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Awaiting diagnosis!

Hi guys

Would like an opinion on my current situation as awaiting my results is frustrating me! After reading different sections of this forum for days on end I have finally decided to post my current symptoms/situation to get some opinions from people who unfortunantly have been through this before me. Thanks for the help/advice in advance!

Im a 27 yr old active male - gym and soccer 5x per week - non smoker/non drinker..approx 6 weeks ago began having heavy bloating and the feeling of constipation (thought my running was not working) but noticed of a morning would have a flat stomach and by night would be bloated so ruled out weight gain. After about 2 weeks I had severe diarhea on one particular day ( 8 times) and this followed for the next 3-4 weeks - anywhere between 3-6 x per day (mostly water). In this 3 week period my gp advised potential gastro (few days off work) - a few days later commenced tianazol to see if this would kill potential infection - no result/changes. From here I was then prescribed flagyl to kill potential infection - again no result/changes, although I must say diarhea slowed down to about 3-4 times a day max.

From here I did a basic blood tests. Results showed lowish iron levels and a slightly raised CRP serum - report stated nothing to much out of the ordinary only slightly low/high.

After doing a colonoscopy i was advised I had slight inflamation in my terminal ileum and a few small ulcers. I also had a few small sized polyps in some random spots and these were removed during the procedure. The dr advised me that I likely have Crohn's but further testing will need to be conducted which includes results from biopsy, mri and further blood testing - all being conducted in the next 10 days or so.

My question is, what else could this be if not Crohn's? Is it Crohn's? Is it a lingering infection?From what ive read/spoken to people with Crohn's - they way that my symptoms sound a bit like Crohn's, but im missing alot of other assocated symptoms. I have had a lot of random temperatures (37.8ish), lost approx 4-5kg, had NO blood in stool (forgot to mention earlier completed stool test showed nothing).

After the coloniscopy I have begun taking entocort 9mg a day and
My diarhea has stoped and my stool is almost back to normal (has only been 5 days since begun medication) so I am feeling much better.

Any light on this situation would be great. Ill also keep this thread updated on results when I receive them

Thanks for reading and your responses - much appreciated.
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Sorry you had to join but understand you don't have to have every symptom listed to have crohns. Based on what you posted you probably have it
The good news is once your dx then you can take maintence meds to keep it under control and that your body is responding well to entocort which can keep inflammation down until you get maintenance meds up to where they need to be.
Typical maintenance would be Aza/Imuran /6-mp as a starting point
5-asa(pentasa etc..) are not recommended as a monotherapy for crohns since they only treat the top layer of the intestine and crohns affects all layers through the thickness

Waiting is hard
Hope you have answers soon
 
Thanks for your response! Yeh look Ive figured as much it is mostly likely that - just trying to stay positive and see if it could be anything else. And even if it is - move on and enjoy life as best as possible :)
 
So today was the day to get results - and to say I have mixed emotions on the result is an understatement!

So the results were inconclusive from the biopsy - He cannot not say weather I have Crohn's but at the moment we are working on the fact thay I do and that it is highly likely I do...

The mri showed no blockages, no inflamation anywhere except for my ileum which we knew about, and that had 8cm of inflamation.
On another note after 2 weeks of entocort my DR was not happy at my results so far - I had lost 3-4kg over a period of 3 weeks, 2 of that on entocort. Over 8 weeks I have lost 10kg...

He has now put me on prednisone - 40mg for 1 week, 30 x 1 week, 20 x 4 weeks then taper off 5mg per week..
I have also been refered to a dietitian to get my weight back!

So im happy I technically wasnt diagnosed with Crohn's, unhappy we are still not sure, happy with mri results and unhappy about starting prednisone (from what ive read).

I am having another review in 2 weeks. He did say if I have no improvement on the new meds we may need to look into some rare infections as I have been having temperatures on and off last few weeks. He said a diagnosis could take a while dependent on body reaction, if/any flare ups, future coloniscopys etc...

Thought I would update and keep those interested in the loop. This forum has been good for me just to get a feel of everyones symptoms, reactions, stories etc. Hope mine can contribute as well!
 
It can be such a nightmare to get diagnosed. I had the same thing - biopsies came back inconclusive but I was diagnosed with Crohn's anyway based on my history, weight loss and the inflammation seen during colonoscopy.
Fair enough! Have you been on either entocort or prednisone in the past?
 
Yep was on entocort, which did nothing then prednsiolone where I was able to gain back 3kg but still had symptoms. I've now been on azathioprine for 6 months and finished pred in May and STILL have symptoms. Hopefully getting an MRI soon that I hope will explain what's going on. My CT scan in November was completely normal.
 
Yep was on entocort, which did nothing then prednsiolone where I was able to gain back 3kg but still had symptoms. I've now been on azathioprine for 6 months and finished pred in May and STILL have symptoms. Hopefully getting an MRI soon that I hope will explain what's going on. My CT scan in November was completely normal.

Hmm i see. Well goodluck with everything - hope it all settles down soon!
 
Yep was on entocort, which did nothing then prednsiolone where I was able to gain back 3kg but still had symptoms. I've now been on azathioprine for 6 months and finished pred in May and STILL have symptoms. Hopefully getting an MRI soon that I hope will explain what's going on. My CT scan in November was completely normal.
Hopefully, they can get things under control soon.
 
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