What Does Ulcerative Colitis Feel Like?
People with UC will usually have symptoms like bloody diarrhea; abdominal pain or discomfort; and urgency (needing to rush to the bathroom to have a bowel movement) and/or tenesmus (a feeling that not everything came out when you had that bowel movement). You may or may not lose weight. Symptoms might even occur in parts of your body outside of your GI tract. This condition, which is known by the fancy title of”extra-intestinal manifestations of IBD,” means you might experience joint pain/swelling, or unusual rashes such as erythema nodosum (reddish-purple colored raised swelling, usually on the lower legs). Inflammation can also occur in the eye (uveitis), but this is very rare. Diagnosis: How Will My Doctor Know I Have UC? We’ve already talked about symptoms of IBD in general, but your doctor might be able to tell if you have Ulcerative Colitis in particular, by looking at these: • Symptoms: like the ones above, and a physical exam by your doctor. • Blood work: Hemoglobin is usually
