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Crohn's without diarrea or blood in stool?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/1/2013 8:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there,
I've had a long year and a half of mounting food intolerances/severe stomach pain that have gotten so bad that I can now only have a couple of foods (meat, grapefruit, pumpkin) without reacting horribly with inflammation. For the last few weeks the burning sensation in my intestines has been worse and I developed flank pain, back pain, debilitating fatigue, foot/ankle swelling and a host of other symptoms. Last week the flank/back pain got so severe I had to be rushed to the emergency room and spent the night in the hospital. The CT scan showed significant inflammation in my small intestines so my gastro is thinking maybe I have Crohn's. One of my best friends has it and is always pointing out to me that a lot of my issues sound really "Crohn's-y" but I've always dismissed her because I have constipation not diarrea and have never noticed blood in my stool. My gastro said that could be because of my severely limited diet. I just wanted to ask on here and see how common Crohn's without diarrea/blood in the stool is. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Posted 7/1/2013 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
My crohn's affects my colon (not my small intestine for many years now) and I have mainly formed stools on a daily basis, and usually no bleeding for the most part....inflammation in the small intestines can also be a result of celiacs, which can also cause similar gut symptoms. You're better off getting tested for both celiacs and crohn's.
Posted 7/1/2013 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
I've already had extensive testing for Celiac and he doesn't think I have that, so we're moving forward with more imaging. Thanks!
Posted 7/1/2013 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
Inflammatory markers in blood and stool are other ways to test. Not sure I get the point of more imaging - you need a scope.
Posted 7/1/2013 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
hrm, well maybe he plans those next? I dunno. I had an endoscopy earlier in the year and he found inflammation then.
Posted 7/1/2013 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
CT scan isn't the best test for Crohn's there is, so a more detailed test - MRI scan, pill cam - may be worth it, especially for suspected small bowel disease. Your GI is right: your extremely limited diet could be contributing to your food intolerances and GI symptoms. It's easy for me to say, but try to widen your diet. It's a classic vicious circle: eating makes you feel worse, so you eat less and less. But that's not good for you either.

Constipation is not that rare in Crohn's. And blood/mucus is usually a feature of colonic disease, particularly lower down.

Good luck with the tests.
Posted 7/2/2013 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi aqua,

To answer one of your original questions (and to echo NCOT), you do not need to have diarrhea or blood in your stool to have Crohn's. I don't think I've ever had bloody stools--at least not clearly visible blood--in the 7+ years since I've been diagnosed, and I'm currently in my fourth month of severe constipation with my current flare.

As the others said, there are a lot of other things that could be going on that are causing the CT results. I know it's hard right now being in so much pain and not knowing what's going on, but hopefully your doctor will be able to figure out what's going on soon. I was diagnosed via pill cam, which is nice because it's not invasive, but if your doctor thinks it's Crohn's, you will probably need a colonoscopy at some point (which is not nearly as scary as most people think).

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.
Posted 7/2/2013 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
My cousin had massive inflammation in her illium with extreme pain in the lower back and side. She was diagnosed with CD in the illium in Jan 2012.  She never had any D or looses stools or blood during the whole time she was sick.  All her BMs were completely 100% normal.

  Finally after 6 months of pain and suffering, she aquired a massive abcess in the lower abdomin and the surgeon said "enough is enough", it is time to take out the inflammation.  Matter of fact, the surgeon and GI were arguing because GI ketp insisting that surgery wasn't necessary, and  that humira would be the key to getting well.  The surgen actually told the GI to take his humira and shove where the light don't shine, and said the only way ifor the woman to heal is to remove the inflammation.  

My cousin was operated on in 7/2012 and 5 inches of illium and the appendix were removed, along with the valve.  To this day she is 100% symtom free, no problems what so ever. She gained all her weight back, and eats anything she wants ( but doesn't). She feels the best she has in years, and wishes she had had the surgery earler rather than listening to dam GI and his humira fixation.

 Now she follows scd diet and takes pentassa as a maintenance drug and has not had one symptom from her CD.  

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