Hi Deb - Let us know how your tests went. Ulcerative Colitis is one of the two Inflammitory Bowel Diseases, the other being Crohns Disease. They are basically the same disease except Ulcerative Colitis is localized in the colon whereas Crohns can affect any part of the digestive system.
The symptoms are diarrhea, cramping, pain, mucous and blood in stool. The definitive test for it is through a colonoscopy (loads of fun!) Where the docs insert a very long tube with a camera on the end to examine the colon. They will also biopsy any ulcers at this point.
Unlike Irritable bowel, UC is a structural disease, you can see the disease within the bowel. In IBS, though many of the symptoms are the same there is no evidence of disease upon examination.

what tests are you having done?

Warmly
Barb

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Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky