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Small Bowel Follow Through RESULTS!!!

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/26/2008 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
Forever later, I lay my hands on the results, lol. Anyway, here they are:

Findings
The stomach has a normal contour and appearance. The mucosa in the duodenum and jejunum appears normal. Most of the ileum has a normal appearance. There is no separation of bowel loops, and no focal scarring detected in the small bowel. There is a clumping of contrast in the region of the cecum. I suspect this is within cecum. It is potentially within some small bowel loops in the right lower quadrant overlying the cecum. I suspect this is a focus of some inflammatory process. Especially given the history, an inflammatory etiology is highly likely. There is no evidence of mass.

Impression
Clumping of contrast in the right lower quadrant. Potentially, this is within the distal ileum, or perhaps, even more likely within the cecum. I suspect this is related to inflammatory bowel disease, and other etiologies are not entirely excluded either.

So, what is your impression? No narrowing or scarring, right? That's good. Is this easily (and quickly) fixable (with medication hopefully)?
Posted 2/27/2008 11:30 AM (GMT 0)
Does this sound like any results any of you have received? Is this mild & easily fixable? I am wondering if these results point to UC or CD, since I haven't been specifically diagnosed with either yet, just IBD.

I would LOVE any input...
Posted 2/27/2008 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
Most likely points to Crohns, since UC is limited to the colon. There's no indication of possible narrowing or strictures . . . basically a standard finding in SBFT for many Crohns patients, indicating inflammation and some resulting thickening of the bowel wall in the terminal ileum and/or cecum. Depending on your response to medications, and if yuo have no major ulcerations detected via colonoscopy, sound slike you may have a mild to moderate case of Crohns.

Posted 2/27/2008 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Mike for the input. Good, I think that sounds, well, not good, but not as bad as it could have been.

I had a colonoscopy back in October & it came back with multiple ulcers & inflammation throughout the colon. Mild colitis was the diagnosis then & I was put on Azulfidine for a month & told it would be better. After the month, I began losing weight again (50 lbs lost so far since June) & feeling worse. So I was put back on the Azulfidine. Saw the GI, said it was for sure IBD, not IBS, & sent me for the SBFT. She was not sure if it was UC or CD. I am waiting to hear back from the GI's office, in the meantime, a week after the SBFT, I started having horrible lower abd/pelvic/groin/low back/hip pain. So now just waiting to hear how they want to change my meds.

I will post more when I hear back from the GI.... I welcome your insight.
Posted 2/27/2008 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
BTW, I didn't have a small bowel biopsy done or a biopsy of the cecum or ileum or whatever when I had the colonoscopy (they were thinking it was cancer, I think). So the GI was talking about another colonoscopy, but I don't have insurance, so I will see what she says now after the SBFT.... that was her first step...
Posted 2/27/2008 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Okay... well, I heard back from the nurse at the GI's office. Not much info. No strictures on the SBFT. Can't really tell if it's CD or UC, so she wants another colonoscopy, but since I don't have insurance, I can think about that & go from there. I told her about the intense pain & pressure I have been having & she said to keep taking the Darvocet & start on the prednisone & go from there. If the pain continues, then call them back & let them know.

So, I still don't know much.... :(
Posted 2/27/2008 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
I assume you've passed all the barium and your BMs have returned to normal color and consistency for you? If your BMs still show signs of barium it could be setting up and causing your discomfort. Drink lots and lots of water. It seems tho like it has been long enough since the SBFT that the barium shouldn't be an issue. Just thought I would mention it just in case.
Posted 2/27/2008 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
You should find that the prednisone will help you a great deal rather quickly. (That's the good news about the dreaded pred is that it does work well and fast). It definitely sounds as though that you have CD, as opposed to UC since there's small bowel involvement.
If you've been basically untreated for an extended period (from your other posts it seems you've only had a very brief duration of prednisone to combat the inflamatory response) you could have a lot more ulceration occuring in the colon than was originally detected from your first scope. The one benefit that the GI will have with another scope is an accurate assessment of how inflammed the area is, which might affect the choices of medications she'll prescribe. I remember you saying that you don't like taking medications if they can be avoided, and although you'll definitely need some...perhaps the dosage and type can be more accurately assessed with more diagnostic evidence available to your doctor.
On the other hand, since you have no insurance, your decision (and your doctor of course) may be to proceed with prednisone (inexpensive and effective) and see how you respond. It sounds pretty clear you've got CD, now it's just fine-tuning the treatment plan to put you into a remission.
Hopefully you'll start noticing an improvement soon,

Bev
Posted 2/27/2008 11:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the posts.

CrohnieToo: the barium was mostly gone that day & then the next morning, I had a little mixed in with the rest of the stool. So no worries there. They didn't even think I would need the milk of magnesia or whatever they give you when you leave to help get rid of the barium, so I didn't take it & didn't need it. I am getting constipated from time to time. Well, it's not like what I used to be used to when I was constipated before becoming sick, it's more like pressure & cramping, bloating & pain & a horrible need to go, but no luck. Before I would just get bloated & slightly uncomfortable. It was normal for me to go only twice a week, but now if I only go once a day, I feel constipated. I think it may be because when I do go, I don't go a lot. But I go often, ya know? But the last week has been really weird & it hasn't been consistent at all. Sometimes it's really soft & I go a bunch of times. The next couple days I might not go at all... it's weird.

Bentwistle: Yes, I am going to go ahead with the dreaded prednisone. I am to stay on the Azulfidine, too, and they are talking about upping the dose of that as well. Yes, I think I should go ahead & have the horrid colonoscopy again, too. But money issues worry me & I am not sure if the hospital would even do it, last time I was supposed to have a procedure done there, they said I would have to take a loan out, they didn't accept payments. So I guess maybe I am going to have to investigate the cost. I want optimum treatment, even though I can't afford it, lol.

And, yes, I don't like taking pills. But I realize that I am just going to have to for a while at least until I get this all figured out. I already am taking a ton with the azulfidine, vitamin, aciphex, nasonex & darvocet. And now Prednisone. That stinks, but I will live. Ugh.
Posted 2/28/2008 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
I feel for you! I can't imagine trying to pay for all my appointments and tests that have come about because of this DD. I find I've had to go to the ER (like you) unexpectedly, and stop pills after purchasing them as I react, not to mention drug changes and dose increases and stuff sending me back to my doctors on way too many occasions. I can remember the days when I went to the doctor once or twice a year...before CD raised its ugly head. On top of the CD, I developed another auto-immune disease out of the blue (ITP - a blood disorder) which caused me to be hospitalized repeatedly. I'm fortunate, as I live in Canada, so we have free health care, and my husband and I are well insured to pay for the medications. I'm saying all this as it might be worth your while to really look into insurance and start it up as a couple of unexpected trips to the ER or a surgery could really cause grief. I've read your other posts and saw how much a trip to the ER costs.

Take care,

Bev
Posted 2/28/2008 11:34 AM (GMT 0)
I just got another (#3) job to help pay for things. I faxed over a few questions to the GI to see if it is just suggested that I do another colonoscopy or if it is recommended. That may help with my decision on whether to do it or not...

I guess now that I know it is a chronic disease, I will need to do something about health insurance.... I hadn't been to the doctor at all in 3 years before all this happened. It scares me wondering about the financial implications of this disease along with the scary thoughts of what could happen. Hopefully this will all get under control soon & I will feel better & go into remission & never have a problem with this ever again. I hope....
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