Untreated ulcerative colitis: 6 potential consequences

If you have ulcerative colitis, it is important to seek treatment immediately. Delaying treatment — or even downplaying your symptoms to your doctor — could turn a mild case into something much more serious.

“The longer ulcerative colitis smolders, the harder it is to control,” says Nirupama Bonthala, MD, a gastroenterologist at UCLA Health who specializes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). “One of the most serious things we see over and over again is patients who are not fully treated, and then their disease progresses to something that could have been stopped or controlled a long time ago.”

For example, in its early stages, ulcerative colitis can often be treated with gentler medications that have fewer side effects, such as aminosalicylates, a type of anti-inflammatory, says Dr. Bonthala.

But these medications might not work in people whose disease has gone untreated for long periods of time, because the inflammation might be more significant, she says. As the disease progresses, “you may need stronger medications than you initially needed,” says Bonthala. “Then, even if we try a powerful drug, there is no guarantee that it will work, which may require surgery.”