Strictures?

Welcome, Bojaxx. I think if the imaging study had shown a clear stricture, your DR would have said so. You're probably going to have to live with the uncertain language of a "narrowing" until your scope. The good news is that the scope should be able to reach the descending bowel w/o difficulty and determine what's going on.

I'm having a CT on Thursday and it's my first one in 10 years of IBD. I'm worried about a stricture too and I don't know how good the imaging will be for me. If you have more questions before or after your scope, the forum here is very supportive and will give you loads of info if you ask.

Thanks for the reply I'm only 21 years old and I just started having my digestive issues/bleeding issues when I was 17 so I hope that I haven't had issues long enough for it to be scar tissue.

But what else could a stricture mean in someone my age? I didn't really have anyone explain my results to me I was read my results and then discharged, I never got a follow up appointment to have anything explained. (Until Aug. 1st)

In my head right now I'm convinced that I have either have UC, Chrons, or colon cancer and that's sort of a crappy waiting game to find one of those things.

Well I've been having very mild problems for the past 4 years I mostly mean that I started seeing blood in my stool when I was 17.

I had a "flare up" for about a month in Feb. 2010 where I was extremely sick with diarrhea/the works I lost about 10 pounds that month then put it back on pretty quick. And now during all of last month I was feeling terrible with chronic diarrhea/abdominal cramping. Right now I feel mostly fine besides some random aches and my worries about what my colonoscopy will find.

I sort of have anxiety problems and I focus on the worst possible scenario ie: colon cancer, because I've always read that Chrons is associated with a lot of pain while I only get really bad cramping and occasional collicky pain that comes and goes

Post Edited (Bojaxx) : 7/19/2011 10:49:42 AM (GMT-6)

Unfortunately, there isn't a single answer to your newest questions. One of the reasons that Crohn's is hard to diagnose is that a person can experience it in a whole variety of ways. Symptoms may come and go; pain may be pretty much anywhere and may be intermittent; you may have bloodwork that points at an inflammatory disease, or you may have bloodwork that looks deceptively normal. Without definitive testing, you may initially be misdiagnosed as having gallbladder problems, fibromyalgia, or IBS--or, in plenty of cases, you may be told that it's all in your head or that you're just experiencing problems because you're stressed out. I had a nagging, dull pain under my ribcage for years (which isn't very typical). What got me diagnosed was a crippling pain, like an extended 'stitch', in my left lower abdomen, from the left side of my pubic bone over to my hip. I thought I'd somehow pulled an abdominal muscle and kept asking the P.E. coach what I should do about it. When it got so bad that I could barely shuffle into work, I gave up and called my doctor, who thought it was acute appendicitis, but ordered an emergency CTscan, which showed that it was Crohn's Disease and a serious stricture that required surgery.

If you're having lots of diarrhea and abdominal cramping, I guarantee you that your entire abdomen will feel tender if somebody presses anywhere on it.

Don't panic about colon cancer. My guess is that colon cancer is the least likely explanation for what you're experiencing.

There's nothing you can do about any of this until you get your biopsy results back--so stressing out about it isn't doing you or your body any good. Take warm baths or snuggle with a heating pad; divert yourself with good books or bad TV; and eat sensibly. Remember that popcorn, raw fruit and vegetables (especially unpeeled), seeds of any kind, whole grains--all of these can irritate your obviously fragile digestive system. Caffeine and sugar can increase your diarrhea, and alcohol isn't a great idea. Try to eat as simply and as healthily as you can, avoiding roughage (i.e., high fiber foods) until your insides settle down a bit.

I know that this is a scary time for you, but hang in and try not to let yourself imagine the worst scenarios. One way or another, you'll be OK. And if you need advice, compassion, or a place to vent, we're all here for you.

Post Edited (nawlinscate) : 7/19/2011 2:06:12 PM (GMT-6)

I agree with nawlinscate - pain is so individual and if you ask this forum where their pain is you'll get a different response from everyone. Many don't have significant pain, like me! Mine main reason for seeking medical help was endless bloody diarrhea. Later, after years of understanding better what was going on, I was able to link some mysterious pelvic pain I'd been having to Crohn's (this pain was like a 4 or 5 on a scale of 10 and only happened during ... ahem ... certain intimate moments). Currently I have chronic low level pain under my ribs on the right - going to get a scan on Thursday to see what it might be.

So, yeah, don't panic. You will work with your DR to figure this out, and it might take a while. Be patient, persevere, and make sure you communicate clearly with regard to how you're feeling. And take cate's advice about eating easier food while you're feeling bad.

And yes, mucous in your bowel movement is a sign of inflammation somewhere in the digestive tract.

Well I have a question about "flare ups". For the past few years I thought I had some kind of issue that built up my anxiety because I'd feel terrible for a month or certain periods of time where I just knew that I didn't feel right, but it would go away and then I'd feel fine again. about 2 years ago I noticed that whenever I'm having digestive issues my eyes would get inflamed/bloodshot, I could feel it. And I also get mystery rashes on my arms/legs/back that my doctors were completely baffled by. Does any of this sound in line with Chrons.

Can minor/moderate flare ups happen without causing diarrhea maybe it would just cause general digestive issues?

Yeah I guess you're right. After my CT scan the doctor offered to begin me on treatment to feel better, but she said that if I do start taking medicine my colonoscopy might not accurately detect if I have CD or not. Does that mean she was pretty confident that I have the issue? I was a little confused by the situation I just told her that I'd manage until my colonoscopy.

At this point I really won't be surprised if I have CD I'd just like to be sure of what my problem is.

So today I noticed that I have a weird soft lump on my stomach that looks like it has something black underneath and it only bleeds if I squeeze it. Should I be concerned at all or would this be unrelated to CD?
Obviously I'm sort of paranoid about every CD complication I've read about can things like fistulas pop up anywhere or only near your bottom?

Post Edited (Bojaxx) : 7/22/2011 5:47:49 PM (GMT-6)

So I went for my consultation today and my GI didn't seem to take my problems very seriously. I'm glad that he thinks I'm alright, but he looked at my CT scan and said that he didn't think it was a sign of IBD and that I don't have a stricture just normal results. I told him that I've been feeling better for the past few weeks and that I haven't had any diarrhea. But since getting home from the GI visit I've had diarrhea all day and I'm wondering if it's just from being anxious over my appointment.

I'm getting a flexible sigmoidoscopy next week instead of a colonoscopy because of my age and I'm wondering can they even take biopsies with a flex sig or is it just a visual scope to see if there's anything worth investigating?