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How many of us have flared after a scope?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/30/2023 1:34 PM (GMT -8)
Curious about this. I've read studies that it can happen and that it cant. I've heard that some doctors say this doesn't happen and other say that it does. I wonder if our GIs are telling us the same information? (Different GIs that I went to in the beginning had vastly different beliefs on this)

Personally... I've had flares within a week of/after my scope that my GI, Colorectal Surgeon, Infectious Disease doctors have attributed to the scope ... whether its the type of prep used, my age, disease severity, colon ulcerations... Etc.....something set me off or was the tipping point and they pin pointed it to the scope. Some scopes have landed me in the hospital for a few days afterwards.... But it does not happen every time. We've tried to narrow it down but they've said it's a combination of factors...

Have any of you flared after your scopes?.
Have those flares then been attributed to your scopes by your doctor?

Interesting to see if anyone else in our group has this issue.

Clo
Posted 8/30/2023 2:07 PM (GMT -8)
Just curious ... were you in remission and had clear scopes when that happened to you? I have been fortunate and never got worse after a scope when I was already flaring. I've only had 2 scopes when in remission and was back to normal within 2-3 days after the scopes.
Posted 8/30/2023 2:53 PM (GMT -8)
I've had 4 full colonoscopies and 2 sigmoidoscopies. None of them made me flare when in remission or made an existing flare worse.

I've expelled blood during the first 24 h after a scope from having many biopsies taken.
Posted 8/30/2023 4:01 PM (GMT -8)
I have had 8 colonoscopies, and one flex seg.

My first colonoscopy was done as I was transitioning from flare to remission. It had no impact - did not cause setback.

My most recent scope was during a flare. Ooooh boy that was the most brutal recovery from a scope. Set me back by several weeks (went back to more severe symptoms when they had been lessening).

Every other scope was done during remission and had no impact whatsoever, did not result in any flare symptoms.
Posted 8/30/2023 6:40 PM (GMT -8)
Went thru my medical records this afternoon. From 1st diagnosis in 2014 to 2017 I flared or had something happen after every scope... nausea/vomiting that Zofran couldn't touch, diarrhea so bad my electrolytes were out of balance and my heart went crazy... I could not eat, stomach/intestinal cramps so strong we could see them and pains so bad I could not function... Night sweats so bad my whole body was wet... But when I was in hospital during those times and they immediately gave me Prednisone I improved. I took Prednisone for months afterwards but I improved. In 2018... I felt better... Not well but better... my labs showed I was ok...(But my labs usually don't correspond to disease activity) After scope my UC/Crohn's went wild again. The 1st scope showed I was healing,... But after my "flare" we did another scope and there were deep ulcers in multiple places. The same thing happened in 2019..... And my CRS decided no more yearly colonoscopy. We'd work thru X-rays, labs, CT scans and only do a colonscopy every 2 to 3 years depending on how I was doing/feeling. 2023 sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy were the first time I didn't flare afterwards. We don't know why.

BTW... If I had a sigmoidoscopy with no prep... My fistulas would open back up and I'd struggle for a little while. Not as long or as bad as a colonoscopy but it still happened and we used Prednisone to help me then too. 2023... Fistulas remained closed and no Prednisone was required..

My GI said it happens to a subset of his patients. My CRS said that it does happen in a small subset and what he usually sees is that they are usually the ones with severe UC/Crohn's... but he wondered if I was allergic to the prep.....or if my intestines and body were in such poor shape they could not tolerate the prep or the scope, perhaps I was trying to heal but those things just threw my body into an overwhelmed panic mode. My Infectious disease doctor isn't sure but he gives me IV antibiotics if my labs are even a little off after it happens and while I'm in the hospital because I've gone septic 3 times on him after my scopes...

So after my colonscopy I usually ended up in the hospital for a minimum of 3 days to 2 weeks..... 2023 was the first time that it didn't happen.

The scopes go fine... It's the afterwards that impacted me. I'm hoping that's over with because I'm healing.

But it made me wonder what it was like for others.

Clo
Posted 8/31/2023 3:17 AM (GMT -8)
If I am in remission, I have never flared from the scope. The biopsies always bother me a lot and give me pain but I recover.
If I am flaring, the scope 100% of the time makes me worse. The biopsies make more blood and pain and the gas they push up there causes crippling pain, too. I absolutely hate flare scopes.

I think at this point in my life, this July scope was my 10th or 11th scope and 6 were done when I had bad inflammation. The prep is 10000x easier when I am not flaring.
Posted 8/31/2023 6:26 AM (GMT -8)
I've more than my fair share of scopes after 21 years with crohns. I have never had any issues after a scope & hope that it continues.

One thing I've learned here at HW, everyone has their own definition of what a "flare up" really is.
Posted 8/31/2023 8:32 AM (GMT -8)
Never...unless I was already in that direction and it was coincidental. I always had lots of biopsies... only once I bled for 4 days, but didn't flare.
q
Posted 8/31/2023 10:16 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks for responding all!

It's interesting that others are saying they've experienced issues after a scope when they have been having a challenging time prior and that others have never had issues. (Lucky ducks! I do envy you!)

Straydog, you made me LOL. I was reminded of a conversation with my GI. I had uveitis, PG I refused to go to the hospital for, mouth sores, night sweats, heat intolerance and nausea. My GI said you're in the middle of a flare and I recoiled and said... absolutely not. Those are just extra intestinal symptoms. A flare is bleeding, vomiting, severe diarrhea, pain, ER and Prednisone. I am not flaring! LOL.

Clo
Posted 8/31/2023 10:33 AM (GMT -8)
In my experience scoping caused discomfort afterward if my colon was already inflamed and/or ulcerated. I think the gut tissue responds that way because passage of the scope over it causes friction, and that disturbs mucosa if it's friable. The problem of intolerable post-scope gas pain may be the fault of the endoscopist. My gastroenterologist takes time at the conclusion of procedure to suction out the gas that was pumped in to facilitate visualization of tissue. Gastro said it's usually not necessary to pump in a lot of gas, but some endoscopists may do that for lack of experience. At my last C-scope an old internal hemmie started spurting toward end of prep so I needed Proctofoam HC for a few days post-scope to heal that. *** Sorry that you've had to suffer through so much, Clo. It seems like any kind of intervention can go the wrong way with Crohn's. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)
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