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Differentiating between IBD and IBS

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/9/2014 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
Hello :) I'm curious, is there any way to differentiate between IBD and IBS based on symptoms? I do not have a diagnosis and have been suffering from a long list of what I always assumed to be IBS. Appendicitis type pain is what is promoting my gp to have me tested for Crohn's.

Do IBS sufferers have swelling in the LRQ? Flu - like symptoms (joint aches, sweating)?
Posted 10/9/2014 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
IBS is a syndrome, there is no pathology; you get that diagnosis by eliminating everything else. There is no blood, no joint pain, no fever associated with IBS.
Posted 10/9/2014 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
So what I have assumed to be IBS is unlikely IBS? The more I sit and wait for my appointment, the more I wonder how I didn't know. But then I realize I'm jumping the gun.

Do people sweat a lot when they are in a flare? I stink. I'm bathing twice a day but I cannot control my body odor. Does that happen to people with IBD?
Posted 10/9/2014 2:17 AM (GMT 0)
Would fibromyalgia be a syndrome as well? It would be totally appropriate to assume I could have fibromyalgia and IBS and not Crohn's at all.....I think I enjoyed life more when I just thought I had IBS........
Posted 10/9/2014 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Kazbern for all of your time this past week. I appreciate any help with all of my questions :)
Posted 10/9/2014 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
Here's a link regarding IBD and IBS; Two very different Disorders....


http://www.ccfa.org/resources/ibs-and-ibd-two-very.html
Posted 10/9/2014 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
I know, thank you. I read up on it already. Essentially I'm over thinking this and trying to ease the anxiety by talking myself into thinking that I just have IBS......but the IBS shoe just doesn't fit.
Posted 10/9/2014 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
If you want to see if the sweats are down to a fever, then just buy a thermometer and take your temperature. Although my experience of fevers is that if you have one bad enough to make you sweat, you will feel too ill not to notice it - plus chills tend to precede the sweating in a fever.

Joint pain is sometimes a symptom of IBD, but lots of people without IBD have joint pain. Bleeding can be caused by piles. In short, there is no real way of distinguishing between IBS and IBD on symptoms alone. You have to have tests done, which it sounds like your GP is arranging.

Sorry I can't help more than that. I hope you don't have Crohn's, that's about all I can say.
Posted 10/9/2014 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
No, I don't ever really get a fever that makes me feel that bad. My temperature never goes higher then 37.5 to 38 degrees. It's almost always right at 37 degrees. My gp said my blood work didn't show a fever.

Most likely post partum hormones.

Thanks :) I will just be patient and see what happens at the specialist. Thinking about it more certainly isn't helping. Patience is not my strong point.
Posted 10/9/2014 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Aye, I feel you on the patience. No easy answers to that. Dunno if you're in the UK (using celsius is a small sign you might be), but dealing with the NHS pretty much requires the patience of Job. Patience which I sorely lack, more than ever. However, I do agree that thinking about it doesn't help. If an appointment is weeks or months away, then I try to put it out of my mind until the time draws closer. Short of pushing for an earlier appointment if you're really worried, there's nothing else you can do.
Posted 10/10/2014 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks :) I'm in Canada. All I know is that I'm on a priority list and they'll call me when they can squeeze me in. She said priority is seen within 3 months and if I were to set an appointment I'd be looking at a year wait!!
Posted 10/11/2014 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
Good grief. Would almost be tempted to go to ER and try to fast track the process that way.

That said, when my GP referred me to a specialist, that must have been about a 3-month wait. And then more waiting to have a colonoscopy and barium follow-through. So it wasn't really any better for me. But it was a much, much easier process for me, because I wasn't remotely worried. Had diarrhoea as my only symptom, no pain or bleeding. I really think I just assumed it was nothing and would go away at some point.

The Crohn's diagnosis should've been my wake-up call, but it wasn't. I carried on being utterly dumb for a few more years. To be fair, my then hospital seemed to treat it like it was nothing as well, so I partly picked up my indifference from them.

Anyway... yeah. Went on a bit there. I hope you don't turn out to have Crohn's. But I also kind of hope they find something concrete to explain your symptoms, so you don't get fobbed off with IBS for the next decade.
Posted 10/11/2014 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
I've had rectal pain and abdominal pain for 10-11 years, joint issues with damage for 6 years (no arthritis, cervical spine damage with no injury, my wrist and knee have never been imaged), and I haven't had a solid bm in at least 5 years --- I thought I had IBS. When my joint pain was never figured out I just assumed I am weak. Still could be IBS but I was never fully investigated. One year ago I had an appendicitis type attack and did go to the ER. Inflammation was seen on ultrasound in the area but my vital organs appeared to be fine so I was sent away being told it was probably just a ruptured cyst. I had another similar attack and this is why my gp is investigating. The pain in my LRQ has never went away, it burns and gets sore between attacks. When my doc presses in my stomach she can feel swelling in LRQ. If it is Crohn's I am a bit afraid of the damage that could be there from years of neglect. But I'm also happy that I have a doctor who connected the dots between the joint pain and abdominal pain. I never once thought that it was all connected until my doc said she thinks I have Crohn's.

I gain massive amounts of weight and feel amazing in pregnancy. Then I poop the weight away in months. My largest weight loss was 66 pounds in 4 months. And I don't do anything else to lose the weight.

Unless I was vomiting and severely ill, I don't think a trip to the ER would be any different then last year.
Posted 10/11/2014 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
I remember the first time I was knocked off the toilet by pain, I had to hold on to the tub for support. I haven't had that pain much since I no longer have formed stools. But I bet that's when my problems started. I was 20 or 21.
Posted 10/12/2014 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, unfortunately I think you're right about the ER. I always got admitted pre-surgery, but if I went there now they wouldn't admit me (not that I would want to be). They'll see I don't have a high fever, my inflammatory markers aren't significantly raised, etc. Stomach is hurting right now, though, but not badly enough to stop me from typing (obviously).

I do hope you don't have to wait 3 months to be seen. Keep in touch with your GP; don't let the referral drop into an administrative void whatever you do.
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