Hi all. I'm new here so thanks very much in advance for any replies it will really be a help! I finally went to my dr 3 months ago about my symptoms as they are gradually getting worse with time (although I still have good and bad days and weeks). I had a full blood test any everything came back clear except for my white blood cell count which was high. I have been for another 3 repeat tests since all with the same result so the doctor has diagnosed it as ibs as she thinks that crohns would mean I was showing signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies or anaemia etc and all my levels of everything are fine. She thinks my high WBC is unrelated and is currently monitoring it and asked me to wait another 2 months before going back for yet another repeat test. So... My question is has anyone with diagnosed crohns had a similar blood test result with unaffected absorption levels for everything? Or as crohns sufferers do you think it must just be ibs too due to these results?
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Crohns or ibs? So fed up.
- Thread starter Ccm1
- Start date
Hi Ccm1 and welcome to the forum! 
First off, am I reading your post correctly that you've only had blood work done? You're also not seeing a GI specialist either correct? Just your regular doctor? Also, what are your symptoms? Do you have blood in your stool at all?
First thing to do is see a Gastroenterologist (GI for short). They can run appropriate tests on you to find out what's going on. A colonoscopy with biopsies is generally needed for a Crohn's diagnosis.
We have a section on the forum for people who are undiagnosed so you may find many who are in the same boat as you who understand how frustrating the road to diagnosis can be. For me I'd never accept IBS as a diagnosis. Keep testing and don't give up.
First off, am I reading your post correctly that you've only had blood work done? You're also not seeing a GI specialist either correct? Just your regular doctor? Also, what are your symptoms? Do you have blood in your stool at all?
First thing to do is see a Gastroenterologist (GI for short). They can run appropriate tests on you to find out what's going on. A colonoscopy with biopsies is generally needed for a Crohn's diagnosis.
We have a section on the forum for people who are undiagnosed so you may find many who are in the same boat as you who understand how frustrating the road to diagnosis can be. For me I'd never accept IBS as a diagnosis. Keep testing and don't give up.
When I explained my symptoms to my primary doctor, he immediately referred me to a GI doctor. When I saw the GI doctor, between my symptoms and family history he ordered a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy showed Crohn's Disease. I never had any blood work, until after I was diagnosed and was going through a very bad flare. If you're concerned I would go to a GI doctor, they are more specialized and shouldn't make you jump through hoops or wait forever to find out what's wrong with you.
Hi and thank you so much for your replies already! Yes that's right I've only had blood tests done so far, no further investigations. The problem over here in the uk is you need your doctor to refer you to any specialist, such as a gastroenterologist, you can't just go yourself unless you pay to do it privately which is a lot of money. That might be something I will consider after my next blood test if the doctor still isn't taking it seriously bit it will cost a bomb and I'm not really in a position to pay that sort of money. Thanks also for the link I will check it out. My symptoms are agonising stomach pains and cramps which are getting worse with time, bad bloating, wind and frequent urgent stools. On a bad day it's on average around 8 times a day. On Saturday I had a bad day and had to go to a dinner party for a colleagues leaving party and had to go 4 times during the few hours of the evening whilst out and had such bad stomach ache it ruined my night and I couldn't eat anything. Pain killers don't even touch it either. I'm just getting so fed up. Thanks again for your help guys. Im going to go back to my doctor again if it gets bad before my next blood test but I just feel like they are not taking me seriously and realising how much it is affecting my life. I thought after my last blood test (number 4 in 3 months) that they would have looked in to it more by now.
I've just had a quick look through the un diagnosed forum and there are some really helpful threads there so thank you so much! I need to go to bed now but I'll post there tomorrow and hopefully some people will have been in the same position as me and in the uk and be able to provide some more advice on how to go about tackling the dr.
Also (sorry to have posted so many times it's just good to finally be able to talk to people about my symptoms...it's not something I feel confident talking about with anyone) to answer your question about passing blood. I don't have this often, only occasionally, but I do also have hemmorhoids so I don't know if the occasional bleeding is caused by them or not. I mentioned them to a previous doctor about a year or so ago and his answer was that it's rare for someone my age to have them but just to eat more fibre. I told him that's the last thing I need and he didn't really seem to have an answer or seem bothered by it so I felt quite embarrassed and haven't mentioned to the new doctor. I'm considering demanding a stool sample as she hasn't even done one of those yet.
All of my blood tests were normal except the C Reactive Protein that showed inflammation. My doctor didn't do anything until I demanded a referral. The GI thought I had Celiac. No one thought Crohn's until they found it during my colonoscopy. I was overweight, constipated, and did not match the typical Crohn's patient. It's always best to see someone who specializes in your symptoms.
And heartburn can definitely be part of Crohn's. Lots of stuff can. I have always gotten bad bruising on my legs that I found out is related to Crohn's.
And heartburn can definitely be part of Crohn's. Lots of stuff can. I have always gotten bad bruising on my legs that I found out is related to Crohn's.