Period problems... Crohn's or something else?

For the past 4 or 5 months, right after I'm over my period I get so sick!

Horrible pains, vomiting, fever, etc.

I've been to the ER twice because of this. My blood work and urine tests came back fine so they just loaded me up on pain meds and sent me home.

I just wrote it off as Crohns, but now I'm wondering if it may have something to do with my lady parts?

Anyone else have similar problems?

This is getting old really quick! HELP!

I haven't brought it up to my Obgyn. I'm not due to see her for another month or so.

My periods are usually light. I'll only cramp for a day, day and 1/2. Bleed for maybe 2 days, and spot for a couple of days.
It's usually around the 5th day after I start that I get sick.

Yeah my cycles are normal. Usually 28-30 days.

I really just wish I knew what was causing these problems.
Even while I'm on my period, my Crohn's doesn't bother me too much. But when day 5 or 6 comes, I feel like I'm dying.

Your not the only one having crohn's issues around period time. I have bad flare ups the week leading to my period and the first 2 days. I finally realized I have endomretiosis.. not to say you do but crohn's and endo is linked, study can't prove it yet but there is enough proof. Before finding out i had endo my GI explained it can happen the crohn's flares to do all the hormones.
Hope you find a solution real soon!! xo

Endometriosis is the growth of uterine lining outside the uterus. Some women have it, some don't. Some have really bad endometeriosis, and this can cause damage to the reproductive organs, such as scarring on the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Endometriosis can cause pelvic adhesions. In a rare case I read about last year, one woman had endometriosis in her lungs!!! The uterine lining responds to hormonal signals even when it's not in your uterus. So you can have terrible period cramps and bloating due to tissue growth in the pelvis.

All of my OB/Gyns and fertility doctors thought I had endo because of the pelvic discomfort I described. I had an exploratory laparoscopy when I was 32 and my pelvis was totally free of any endometriosis. At that point the surgeon just shrugged his shoulders and gave up trying to figure out why I had pelvic pain. Five years later I started passing blood in my stool, which eventually led to a Crohn's diagnosis. THAT's why I had pelvic pain.

It seems to me that your monthly problems are probably NOT related to your period, but I am not a DR nor have I studied the endocrine system in detail. I think given how bad you feel when you get sick this way you need to pursue it with your docs, and both your OB/Gyn and your GI should be involved in that conversation. Don't let them blow you off. If you chart your basal body temp and also keep a diary of your gut symptoms, that will be a very nice little package of data for your docs to examine.

Any doc that says you are too young for endometriosis is not very knowledgeable about endo. Unfortunately, the only way to accurately diagnose it or rule it out is with surgery. If you ever decide to have surgery to diagnose it, make sure your surgeon is also prepared to remove it at that time. I've met too many women that have a diagnostic surgery with a doc that cannot or will not remove it so they have to endure another surgery.

I agree with Kasbern, don't let the docs blow you off. The GI docs will blame everything on your "female parts" and the gyn will blame everything on your intestines and no one wants to help. I got shuffled around for years before a doc decided to go in and look. Turns out I had stage 4 endometriosis.

good luck.

Tabicat, call your OB/Gyn and get an appt. You'll spend hours in the ER, and then they'll tell you to contact your OB/Gyn!

The Obgyn I go to is in a clinic, and it can take a month sometimes to get an appointment. But kazbern, you were right; I went to the ER, they did an pelvic, exam(and I cried!), xrays, blood work etc. and couldn't find ANYTHING! The doctor told me to follow up with my Obgyn. She thinks it could be Endometriosis, but isn't sure.

Nanners.. at first I thought it was Crohns symptoms after my peroid. I would have bad pain, vomiting, nausea etc.
But I think it's too far down to be Crohns related.
During my period I feel fine(ish) but a couple days after, I just want to crawl into a hole and die! It's miserable! This has been going on the past 4 or 5 months. I am soo sick of it!!

I'm wondering if I don't have cysts. There's definitely something going on in there, I can feel it swell up!

I have an appointment with the obgyn next Tuesday. That was the soonest I could get in :(

I feel horrible, and my employer took me off the schedule for the rest of the week because I've missed so much work the past couple months :(

I can't say I blame them, but that's just one more thing I don't want to worry about right now.

you could certainly have a cyst - but that's still a lot of pain. I predict your ob will look very attentive when you tell her the pain pattern. remember to update us when you go, and in the meantime - TAKE IT EASY.

I was 23 when I was dx with Endo.

I had been having bad pains in my tummy for 3 months and I had a full colonoscopy and they found nothing.
So a few months later they decided to do surgery and find out what was going on in there :P

they found endo and I got treatment right away and have been good ever since ;)

But when I started to have problems with my digestive system they did not believe me sine I had a clear scope one year earlier.

Just so you know what my treatment was, I was put on the pill and take no breaks so I never have my period.

Yes, they can do surgery - but you have to be careful to find a very good doc b/c of the risk of adhesions afterwards, which is a whole other issue. I'm betting on cysts - that's a MUCH easier deal and it can hurt a whole lot and also impinge on nerves which might explain all the pain you're having. hugs!

Glad you got that taken care of! I hope the pills help too.