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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/11/2012 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

      I am just grasping at straws here to post on this site...as I have yet to be diagnosed with anything.  I just wanted some advice and to vent and see if anyone on here has been thru the same things I am going thru now.  It all started 8 weeks ago with liquid watery diarreah....this is on again off again...with fever and a "yucky" taste in my mouth.   It is worse when I eat and drink, but I could be eating nothing and it just starts up. I have agonizing cramping, and am unable to take most oral pain medications due to side effects/allergies.  I have found myself three times now in the ER with the same symptoms....all they do is give me IV pain meds and Saline and send me home.  I did go see a Colorectal MD who did a colonoscopy last week.  He didn't find anything...just said that sometimes you get chronic diarreah from not haing your gallbladder.  (I had my gallbladder removed 17 years ago at the age of 16). I have never had chronic diarreah and could tell you the exact day that this all started...that seems acute to  me?  So he put me on Cholesterol meds to try to "bulk up" my stools.  So, I ate regularly (the first time in 3 weeks I ate a salad...tasted sooo good!)  And I was in agonizing pain and had watery stools again for 3 days.  I feel very frustrated....they've been saying it's because I have "anxiety".....but I just don't think this is normal.  I have asked to see a GI doctor..and my colon doctor has requested I get an upper GI to rule out Celiac. For some reason he just doesn't think it's anything....has anyone had problems being diagnosed?   Just wondering....I'm losing lots of weight...and am in pain all of the time.   This is getting very trying....just looking for some advice.  Thank you!

Softylayla 

Posted 3/11/2012 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
Did he test your small bowels to look for inflammation there? Seems like your doc isn't very thorough...he shuold be testing everything to rule out possible conditions of what is actually causing your D issues. A colonoscopy alone is not enough since crohn's often likes to affect the small intestines.

By testing your small intestines, if no inflammation/polyps are found then it could be ruled as IBS issues, many that have their gallbladder removed will often have issues with D, but it's important to be sure that is the cause by ruling out other possibilities like inflammatory bowel disease (crohn's or ulcerative colitis), celiacs disease (he should have tested you for that as well) or IBS, even diverticulosis can cause bad tummy issues.

Maybe find another doc if this one isn't willing to be thorough and thinks it's "okay" for you to be feeling the way you are, cuz it's definitely not and your description of things could very well be due to some gastro issues that are unrelated to your gallbladder removal quite some time ago now.
Posted 3/11/2012 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Softylayla,

I can commiserate. I too have yet to be diagnosed with anything. It's been over six years since I started having symptoms that kind of resemble Crohn's though not as severe as some people have experienced. I'm currently waiting for a referral to a GI doc.

It's partially my fault why I haven't been diagnosed though, I've been avoiding it, i.e. not telling my doctor all of my symptoms. Having a Crohn's diagnoses could possibly mean losing my job. I have fistulas, so my doctor knows about those, but for a long time, I wouldn't dare talk about the other symptoms. I did have one "attack" where I ended up at the hospital,but so far the doctors seem to not put two and two together on my chart. I recently had a fistulectomy, my C-R surgeon is the one putting up the red flag and says I need to be tested again. I'm giving in this time. At this point my symptoms are starting to get worse, time to figure out what this is so I can deal with it, and cross my fingers I don't get the boot from my career.

Hope you find out what is wrong soon.
Posted 3/11/2012 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
So he put me on Cholesterol meds to try to "bulk up" my stools...and my colon doctor has requested I get an upper GI to rule out Celiac.

If you are allergic to most medications then an alternative way many of us 'bulk up our stools' is with a soluble fiber such as psyllium (Metamucil), or something like Citrucel.

Another lesson many of us have learned the hard way is that tests for Celiac only diagnose gluten intolerance, not gluten sensitivity. And gluten sensitivity can manifest itself with the same symptoms. The only way to determine if you are sensitive to gluten is to avoid all gluten foods such as wheat and barley for a couple of weeks to see if your symptoms seem to lessen. This includes no croutons on your next salad.
Posted 3/12/2012 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hey softyla - anyone do any blood work to look for inflammatory markers or anemia? How about stool tests to check for parasites or inflammatory markers? These seem like basic diagnostic tests that you should have before being shuttled off with an "IBS" diagnosis, or "it's just anxiety."
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