantastic and has been for many years, i have no urgency, loose stools, increased frequency or any other negative symptoms, i get occasional blood which might be the ulcer, this happens maybe once every 2 weeks, but it’s always formed stool and then disappears at the next toilet visit.
Sorry for rambling, i’m just frustrated i psyched myself up for todays procedure and i have got hardly any answers as to what went on, as i usually get a good rundown from the surgeon or nurses.
I’m pretty nervous about this and worried about Crohn’s now, even though i don’t have any symptoms.
Thank you