Does this seem suspicious of Crohn's disease?

Hello, I am a 19 year old female. I'm so sorry for rambling, this is going to be long but I'm having weird symptoms and I'm not sure what to do from here because my doctors don't know what to do with me.

I started having abdominal pain a few weeks ago but it isn't severe, it's more dull and achy and sometimes even ticklish. I had excessive discharge (Sorry for the TMI) and both me and my doctor thought it was related to my reproductive system. She was pretty sure it was pelvic inflammatory disease. However, she tested me for STD's which came back negative and swabbed me for signs of other infections. Nothing abnormal was found. My cervix was not inflamed and nothing appeared wrong with my ultrasound, but she still thought it was PID because my white blood cell count is high and so she gave me doxycycline and Flagyl.

The Flagyl was the only medicine that made me feel better regarding my abdominal pains, but unfortunately I was severely allergic to it and ended up hospitalized after only a few doses. They wanted me to continue taking it despite being allergic so they gave me painkillers and anti-nausea medicine. I was able to handle it better but I still felt like dying and I still threw up a couple times. My doctor was horrified that they told me to continue taking it and I still feel weird from it.

Then after a few more days of taking Flagyl, the relief it provided was no longer there. My abdominal discomfort came back. I continued Flagyl until I ran out but the relief was not gone.

The thing is I've also had joint pain in my hips where my thigh meets my hip/pelvis. My right eye has been experiencing on and off pain which I don't know if it is a side affect of the flagyl or if it is related to my problem. My vision is normal. I also have a swollen lymph node in my groin, but it is getting smaller and softer. I have pelvic pain but I really can't tell if it is my uterus or bladder. I think it is my bladder but I'm not sure. I have burning urine pains very occasionally but then it goes away.

The reason I'm starting to worry about crohns disease is because I had very mild, occasional anal bleeding that started a short while before the abdominal pain started. It feels like a tear just inside of the opening and it only mildly hurt whenever I was constipated, other than that it was fine. Flagyl gave me watery diarrhea for two weeks straight and now that it is over my stools are normal but it really hurts to pass them now and now there is more blood. It's not in the stool I just see it when I wipe. It's not a lot of blood but I'm still worried. The tear has become painful and now I feel it 24/7. I've had bloating problems my entire life but now whenever I eat certain foods I look 4 months pregnant.

The reason I'm asking here is because I don't really know what's wrong with me anymore and I'm tired of my doctors playing guessing games with me. My weird symptoms aren't helping either. A swollen groin lymph node and pelvic pain would suggest PID, but then I have general abdominal pain and an anal tearing that would suggest crohns, and then the veins in both of my legs really hurt and I have joint pain in my hips which could mean arthritis or possibly a vein issue., maybe even an autoimmune disorder.

I had esophagitis for three months straight right before this, along with an ulcer in my upper esophagus that was only getting worsened with my LPR. It got to the point to where the acid reflux was getting into my lungs and damaging my ulcer but my doctor wouldn't do anything about it so I didn't have any treatment aside from over the counter acid suppressers, but luckily it healed on its own. Then, right after it healed this abdominal pain started. I have no idea if it is related and my doctors don't seem to want to take it into account.

I'm sorry for rambling and maybe this doesn't even belong in the crohns disease section, but the reason I put it here is because I read that people with crohns disease can also have joint pain, eye pain, acid reflux problems and arthritis so I was wondering if my weird symptoms could be signaling crohns?

I was also wondering what tests I should ask for. I don't think I could handle a colonoscopy due to the pain from the tearing. I already know my white blood cell count is high, my red blood cell count is normal. I already have localized arthritis in my left hand due to an injury when I was 12 that stunted my left arm. I have scoliosis but my doctors don't know if it is because of my stunted arm or because of osteopenia. I am ignorant as to how they test for autoimmune diseases but I'm wondering if I should ask for that too. I think maybe I need to be tested for arthritis but I'm not sure. I just don't want test after test after test when I don't have the money or time for it.

So what I'm basically asking is, could my joint pain and leg pain and eye pain and prior episodes of esophagitis be indicative of crohns disease? Is pelvic pain normal for people with crohns disease? If it turns out I do have crohns, is there any other treatment besides Flagyl? Do my symptoms sound more like an arthritis disease or an autoimmune disease than crohns? Is crohns another risk factor for osteoporosis (I'm already at high risk)?

Oh and I suffer from fatigue, dizziness, fainting and head rushes but its probably because I have low blood pressure (hypotension).

scifigal2k said...
I would get a referral to see a GI (gastroenterologist) doctor ASAP. With the esophageal problems, it would be more likely to be Crohn's than Ulcerative Colitis (a similar condition). Crohn's can affect your entire digestive tract, and even your joints, etc. I have arthritis that only flares when my Crohn's flares. The blood and pain is suspicious as well; I would also get a stool sample tested - giardia, salmonella, e. coli., c. diff.

The way they diagnose Crohn's or UC is with a colonoscopy (which is really rather painless and easy compared to other things) and biopsies during it. Ask for an endoscopy as well (which will scope your throat into your stomach) so that they can see if there is damage from the reflux. It sounds like your doctor is kind of lazy if he's not willing to treat; you may need to look for a new one. Your symptoms are NOT normal.

I have osteopenia as well; take calcium supplements for it, that will help. The only big reason CD would affect it is if you need to be on steroids like prednisone a lot. Those will quickly get Crohn's into remission, then after that you need to stay on a maintenance medication to help you stay in remission.

Crohn's, since it's autoimmune, is treated with immunosuppressants. These range from pills to shots to infusions. Each doctor has their ideas of which is best, although research is showing that the pills are really not very effective at all, and that the biologics (shots or infusions) are much, much more effective.

Some people have their symptoms ease with Flagyl and can treat with it, but for most of us, it just upsets our CD more. Also, antibiotics can cause c. diff., which is a bacteria (like salmonella or e. coli.) that can cause some big problems down the line because there aren't very many antibiotics that are strong enough to treat it. Flagyl can be used to treat c. diff., but it can also cause c. diff.

Lol, before I run away with throwing too much information at you, call your primary care doctor and get a referral to a GI doctor ASAP and get scheduled for a colonoscopy. Once you have those results, you can move forward. In meantime, there are a few blood tests a doctor could run to test if you MIGHT have Crohn's, but whether those are positive or negative don't necessarily mean anything. I definitely have severe Crohn's, but my blood markers have never been positive.

In the meantime, start taking some iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12, calcium, and maybe even a multivitamin (I get chewy ones because otherwise they make me nauseated). With any bowel problems, it is difficult to absorb the nutrients you need. I also take fiber (either a powder or gummies) to help make my stools softer so they don't quite hurt so bad. However, if you're having diarrhea, then you will want to try Immodium and eat a low-fiber diet.

Another option for them hurting is a fissure, which is a tear in the rectum. It can cause blood and pain. But so can hemorrhoids, which can be caused by too much diarrhea (as well as constipation). Those can come whether or not you have Crohn's. But with the bloating you have, it seems likely. What foods cause your bloating?

Processed foods mostly. When I eat fruits, vegetables and unprocessed meats, I bloat a little bit, but not too badly. But when I eat processed foods I literally look pregnant. I notice it most with foods high in starch and carbohydrates. My mom thinks gluten may be causing it, but I'm not sure about that. It goes down a couple hours after I eat. I'm very skinny so it's noticeable. This severe bloating has only been happening for about a week now, my other symptoms have been going on for 6 weeks. I am unsure of whether this bloating is because the antibiotics or because of my problem but it does seem suspicious.

The thing that confuses me most is the pelvic pain. I don't have any signs of pelvic Inflammatory disease (the only way they can officially diagnose you is via surgery) so I'm not sure why its still there. The antibiotics only provided temporary relief. I don't know if this is related to crohns but it started at the same time as the abdominal pain. I've never had vomiting or nausea problems aside from the flagyl, not even when I had esophagitis.

I do take multivitamins as well as a probiotic. The probiotic is actually helping relieve the discomfort even more than the antibiotics. I haven't been taking calcium supplements lately but l will get back on track with that. I'm very worried about my scoliosis progressing so I try to avoid anything that increases my risk of osteoporosis.

My diet has also not been the best lately so I'm going to cut off all processed foods since it obviously is not doing me any good and isn't worth it.

Do anal fissures heal on their own or does it require serious treatment? It sounds like what I have although I won't know until I see my doctor. Unfortunately I can't get an appointment for two weeks so in the meantime I'm going to continue with my vitamins and probiotics and make changes to my diet. Despite having so many symptoms I am currently not in great pain, it's pretty mild so far, but I know it can progress.

MustLoveDogs said...
Have you been tested for a bladder infection? I cannot believe a hospital would have you take Flagyl, knowing you were allergic to it. That's a huge liability risk they set themselves up for. I don't think it sounds like you have Crohns, but if you did Flagyl is not a treatment for Crohn's, it's an antibiotic so it's used with infection. Diagnosis is made through a biopsy during a colonoscopy. With all of your symptoms it sounds like you would benefit from an upper endoscopy. Good luck, you have a lot of stuff going on

I know right? The only reason I listened to them was because they told me it was the only antibiotic that would cure me, but it didn't even fix the problem. I did get tested but it was negative, however the burning sensation is getting worse so I'll probably need to get retested. I'm going to push for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy.