Hello I'm new to the forum. My son is 17yrs old. He told me about 2 months ago he has been passing blood in his stool for about 1yr. He and I both were going to see Dr. that day (we had the flu) so while there I told the Dr. about him and he did some Blood work and had him to do stool samples. About 2hrs after leaving Dr. nurse called said he was anemic. she said dr. wants to see him back in 6-8 weeks to check on that again in the meantime do stool samples. He did and they came back positive for Blood also has a large amount of white blood cells in them. So he sent him to a GI Dr. He did some blood and more stool studies. But more detailed through Promethus Labs. they all came back positive. He will have a colonoscopy and endoscopy on April 16 Dr. has put him on Iron supplements and stool softners because of the anemia. He is having so much pain right now. I wish he didn't have to wait 5 weeks for test.
17 year old may have Crohn's
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CarolinAlaska
Holding It Together
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Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your son. With the positive labs, can they work his scopes in sooner? Waiting is always hard.
Hi Momof5, the hardest part is the waiting game, so I do hope you can get an appointment sooner. I would check in with them several times a week. In the meantime maybe a soft/bland diet might help him with the pain, and supplementing with Boost or Ensure might be helpful until you can get a diagnosis. My son was also terribly anemic at diagnosis, and even though he was given iron, it did not do much until the problem started getting resolved. Also, you may want to make sure that the iron form he is given is not causing him gi discomfort, as some are harsher than others. My son also did not tell me of symptoms he had been experiencing for a long time....I think he thought it was normal. Anyways, hang in there....hopefully you will get answers soon and he will start feeling better!!
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Waiting is difficult. Seems like you are doing the right thing, looking for knowledge about what your son could be facing. Keep calling for cancellations. Prepare for the appointment with a list of questions. Keep a log with changes of symptoms. I hope the iron get him to feel a bit stronger. Being patient stinks, but answers I hope come soon.
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Welcome momof5,
I agree a month is a long time to wait. I would call the GI and see if you can get in sooner. Keep us posted.
I agree a month is a long time to wait. I would call the GI and see if you can get in sooner. Keep us posted.
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I am so sorry that you have to play the waiting game. Seeing your child in pain and not being able to do much to comfort and help them is such a helpless feeling. My daughter is going through some of the same things right now. At first we were told that her appointment to see the GI wouldn't be until April 23, but we were put on the cancellation list and my pediatrician personally called and pushed to get the appointment moved up. We got a call in a few days and they pushed her appointment up to March 12. We saw the GI and they have her scheduled for a upper endoscopy and colonoscopy for tomorrow! I would maybe try calling his normal pediatrician and tell their office again about how much pain he is and tell them when the appointment is planned for. Maybe they can also call on your son's behalf and encourage them to get him seen sooner. I am learning quickly that the squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease. Trust your Mom intuition and push to get him seen sooner if you can. Sending lots of good thoughts and well wishes his way.
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Waiting, waiting, and waiting. It's sucks.
I second awmom on checking his iron supplement to make sure it doesn't cause him more pain. I can't remember which one is easier on the stomach off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone will be around soon. Chelated, maybe? Also, if he does have Crohn's, particularly in the small intestine, absorbing the iron may be an issue for him. We've done iron before and it didn't make a difference.
I hope he gets bumped up on the list. Is he seeing a pediatric GI?
I second awmom on checking his iron supplement to make sure it doesn't cause him more pain. I can't remember which one is easier on the stomach off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone will be around soon. Chelated, maybe? Also, if he does have Crohn's, particularly in the small intestine, absorbing the iron may be an issue for him. We've done iron before and it didn't make a difference.
I hope he gets bumped up on the list. Is he seeing a pediatric GI?
GwensMom, Mehita, thank you for the valuable info. He is seeing a pediatric GI at Birminghams Childrens Hospital. I heard a lot of good things about him Dr. Reed Demmitt. Hopefully we will have some answers soon. Mason Has had a good day yesterday and felt good this morning He has a track meet today so that's a good thing. 4 weeks to go unless they can get him in sooner.
crohnsinct
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Hey there...mom to another runner. Brutal sport when you are feeling poorly and trying to gain weight etc. My daughter is a distance runner.
If iron continues to be a problem ask the GI about IV iron. It is much better absorbed than supplements and works better and faster. Plenty of studies on that and very helpful if his issues are from intestinal inflammation.
Good luck at the meet and with getting those scopes moved up.
If iron continues to be a problem ask the GI about IV iron. It is much better absorbed than supplements and works better and faster. Plenty of studies on that and very helpful if his issues are from intestinal inflammation.
Good luck at the meet and with getting those scopes moved up.
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Iron can be hard on the stomach, we use the CVS brand Slow Release Iron and it seemed to not be as bad on the tummy (I couldn't find a slow release anywhere else). Are certain foods worse on his stomach? When my dd was bad, we found certain foods to upset her - pizza, dairy, fast food & popcorn. We ate a lot of bread products, soups and fruit until things settled. We are slowly adding these things back into her diet now that she is feeling better.
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Hi momof5. All the waiting is so hard. I'm in the Birmingham area too and my son goes to Dr.Dimmitt. We really like him--he really listened to our concerns when our previous dr brushed me off as a paranoid mom. He usually does have a long wait list, but I'd still keep calling for cancellations just in case a same-day cancellation comes up that you might be lucky enough to get.
So glad your son has had a good couple of days!!
So glad your son has had a good couple of days!!
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My son was diagnosed at the same age - I'm so sorry, it's not easy especially for your son. My son was diagnosed first with a CT, while we waited for the endo and treatment plan he made some dietary changes - mostly eliminated caffeine, lactose, high fiber foods and everything spicy. He also started Metamucil (the clear stuff, no subs) and supplements (ensure) and it seemed to calm him down a bit. It's hard with anemia on top of everything because you just feel like crap. We use Slo Fe, it does work unless he's in a flare then nothing works....
Good luck and hope you get to see the doc soon, if I can help in any way let me know!
Good luck and hope you get to see the doc soon, if I can help in any way let me know!
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theresad - just a comment on Slow FE... My daughter and I were using this but when building our iron was taking too long, our GP moved us to Proferrin. Can't remember exactly why but it's either the formulation or the type of iron that is absorbed more easily (neither of us have crohns, we were both just low in iron).
