CIDP and Ulcerative Colitis

    • Anonymous
      July 8, 2008 at 2:04 am

      Hi,

      It’s been a while since I’ve posted, because things have been relatively stable with the CIDP — no major flareups, although the weight gain from the Prednisone is very distressing.

      Two weeks ago, I had a colonoscopy and the doctor diagnosed me with Ulcerative Colitis. I meet with the gastro doctor next week to discuss it, and this week I get my IVIG treatment from my neurologist. I was wondering, however: Does anyone else have both diseases? I read that colitis was connected to the immune system, and I figured there must be some correlation, but I wasn’t sure. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with two chronic issues.

    • Anonymous
      July 8, 2008 at 4:13 pm

      I like this info on ulcerative colitis:

      [url]http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/colitis/[/url]

      It says that it is caused by inflammation in the rectum. CIDP is an inflammatory disease so the inflammation could possibly be caused by that. It’s important to make sure that you truly do the ulcerative colitis & it’s not just a symptom of the CIDP. I’m not really sure how they would determine that or if they would treat it differently.

      I think a call to your neurologist is in order here. Your neuro & your gastro need to get together & talk about this…preferably before your appointment next week.

      Good luck,
      Kelly

    • Anonymous
      July 8, 2008 at 8:17 pm

      Thanks for the link. I’m hoping when I go in for IVIG tomorrow, the neurologist will be there. One of the more frustrating things about being sick is trying to keep the primary care doctor and the neurologist all on the same page, and now I’m guessing the gastro doctor will have to be part of everything as well. Since I haven’t really spoken with the gastro doctor since the colonscopy (I received the diagnosis through a recorded message), I don’t know how serious things are, though it doesn’t sound promising from what I’ve read on the Internet.

    • Anonymous
      July 9, 2008 at 11:41 am

      Was diagnosed with UC and then changed to Chron’s almost 20 years after being diagnosed with CIDP. I am on Asacol and Imuran and my Chrons is stable. They say eing on Imuran helps reduce the need for prednisone, which can be used for both.

      Ron