Almost 30 years since Crohn's Diagnosis and no symptoms!

[Trevor Shaff]

Hi All

I am male, 51, I run, gym and cycle. I am a counter terror and physical security instructor and consultant. In 1992 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and had the op, they took out 12cm of my lower intestines. Since then, no sign of Crohn's at all - except for every few years due to the scar tissue as a result of the operation, i get bowel obstruction, immense pain, hospitalization, that revolting tube stuck up my nose and down my throat into my guts and 2 weeks of suffering. five year ago I had the balloon treatment to open the blockage and that 20 minutes procedure ensured the last five years have been hassle free. This week once again i had the obstruction and went through the entire process once again including the revolting tube....something must cause this....something in my body has to be aligned in such a way to cause the obstruction as the scar tissue is always there. On the day it happened i ate a lot of fruit, something i don't often do...but have before without problems, i had recently had blood tests and the results showed higher than usual liver enzymes. was the high liver enzymes and the "too much" fruit the catalyst?
BTW after almost 30 years of no Crohns symptoms a Gastro examined me and agreed that there is a good possibility i was misdiagnosed - except that to that misdiagnoses I am now suffering every few years due to scar tissue. Anybody else have similar stories, advise, etc... have a great and pain free weekend!!

 

[ronroush7]

Welcome. As far as fruit is concerned, i try to stay away from it, exceot for bananas. I was under the impression that it ciuld affect the Crohn's disease. I am nit sure about the high liver enzymes.

 

[valleysangel92]

Hi, welcome to the forum

It is unusual but not unheard of to have periods of remission that are as long as yours has been.

Fruit in general contains high amounts of fibre, and this can cause symptoms to increase in IBD, particularly if there is a narrowing somewhere in the gut which can be caused by active inflammation or by scar tissue, so it is possible that the large amounts of fruit made things worse temporarily.

With regards to a possible misdiagnosis, of course mistakes do sometimes happen so it is possible that you were given the wrong advice, but, I would be reluctant to over turn it after just one examination. The problem is, if your Crohn's is in full remission, there won't necessarily be any signs of it in your blood or on a physical examination, so be careful about writing the diagnosis off as incorrect.

 

[Dyana]

I also Had over 20 years of no problems -then- it came back... absess, drainage, grew back, removal,resection, illistomy, reverse illistomy, adhesion removal with resection. humira, cimzia and now remicade. Sometimes Crohn's has remission and returns- no ryme or reason. Good Luck.
-Dyana