I've been signed off, do I need to tell UC?

Hi,

Yes you should report SSP as a change of circumstances to Universal Credit.

PIP is a longer term benefit. You need to have had the difficulties for at least 3 months, and expect them to continue for another 9 months. It is judged as the majority of days out of a year. So if you are likely to be limited by the effects of Crohns for the majority of days in a year then it is worth applying for. However, If it's only likely to be one or two months a year, even though it's several days in a row, PIP doesn't really apply there. It is a difficult one to advise on and I appreciate you don't know how much longer the latest flare will affect you either.

Have you had a look at the PIP descriptors to see which ones are applicable to your situation? I'm sure you've read that PIP isn't about being able to work or not, it's all about the tasks within the descriptors.