Gi appointment

Hi there everyone,

I received a letter in the mail the other day, for a gi appointment in april, omg, wow, that is a long time. Can anybody tell me what is going to happen in this appointment? What I can expect, or what procedures if any will be done? I also go see a gyno on december 4th, hopefully I will get some answers, does anybody know what I can expect in this appointment? Or if there are any procedures? Im thinking that maybe he will suggest a laparascopy, I dunno, I just wish this pain would go away, its horrible.

Thanks again in advance

kelly

OHIO, no it isnt a follow up appointment, its my first, and I am quite nervous about it actually, my doctor is sending me there to reassure me that I do not have crohns, because he said because the tests show nothing, that I couldnt possibly have crohns, so now is leaning towards endometriosis.
I am in pain in deed, especially the last couple of days, im getting ready to move, so packing,cleaning, lifting, and its taking its toll, omg im hurting, everywhere. thank you again
kelly

i have diarrhea, loss of weight, im not absorbing anything, im now on liquid supplements, the pain isnt only in my stomach, but in my joints and muscles as well as I do have fibromyalgia, i have had a colonoscopy and a smbt, but they didnt show anything so my doctor got snarky and said that he would send me to a gi to reassure me that all that i had was ibs, but then gave me a referral to a gynocologist with suspected endometriosis, i have done a lot of reading, as far as I can tell, endo, and crohns, have a lot of the same symptoms, and i have all of them, i have had some blood, but not for a few weeks now, in my bowel movements that is. Sorry, i was on a rant
thanks
kelly

Hi Kelly it does sound like a long time to find out that's for sure,so what is your Dr. going to do to help you till then? Good luck with the moving .lol gail

mom1978
I'm not a doctor but what you are describing is definitely not IBS! Sounds to me like you need a second opinion. A colonoscopy will not always show active disease if the scope doesn't get in far enough...Crohn's can attack anywhere from the mouth to the anus. Blood tests and xrays in and of themselves are often not enough to make a proper diagnosis of Crohn's.... not everyone has the genetic markers or severely elevated SED rate, which is the marker for inflammation. Remember that ordinary gps are not specialists, and you are in control of your medical treatment. Doctors serve us, not the other way around. I wouldn't wait until April if I were in your situation. It took me nearly two years to get a diagnosis and I had to be my own advocate and not be intimidated by the fact that doctors supposedly know best.
Your first GI appointment will likely not involve any tests; you're more likely to only be giving him a rehash of you symptoms. Don't wait around in pain and discomfort! Camp out in your doctor's office if you have to in order to get satisfactory treatment. Joint pain is often associated with active Crohn's disease.While it is possible that you don't have Crohn's, you are in obvious distress and your doctor shoud be doing more than paying lip service to your concerns! Don't wait until April!
Good luck!
Michael

mom1978 -

I agree. Look up another GI that you can get into sooner. Now understand that Crohn's does NOT show up all the time. This ugly little bugger can hide from tests, including colonosopy. There's a pill cam that can see the inside of your intestines... BUT you want to be sure you don't have diverticulum first. I say this because I had a small bowel follow through (you drink this barium stuff and they watch it on a screen) and it showed diverticulum (little pockets that poke out of the intestines). I too have issues with diagnosis and am bounced around on this. Blood tests come back negative, scope negative but I have pain, D, nausea all the time. I go on and off liquid diets frequently. At times I will be off food for a week.

Moral of the story - don't listen to one doctor. They sometimes get lazy if it's not quick and obvious. Crohn's is not always quick and obvious.

-Leslie

April????? thats bulls**t.......not to alarm you, but you could be dead by then, you need to get on them or find a new doctor, i don't understand how some doctors just don't see the seriousness of our disease....i've been lucky lately, my 3 doctors all take this very seriously, and have extensive knowledge and experience treating crohn's and other IBDs.....whenever i need something, they get me in ASAP, usually within a week, or that very day....

I went almost a year with my symptoms before i started seeing docs about it, basically because i was more of a naturalist, thinking i could heal myself, with diet and other methods, while i was having some success, in other areas i wasn't making it.....I lost over 90 pounds in 10 months, about 10 inches off my waist, when my new doctors saw me, they were surprised i could even function at all, i was wasting away to nothing....they got things moving very quickly at that point, and have turned this thing around.....don't let yourself get to that point, take action now

Definitely get all your test results and every other notes by the physician in the past whatever amount of time. Get them before the move so you can find a doctor quickly and get down to finding the cause. It also lets you get a reading of what your doctor is seeing in you...maybe he isn't clear on the details of the disease and how it shows...who knows what doctors think? I hate them but they sure are a part of us Crohnnies' lives.