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Is this Crohn's?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/29/2019 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, folks,

I have been struggling with chronic illness for years, but digestively I've been okay. Out of nowhere a few weeks ago I started to get excruciating pain in my mid-upper abdomen an hour after eating. Completely normal bowel movements, good appetite, other conditions actually doing unusually well, no fever, no bleeding. Negative stool test for parasites and h. pylori. Negative for salmonella, giardia, and c. diff. I had a great deal of blood work done and have sky-high eosinophils. Does the pain after eating combined with the high eosinophils sound like Crohn's to you?

I have appointments with a GI specialist in ten days, but I don't know what to do until then. Any advice for testing to ask for? Any chance of diagnosis without invasive testing?

Ideas for symptom relief in the mean time? The pain is just incredible.

I'm a moderator of the Lyme forum here and know a lot about a lot of medical things, but with Crohn's I'm at square one (aside from the hours I've spent reading online the past few days...). Any help is greatly appreciated!
Posted 10/29/2019 10:01 PM (GMT 0)
I know you’re going to be wondering up until your appointment but as you probably know, it could be anything, even just short term gastritis or reflux. I’m sure the GI will do bloodwork or at least tell you what they think of the bloodwork you had. As far as tests, it could be all kinds of things. I’ve had ultrasounds, CTs, MRIs, and colonoscopy and endoscopy over the years. It’ll depend if your dr thinks it’s needed and probably based on where you show them the pain is. Hope your appt goes well.
Posted 10/29/2019 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Agree with the previous poster. Really could be a lot of different things going on. You're not really presenting with typical Crohn's pain, so I wouldn't even be close to panicking right now Unfortunately, you really need some further diagnostics done to rule out IBD. Upper and lower scopes with biopsies are the best options.

In the meantime, you might try a low residue diet. Hope you're feeling better soon.
Posted 10/30/2019 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
It sounds a lot more like reflux or perhaps an ulcer than it does Crohn's.
Posted 10/30/2019 12:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
You might also want to check into having your gall bladder looked at. Often forgotten it can cause similar pain as Inflamatory bowel disease.
Posted 10/30/2019 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your replies, everyone!

I find it interesting that the high eosinophils don't ring any bells for anyone, since that's a major indicator of IBD. I agree that there are still some other possibilities, but it would be helpful for me if anyone happens to know about typical eosinophil numbers during an IBD flare, and other indicators on blood work (like C-reactive protein and other markers of inflammation). Thanks!
Posted 10/30/2019 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Saraeli,elevated eosinophils are not a reliable test to diagnose crohns. Allergies, including food allergies, fungal infections, adrenal issues & a list of many other things can cause them to be elevated.

An elevated CRP means there is inflammation somewhere in the body, but it doesn't tell where the inflammation is located. Again not a test to diagnose crohns disease. My gi doesn't do this test on me, I have other conditions that can cause inflammation, so it will not tell him anything definitive.

Some of the typical symptoms of crohns is recurrent diarrhea, often bloody diarrhea, constipation with blood, stomach pain with cramping, fever, unexplained weight loss & reduced appetite. When these symptoms hit they are pretty much constant, not associated with eating.

Having upper & lower scopes with biopsies are necessary to get a diagnosis. The dr has a visual of things inside & pathology report is vital also.
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