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Frustrated: IBS or Not?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/11/2011 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone,

I have never posted here but at this point I am so fed up with the medical system that I figured maybe asking others who are experiencing IBS and/or Crohn's might be able to give me some sound advice.

I had a baby last November and things went surprisingly well.  about 3 months after he was born I became violently ill, to the point me and the toilet became best of friends for 24 hours. It was one end or the other.  I didn't think anything of it, just another stomach flu, right?!  Well except several weeks later I got a round of diahrrea for 5 days.  Still didn't go to the doctor because it was no big deal at least in my eyes, I am 27 and have been in great health for as long as I know.  Around May, I gave up because I had been going through these flare ups of diahrrea followed by normalcy. 

They did blood test and my Vitamin D and Calcium levels were way low, as well as a few other anamolies, which I can't remember at this time.  So they signed me up with 1500 mg Ca and 100 mg of Vitamin D as well as a regimen of Metamucil.  Still feeling like crap I finally get approved to go see a GI.   So I go there tell her whats up and she decides its Infectious IBS and prescribes me a drug refraximin for 3 months.  There were no further test conducted beyond the blood and FOBT ordered by the PCP. I could only get 10 days supply, so I took it.  I had one night where I had never been in so much pain in my left side, to the point I wanted to go to the hopsital.  The doctor wanted me to keep going but we couldn't get it approved.  My diahrrea seemed to go away, so I didn't think much of it.  Kept up with the vitamins because I figured it doesn't hurt.

Fast forward months later. I finally make another apoinment with the GI (in two weeks) because of several reasons. I am exhausted, no really EXHAUSTED all the time. It doesn't matter how much I sleep I get.  My fingers are swollen all the time not to mention that it feels like I have arthritis in them. I have constant stomach pain mostly in my lower right abdomen but occassionally in my upper left (something I complained about the first time!) but now it just is starting to be unbearable.  I know seem to pass gas through another hole as well as the normal one.  Lastly, I have another round of diahrrea, this time its been for 10 days solid and still counting.

It took me 5 weeks to get into the doctor. I am worried that I am gonna go in and she will laugh because well I wasn't on rifraximin for 3 months liked she prescribed.  She will prescribe me a different antibiotic and send me on my way.  What do you all think from experience, is this IBS or something else?

Posted 10/11/2011 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
So sorry you are feeling poorly, and all this while caring for a young one, too. At your appt, you need to be very specific in your symptoms (how long they lasted, the intensity, frequency, etc.) All of those things will help make a diagnosis. If you are passing gas in another area, you could have a fistula. The best patient is an educated patient. Go to the CCFA website (www.ccfa.org) and look at the symptoms for Crohn's. It is important for you to advocate for yourself. Be polite but firm with what you expect from your care. If you don't get the results you want, see another doctor. What you're describing could very well be Crohn's but there's no way to tell without testing. Hopefully, your insurance will cooperate since you've been so ill for so long. Hang in there. This is a great website for support. These folks are wonderful.
Posted 10/12/2011 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
It sounds like you need more testing, like a colonoscopy, and some upper GI tests. IBS is often diagnosed when other GI illnesses are ruled out. Tell the doc that you are getting anxious and frustrated and you want medical tests. Let us know how it goes
Posted 10/12/2011 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
ITA with both of the above posters. Colonoscopy for sure.
Posted 10/12/2011 7:05 AM (GMT 0)
I had a very similar experience, I was back and forth to the doctor and in and out of the emergency department with terrible bouts of pain, diarrhea and vomiting on and off for about 5 years and was told I had gastroenteritis or irritable bowel syndrome until someone finally took me seriously and referred me to a specialist where I had a colonoscopy which showed advanced Crohn's disease. The specialist said that most likely each time I had those episodes of extreme colicky pain I was having a partial small bowel obstruction. Not long after my diagnosis I was admitted with another bowel obstruction and had to have an emergency bowel resection. My advise to you would be trust that you know your body and trust your instincts. Be assertive at your Doctors appointment and insist you want some more tests to find out what is going on.
Posted 10/12/2011 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone for the advice. I guess I assumed that maybe I was making a big deal out of nothing. I am an engineer so I kind of take things logically and tend to like to have all my answers before making decisions.

At this point I feel like the doctor is taking the easy diagnosis, which doesn't really make all that much sense to me, in the end hse will get paid for the test by me or myinsurance. I would rather do all the test to confirm that it isn't something else besides IBS then to not do the test and assume that it is IBS only to get worse.
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