Once you are experiencing symptoms out of the ordinary, the appointment that you need to make with your doctor as soon as possible is very important. The sooner that colitis is diagnosed, the sooner you can start the courses of prescribed medication. You cannot afford to procrastinate here. Colitis can be vicious in its ferocity.



And what will the doctor want to know and what you must advise them of? It should include everything that has happened to you since the first twang of pain or discomfort. It doesn't matter about being embarrassed. Remember, this is a doctor that you are discussing colitis with and they will have seen and heard everything before. Yes, you have to tell them the number of times you are going to the toilet and what form your stools take and if there is any blood then how bloody, but until this information is made available by you there will not be a diagnosis.

The information you give must be thorough because they be relying on it to make the correct diagnosis. And by correct diagnosis, they will evaluate the information that you give so to be sure that it is colitis and not the lesser ailment of inflammatory bowel syndrome or colitis's cousin, Crohn's disease.

You should not be afraid, embarrased or overawed to ask questions of points that you are still unsure about. The statement that you have ulcerative colitis may mean very little to you at this stage. In fact, There is a much greater amount of general awareness of the condition amongst the population than just a few years ago and the medical profession, especially your local doctor will be more informed of what a colitis diagnosis is and the ramification of it for you.

Try to illicit from the doctor his opinion of the likely severity of the attack. They may be unwilling to give a specific response but through their seeing an ever increasing caseload of patients they should be able to give some opinion as to what degree of strength this attack will form. If they can't give a definitive answer then reserve the question until you see a hospital consultant who should be able to answer the question once they have had a satisfactory examination of your large colon.

For some, any appointment with a doctor can be an anxious occasion and with the symptoms that colitis brings, this anxiety can be multilpied several times. You must understand that it is not a disease that can just be ignored in the vain hope that it will disappear. The symptoms of colitis can be severe and if left unchecked, they can result in the sufferer being admitted to hospital. Once, diagnosed it is important for the sufferer to gain as much experience from those who have lived with colitis in order to understand how to live with the disease and ease the pain and anxiety it causes.