Crohn's w/o diarhea??

Very recently diagnosed with Crohns, yet the more I read, I wonder (hope?) it could be a misdiagnosis?

I do not, and have not had diarheah.

Crohn's does not run in my family.

I have not lost a single pound.

No joint pain.

However, I did end up in the ICU at the hospital for a total of 5 days ( only 2 in ICU ), due to mass blood loss rectally that started during a seizure.  I had a blood transfusion of four units, then a colonoscopy and endoscopy.  Biopsy results determined it was Crohn's.  but I am not so sure as I do not have all of the symptoms.

Am I just engaging in wishful thinking here?

I am going to swallow a pill with a camera in it, in hopes to see the areas that the colonoscapy and endoscopy could not reach.

I am on Prednisone.  I do not really know what foods to be sure to eat and which to avoid.  No info is consistant on how to stay in remission in regards to nutrition.  I know stress is more of an issue there...  yet so hard not to stress out about this!

Thanks :)

Crohns is different for everyone. That's what makes it such a "fun" disease. I had been perfectly healthy (minus being obese and having High Blood Pressure) for 31 years. Then one day, May 28th 2011... I remember it well (I was getting over a cold) I was visiting my mother with my wife & daughter and I had this feeling come over me like I was about to pass out. It scared me, so we went to a local ER, I cheked out fine and went home, but at this point I was in a panic attack (though I didn't understand it at the time) and went to an ER closer to home. My heart rate was over 120 and I was having epigastric pain, they did all this heart related stuff and it looked ok, but kept me overnight. I didn't sleep well and went home that afternoon and I felt drained. I had no energy, I could still feel my heart pounding and my appetite went to zero, but fearing that I was having some sort of health issue I tried to limit my food and lose weight.

The next 30 days is pretty much a blur now but I had no energy, not much of an appetite, and started having bowel issues which I wrote off to all the stresss I was going through. We had a vacation to Disney World in early June but once down there I had another episode of chest pain, feeling like passing out and was hospitalized down there for a night, this time my hemoglobin was low but everything else looked ok, and so I was let go again. By this time I was convinced I had something wrong and was in a constant state of panic, we went back home and I had more bloodwork done, I found out I was anemic and had a fecal occult test done which turned out positive. I explained all my symptoms and my doc suggested a colo / endo, but before I could have it done I went back to the hospital after a day where all I ate was half an orange and felt full all day, felt bloated and like something was stuck in the epigastric area. I had a CT scan which showed colitis and I was admitted... had the colo / endo done there two days later by my future GI, and there was my problem... I had Crohn's, and a severe case. I was in shock... I could not believe how quickly my health could change.

I've never had visible blood in my stool, though I've had blood on the tissue. I never had D in that month and aside from a period in August when I became sick with Sepsis I've not had D but maybe once. No joint pain, and still no joint pain. My family does not have a history of Crohn's though both my mother and grandmother have intestinal issues they were never actually diagnosed with anything. I did lose some weight early on. I was 280 at the time of my diagnosis and after my sepsis brought on by a drug reaction I dropped to 260. Unfortunately inactivity and Prednisone have caused me to skyrocket to 350 where I am now... any problems I have now are more weight related than Crohns related.

As for foods, it's also different for everyone. Most people recommend to keep a food diary, and note anything that does not agree with you. I did that for a month or two, but now I eat most things with no issues. I recommend you stay active as best you can. For me after my diagnosis I was still anemic and had no energy, and even when I started to feel better I didn't do anything, and now I'm really paying the price. Stress is also somethng to avoid and you are right, it's not easy to do. I've had a horrble horrible time coming to terms with this, and Prednisone did not help me at all in that regard, my anxiety was terrible. I definetly notice that now that I'm off of it. But it does wonders for quickly stopping a flare.

Hope my novel helps you. We're all a bit different even though we have the same disease, what works for one person won't work for the other. You have to pay attention to you.

My cousin was was diagonosed in Jan with crohns with massive inflammation in the illium which caused him extreme pain, but he never had one day of diarrhea and his bowel movements have been and still are 100% normal and regular. He was in the hospital for 3 days in Jan with IV steriods and now he has tappered down to 7.5 mg predisone and 1000mg petnassa 3xday. The pain has returned off and on every three or four days, but still his BMs are 100% normal. He is following the SCD diet 100% so maybe that has something to do with why his BMs are normal, but you never know since crohns affects everyone differently.

Not trying to burst your bubble or anything but you are on steroids and they can mask symptoms wonderfully while you are on them. Unfortunately they are hard on other organs and can cause many new problems so they will taper you off as soon as possible. Take care.

Wow, just now got all these msgs, thanks so much for all the replies! I will certianly change my name, no prob. Will have to wait thoughas I cannot do so from my phone and am in bed. Will also reply reply more in depth then as well. I have more questions... to start, what does it mean when someone says "d"?