Have you had polyps?

[EastWestGirl]

I was diagnosed with LC during a colonscopy that was performed after 4 months of D. During the scoping my doctor found a 2cm polyp about 22cm inside my sigmoid colon.

I'm curious if there is a connection between LC/CC and intestinal/colon polyps.

[sarkin]

I don't know - there were none seen via flexible sigmoidoscopy when I was diagnosed with CC, and I haven't had my first colonoscopy yet.

I'll be interested to see the results (and will update if/when I have that first colonoscopy, which is higher on my doctor's list than mine at the moment - but my priorities might shift a bit if we have a lot of polyps as a group).

- Sara

[Deb]

They found and removed polyps during my first and second colonoscopies (One at 50, another at 55). None were found during my third when my LC was diagnosed. YES!

[tex]

I'll be interested to see the results (and will update if/when I have that first colonoscopy,

FWIW, the system will not allow anyone to change a vote, once it is cast, and it will only allow someone to vote once in any given poll.

Tex

[sarkin]

Good to know, Tex. (In this case, I didn't vote because I couldn't decide which option was closest to "I don't know"...)

I think that's an excellent feature, generally speaking ;)

--S

[Polly]

I had polyps removed during my first and second colonoscopies. LC was diagnosed on 1st colonoscopy. My dad died from colon cancer at age 69. On my 3rd colonoscopy, no polyps, which I attribute to taking 5000 IUs of vitamin D/day during the past 5 years.

Polly

[starfire]

None were found when I had my colonoscopy (and I had had a sigmoidoscopy some years earlier).

Sometimes I wonder if they are hereditary. My husband had some and my daughter had a very large one 2 or 3 years ago when she had a colonoscopy due to bleeding (hemorrhoids).

Love, Shirley

[EastWestGirl]

I think this is quite interesting that polyps are not found in the majority of respondents so far. I have to assume all have had colonoscopies in order to have an accurate diagnosis....so the data should be good.

At least I hope so!

Polly, I did not know that vitamin D can help with polyps. I started to take it last year - hopefully it's protecting me from a repeat incident with them.

[Gabes-Apg]

No Polyps for me.

I have only had one lot of upper and lower scopes, that diagnosed the MC, I was aged 40.

[EastWestGirl]

Well, the only correlation I am seeing "so far" is that LC is more correlated to polyps than is CC (or is it that we don't have many CC members on this board answering my poll? I should have had answers that covered this aspect!)

I wonder if there is such a correlation? Research seems to speculate that LC will eventually lead to CC (that they are a continuum). If true, why would the earlier stage be correlated with polyps?

Just speculating. It might be that we just haven't asked enough members with CC what their polyp history is! :)

[tex]

Linda,

I'm pretty sure that vitamin D fits in here somewhere, and it's possible that it might even dominate the issue. It is known that low vitamin D makes one much more vulnerable to developing an IBD, and it's also known that IBD causes low vitamin D, (presumably by means of malabsorption). (Joe's 25(OH)D level was 2, when he was diagnosed with both Crohn's and MC.) And, it's known that vitamin D reduces the odds of developing colon cancer, (apparently, by reducing the risk of the formation and/or the development of polyps.

Also, I tend to wonder if all pathologists automatically check the thickness of collagen bands when they're examining biopsy samples that do not come with explicit instructions to do so. Counting lymphocytes is SOP, but measuring collagen band thickness requires them to take an additional step that they may not routinely take, when doing routine biopsies to rule out IBDs, cancer, etc. I'm pretty sure that some of them automatically make that check, but I wonder if all of them do, unless specifically directed by the GI to look for the markers of MC/CC.

Also, MC may segue back and forth between LC and CC for some individuals, according to some research reports. I wonder though, if the distinction between LC and CC might simply depend on where the biopsy samples are taken, since the intestines are typically inflamed in random patches, (not in a continuum). IOW, the differential diagnosis may simply be determined by the luck of the draw, for some patients.

Also, the experience and skill level of the GI specialist probably makes a huge difference, since doctors more familiar with diagnosing the disease are much more likely to take biopsy samples from "productive" areas of the colon. It's possible to actually see the inflammation pattern in a colon with active MC. The distinction is not obvious, of course, but the inflamed areas are faintly visible as a slightly darker shade of pink, against the light pink background of a normal, healthy colon. I was awake during my own colonoscopy, and I could see those patches of inflammation on the monitor screen. In fact, I asked the GI what they were, but he just shrugged, and commented that they were probably sites of previous infections. Dr. Fine also mentions on his site, that it's possible to see those inflamed areas. Experienced GIs eventually learn to take biopsy samples from those areas, and by doing so, they're able to enhance their diagnostic accuracy.

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts on the subject, FWIW.

Tex

[iceburg]

when I was 18, they told me it was possible I had polyps, but no, later In 1998 they did exploratory surgery, and took my appendix, just because they were in there. They wanted to take my gall bladder after that, but after and upper and lower gi. and 10 days hospital stay where they starved me and even with iv therapy I was completely dehydrated, I signed myself outta the hospital and told them that I wasnt a guinea pig, and if they couldnt tell me what was wrong, I wasnt letting them take any more parts from me. I am 36 now and finally have a diagnosis, no polyps, tho.

Carol

[patc73]

I've never had polyps, but I have a strong family history...my Dad had colon cancer, and my Mom had polyps removed in her 70's. She also, although never diagnosed, has had intestinal problems as long as I can remember. Maybe, if MC has a genetic component, I get it from her.