Can Scar Tissue Cause Mucus and Diarrhea?

Crohn's Disease Forum

Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:

Jennifer

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
9,928
Location
SLO
Every time I try to look it up all I get in info on obstructions. I've had a resection 13 years ago which instantly put me into remission and I know that I have scar tissue from the resection. I started having mucus and diarrhea last year and my GI tried Entocort and increased my 6MP. Seemed to work ok. Stopped the Entocort and kept the higher dose of 6MP. Months back had the same issue again, mucus and diarrhea. Put me back on Entocort and increased 6MP again. Its been over 2 months and nothing's changed other than maybe being slightly worse. I can feel things passing through my resection site. Its a pushing, pulling, forcing and sometimes painful sensation.

I have an appointment with my GI on July 16th to go over everything to see how the meds are doing and to go over my blood work for the past 3 months since the med change. I know he mentioned that if 6MP isn't working anymore then he wants me to head towards Hurima but he's not excited about it.

I'm wondering though that if I'm mainly dealing with scar tissue then no meds are going to do anything. When I see him I'm going to ask for tests to be done to see how bad the scar tissue really is or if there's some other issue. Can scar tissue cause mucus and diarrhea?
 
Crabby,
the Cipro and the Flagyl helped me get rid of much of the bacteria because they are antibiotics...

after I came home with the bag, I noticed that when I sat on the toliet I was getting mucus discharge from my rear, somehow I knew it was nothing to be concerned about but just to be safe I called the nurse and she told me that the mucus discharge meant that the Cypro and Flagyl were doing their job.

as long as there was no bleeding or swelling down there, it was normal.
mucus and scar tissue contain bacteria and the antibiotics helped get rid of most of it while the prednizone helped with the inflamation.
 
Crabby, not sure how factual this is or what is out there to back this up so take it with a grain of salt...when talking with my GI about reasons for mucous in my stool(he's leaning toward CD Im not sure I agree) he said the need for testing is that mucous in the stool is a sign of inflammation in my digestive tract. Since I've had gi issues throughout my life I said couldn't it just be scar tissue and he said that is what we need to check but it will cause mucous in stool only if inflamed, as well as other things we need to rule out. Not sure what the other things are or if this even helps but...well there ya go. Sorry I can't really be of any help. I hope you can get to the bottom of this.
 
You're right Clash mucus is generally a sign of inflammation. Would also be the reason why Entocort worked in the past (unless it was the increase of 6MP) but now its not working.

Antibiotics do nothing for me mucus wise Skippy.

I know that scar tissue is damaged and cannot be repaired, just never heard if it could cause any other problems besides a blockage or absorption of nutrients.
 
It does seem logical though that if scar tissue causes narrowing and then is irritated by digestion process of food trying to make its way through the narrowed area that it could cause inflammation of the scar tissue, doesn't it. Of course the GI told me that wasn't as likely but seemed logical to me. Anyway sorry I couldn't be of any help!
 
If the area isn't completely damaged then ya that's possible Clash but if its completely scar tissue then I don't think that's possible. Maybe I'm completely wrong though.
 
I really hope you get some answers, sorry for all the questions just found your original post very interesting. Btw, I really like your profile pic!
 
No problem! :) Its something I'll have to ask my GI about as well cause he never said that I was dealing with inflammation that was causing all this. I have arthritis too so that makes my inflammation markers go up but last I heard it was at 9. Not that high. All he ever mentioned was my scar tissue from my past surgery. :/
 
I agree with you crabby scar tissue shouldn't cause inflammation that you would expect with IBD and therefore I doubt it would cause mucus and diarrhea. I would expect scar tissue to cause more structural problems eg obstructions, cramps etc but not organic problems caused by a flare of IBD. Like you though I could be wrong on this one. I hope your feeling better soon and not the sign of a flare.
 
Heya Crabby,

I read your thread earlier today and assigned a few neurons to it while I was doing other stuff. Their thoughts:

It is illogical to me that what you're experiencing would be a result of scar tissue 13 years later. I don't know at what point scar tissue stops forming, but I've got to believe it is much less than 13 years. As such, complications arising from that scar tissue would have arisen long ago.

Now, new inflammation may have arisen at your surgical anastomosis (which alone could lead to your symptoms) or even been there awhile and lead to additional scarring. Either can lead to enough narrowing where symptoms present. However, symptoms of strictures tend to be abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, nausea, constipation, and vomiting, not diarrhea and mucus in the stool. However, narrowing can lead to small intestine bacterial overgrowth which can also cause those symptoms.

I hope that helps somewhat.

I'm sorry you're having problems :(

*hugs*
 
So do you think it would be best if I were tested for SIBO David? My GI has mentioned the bacteria before but just told me to take probiotics and didn't do any testing for it. :/
 
At this point, since the increase in 6MP and the Entocort are no longer working, I think it would be best to run a gamut of tests and figure out what's going on. Have a look inside, test for SIBO, whatever it takes to figure out what is causing your problems so it can be addressed with proper treatment.
 
I'm having more problems than I let on here on the forum. So many people have said that I'm an inspiration to them so I hate to bum people out but I was reminded that I need support too and should be more honest.

I'm really trying to give the increase in 6MP and Entocort a chance to do something (3 months and then its off to the GI again so I see him in less than a month) but my BMs have gotten worse (colors aren't good, no red but bright green and yellow aren't good, also backing up and only letting a little out at a time) and I've gotten to the point where I'm just waiting for the day where I actually see blood (and wouldn't be surprised), also starting to have more pain on the left side which isn't normal for me and on occasion I feel nauseous but that's usually in the morning (no I'm not pregnant :p) and sometimes during BMs. Been having a lot of back pain too.

None of this is ER worthy but I've been keeping track of my symptoms so I can inform my GI when I see him. Every time I call him to let him know of any changes I don't hear back from him for 3 weeks anyway so I don't see the point in calling unless things got really bad but then I'd just go get treated at the ER anyway. He's not the best GI but he's all I've got right now.

Honestly I'm afraid he's not gonna want to do many tests to see what the real problem is and he's just gonna talk me into doing something (like going on Humira, which he mentioned last time I saw him). I'm so easily talked into things its flat out annoying.

I'll do my best to know what tests to ask for and to push for them to be done before I accept any other treatment. It's not that I'm against trying harsher drugs its that I want to know why I have to use them.

I feel like there's something my GI hasn't been telling me or maybe I haven't been asking the right questions but I should know why he's thinking of trying out Humira but I don't. Its either him not telling me everything or worse, he doesn't know himself and he just trying out random stuff. That scares me even more. Him not knowing what's wrong because he's not doing enough tests and just messing with my medication to see if something works. I was told that my GI may simply be following a protocol but sometimes I also feel like he just thinks his patients are too stupid to understand and doesn't bother to explain anything.

I was a guinea pig when I was a kid because no one else had Crohn's in the area but its been around long enough for my GI to know what he should be doing. I hate not knowing if he's withholding information for whatever reason or if he's just stupid or if he thinks I'm stupid. I just don't have any confidence in him. But as I said, he's all I've got.
 
What is inspiring is your strength to open up and share your experiences. :) You support so many here, let us support you a little.

You're wicked smart when it comes to IBD. You're going to get the care you deserve, just advocate for yourself and lean on us when you need to.

:hug:
 
Hi Crabby, I was diagnosed with CD in 2002 after an obstruction and subsequent resection. I was symptom free until 2009.

My GI prescribed Entocord and Azapress (Azathioprine). It did help but I still had frequent D.

I live in sunny South Africa and never thought I could be Vit. D deficient but blood work revealed that I was indeed.

About 4 weeks after starting to supplement with Vit. D (Calciferol), the D totally vanished and was replaced by formed stool and BM's down to twice a day.

I am not sure if you know your Vit. D levels, if not you may want to get it checked out. It worked for me, maybe it could work for you too.

:hang:
 
I don't think low Vit D by itself causes D. I think Vit D assists (increases the effectiveness of) the Entocord and Azathioprine to reduce the inflammation. The inflammation causes the D.
 
I have my GI appointment tomorrow. Wish me luck! :D

Edit: Well later today, I haven't gone to bed yet. :p
 
CRP is 3. That's a damn good number. Doesn't explain my symptoms.

GI wants to do a pill cam to rule anything out, otherwise he says I have IBS with Crohn's. To me IBS has BS in it for a reason but we'll see. :p

Gonna to the fake capsule first, get an x-ray 30 hours later and see if its stuck. Taking it at 8am tomorrow morning. Giant ass horse pill! We'll see how long it takes for me to get it down. :p
 
Also tapering off the Entocort. 2 weeks of 6mg then 2 weeks of 3mg. It doesn't require a taper but my GI is afraid that if I stop too fast it might throw me into a flare. Didn't last time or anytime before that though.
 
I did David. He kind of smiled and turned his head then said what SIBO was, I was like ya, ok... then he asked if I had excessive burping or gas or bloating. I said I have the bloating but its not extreme. He then said that I most likely don't have it and that even if I tested positive, they would just give a course of antibiotics to get rid of it. I've taken antibiotics a few times already this year for being sick with random stuff that the ER docs gave me (usually z-pack). So I imagine that if I did have it, then it'd be gone. He agreed. So no testing for SIBO.

He said to take the probiotics again anyway since it they are good for everyone. I stopped cause I didn't notice a difference and that they are expensive.

Would you be able to respond to this thread for me? I made a new one with a couple questions about the pill cam. http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?p=474411#post474411
 
He checked for c.diff already and for any parasites etc. That's what he told me today anyway.
 

Similar threads

A
Loop ileostomy, active disease + rectal discharge
Replies
6
Views
1K
Nadia96
N
Maya142
Surgery questions and experiences
Replies
9
Views
2K
Maya142
Maya142
C
Your thoughts, please. 10 yr old.
Replies
14
Views
1K
Crohns dad
C
C
GI says he is 99% sure I have chron’s
Replies
23
Views
3K
Bespectacledberries
B
S
How do you know if it is scar tissue pain vs. a flare?
Replies
6
Views
2K
Barbermb
B

Latest posts

Back
Top