Alternating Diarrhea & Constipation?

[CKKentucky]

I'm rather new-ish to Crohn's and I'm wondering if anyone else deals with this or could shed some light. For the majority of my life I have been prone to diarrhea. That was always what I swung towards even prior to a diagnosis. However in the last year or so I started to have boughts of very painful constipation. As the months went on they came more frequently and I now am more prone to C but swing between the two. Enemas do nothing for me either! It feels like when I'm constipated my muscles just aren't working or pushing together properly and no matter how much I try no matter how much an enema irritates the area nothing comes out

With Crohn's I have periods where I do not have much of an appetite, and during this time I mostly stick to liquids & hardly eat much. Because I don't have a gallbladder these are the times I swing more to D. But once I start eating more solid food again (a normal amount, breakfast lunch dinner) I instantly get constipated. It's now to the point where if I eat solid food I will be constipated for sure, and nothing works or helps. I will go 7+ days without a BM until I stop eating again in hopes of relief. It's very frustrating!

Does anyone else deal with this? Any tips? I recently had an ultrasound and abdominal CT without contrast and the radiologist said he didn't see any strictures. I asked many times if he was SURE and he said he felt pretty confident. Perhaps this is normal for Crohn's? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Juulez]

I alternate Day by day. One day I run to the bathroom tons and have accidents and the next I can't go and I take laxatives unreal

 

[JessPeper]

I had the same issue before I had my resection. I would be constipated the majority of the time and every once in awhile I would have D. I would maybe ask if they could do a CT with contrast. That how I first diagnosed.

 

[ronroush7]

Maybe you need a second opinion.

 

[KatieRose00]

I also struggle with that. I'll go for about a week of not much going through me. Then I'll have lots of D. I took Miralax on pretty much a regular basis. Just this Wed I had a doc visit. Told me to cut back on it in case that's causing the D. Now just recently I'm having some bleeding. A flare?? It's only a little over 3 months since surgery. Gotta call the doc sometime.

 

[Juulez]

I have 5 strictures and also take miralax daily sometimes it works and I have d and sometimes it doesnt

 

[Scipio]

Alternating diarrhea and constipation are the classic symptoms of a type of IBS. In fact it's called IBS-A, with A standing for "alternating." And Crohn's with an IBS overlay is also pretty common. So I suggest discussing with your GI the possibility of your having Crohn's and IBS at the same time and what treatments are available for that.

 

[CKKentucky]

I have 5 strictures and also take miralax daily sometimes it works and I have d and sometimes it doesnt

I guess this is my worry! My radiologist said a stricture would always show a so,e bowel dilation before the stricture and he didn't see any signs of one. But I do worry when solid food is THIS constipating. The odd thing is when I do manage to get some out it's not hard or dry.. its soft and comes out pebbles. So it's almost like sometimes my bowels stop contracting properly? But with diarrhea it contracts like crazy!

 

[CKKentucky]

Alternating diarrhea and constipation are the classic symptoms of a type of IBS. In fact it's called IBS-A, with A standing for "alternating." And Crohn's with an IBS overlay is also pretty common. So I suggest discussing with your GI the possibility of your having Crohn's and IBS at the same time and what treatments are available for that.

Hi thank you so much for your feedback! I always had IBS-D for YEARS before Crohn's. Constipation never happened, and if it did then it was a welcome thing that never lasted more than two days or so. I do wonder how much gut flora plays into this.. perhaps as that changed so did the nature of my colon? It's all very odd! The alternating D and C came about the same time the mouth and eye ulcers did too (which I now know is from Crohn's). Very odd...