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"Different" Symptoms, could it be IBD?

Hi everyone,

I am twenty years old and for the last four years have been struggling with some undiagnosed issues. Basically, I have these episodes of severe nausea-- nausea where I can't even stand up straight, and have to be by the toilet. In the beginning when they first started, I would never throw up, but now I usually will. I don't have any pain during these episodes but they are still completely debilitating. I've also had issues with constipation since I was a little kid, but they come and go. Recently, they have been worse and I landed in the ER early this year. I know that constipation can cause nausea, but my nausea will come even without the constipation. Sometimes I'll have both at the same time, or just one or the other, but when I do, they're pretty bad. These kind of "flare ups" of my symptoms have lasted anywhere from about 5 days to 3 months. I've been to two doctors in the last four years and have had an EGD, HIDA scan, emptying study, and blood work. They could not find anything. The first doctor I went to didn't believe me at all, and sent me on my way saying I was completely fine. Now the doctors say that there's nothing else they can do and just want to keep trying more medication instead of finding the problem. It's been hard too because I have gone long periods (months) with little to no symptoms, so I think that it's going away, but it always comes back, almost with a vengeance. I know that these aren't typical symptoms of IBD but they are truly debilitating and seem to come and go like I've read IBD symptoms often do. Another question I had is that if I were to have a colonoscopy, would there still be evidence of IBD if I am currently not having as many problems? I just finished a two month bout with symptoms. Any recommendations or insight is appreciated! Thank you:)
 

Scipio

Well-known member
Location
San Diego
Another question I had is that if I were to have a colonoscopy, would there still be evidence of IBD if I am currently not having as many problems? I just finished a two month bout with symptoms. Any recommendations or insight is appreciated! Thank you:)
If you have active IBD not controlled by medicine, there would likely still be some evidence for it visible by colonoscopy even if the symptoms were not currently raging.

Colonoscopy is definitely the place to start if IBD is suspected. However, colonoscopy visualizes only the colon and final few terminal centimeters of the small bowel. Thus, if the colonoscopy is clean then you may still wish to get a look at the small bowel via capsule camera endoscopy or MRE.

Have they examined you for a bowel obstruction? X-ray or something? Because in my experience with IBD, nausea and vomiting gets really bad when you have an obstruction or partial obstruction.
 
Hi! Thanks so much! When my constipation got pretty bad a while ago, I had an X-ray and I wasn’t obstructed, just impacted. But I was having a lot of nausea and uncontrollable vomiting even with that. However, there may have been some times in the past where it could have happened and I just didn’t put the pieces together. I’m not sure. I most of the time will just try and tough it out at home because I can barely move around and just feel so miserable. I appreciate your response :)
 

Lady Organic

Moderator
Staff member
Hi there, I m sorry for your issues. A lot of people suffer from chronic fonctionnal syndromes, this may be it too. These can be dyspeptia or irritable bowel syndrome for example. These are very common in the general population, way more common than IBD. Symptoms of these can mimic those of IBD and are episodic and recurrent too. doctors cant find evidence of those symptoms in tests very often. If you go for a gastric endoscopy and, or colonoscopy, I'd go only when you have active symptoms, for best chance of understanding your situation.
What is you diet like? have you ever investigated diet and possibility of food intolerances? In case of fonctional syndromes, food investigation or a diet revision for healthier habits can be a key to the puzzle.
 
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