New with questions

I've been reading the forums for a while and decided that I should finally post some of my questions. I apologize for the length but I think all the information would be asked for eventually.

First, my history;

I'm a 21 year old male of Irish, German, and English decent. My maternal uncle and cousin both have Crohn's. I've been having GI problems for about 2 years and my issues include diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue, some joint pain mostly in my knees (always assumed it was from my years of being a catcher). I also have some nausea problems which can occur at anytime during the day, but normally more in the morning if I wake up too early or if I eat the same amount that I used to eat.

Everything seemed to have started with a bad stomach bug (which I've heard from other people could have been my first flare). There was a lot of vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue involved which lasted a week or so. My primary doc said it was just a normal bug and not to pay it any mind (after a month or two he did run some basic blood and stool tests, all came back clean). After about a year of dealing with diarrhea, severe change in my appetite, weight loss, and increased fatigue I went to a GI Dr. She decided to run the basic blood and stool tests again (all came back clean again) and then ran an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and a gastric emptying test. Everything came back clean. Initially she had thought that I had some form of Colitis (I went into that forum and asked questions but then stopped after I was told I had nothing wrong). After those tests, the Dr. essentially gave up and said that there was nothing wrong and that small bowel crohn's is extremely rare so it wasn't worth the tests.

about 2 months after that I went into the ER with nonstop diarrhea and severe stomach pain. I was admitted, blood tests run, as well as a CAT scan and a Ultrasound taken. There was "nondescript" swelling in my stomach, but they insisted it wasn't anything serious, loaded me up with fluids, and sent me home with some pain meds. After several more months I'm in to see a new GI Dr. who is now running a whole bunch of new tests and seems to think that my last GI dropped the ball (can't say I'm surprised). Food wise, I've cut out all veggies, whole grains, nuts, and acidic foods which has seemed to drastically improved my diarrhea, but my fatigue has greatly increased. No vitamins or meds.



Now for the questions,

My new GI said that my liver numbers were off (on my old blood tests), and said that can be normal with Crohn's. That was something I had never heard of and was wondering how common this actually was?

The new GI ordered something called a Prometheus blood panel and I don't know that I completely understand what it is looking for (I did look it up online but I don't completely get it). Can anyone shed some light on it?

He also ordered a barium (sp?) follow through which if I've heard correctly, may not show anything if I'm not in a flare. I've been feeling ok since I went on my diet, so is there a chance that it will come back as a false negative?

Is there anything that you guys would recommend me to ask my Dr. or would suggest for me to do?

Thanks for the help, and sorry again for the post being so insanely long.

Hi shooter1029 and welcome to the forums.

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having and not finding the source of the problems.

A few issues can cause moderate elevations of liver tests, one is a condition referred to as fatty liver.
Fatty Liver-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_liver
It is said the most common reason for fatty liver is due to alcohol abuse, diabetes or being overweight. It can also be caused from some medications.

A Prometheus test is used for people possibly having or suffering with chronic diseases and disorders. It is focused on the diagnosis of autoimmune, gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases and disorders.
As for all tests to either diagnose or rule out Crohn's disease, please read this following thread where we have listed all tests and medications that are used to treat people with Crohn's disease.
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=2511307
The new GI you're seeing is on the right track but tests you'll see in that thread should also be included, you should bring them up as well.

I hope this is helpful, wish you the best of luck and please let us know your tests results once completed.

You're most welcome shooter1029, glad the link helped out.

Kazbern- I did eliminate lactose and gluten but it didn't seem to do anything. I was tested for Celiac and gluten allergy but both came back clean (by biopsy and blood tests). I'll hopefully make some headway soon and get some answers. I'm glad to hear your dad got better, I wish all of us had that kind of luck!