Do I have Crohn's?

[yaelchai]

In November I had a biopsy which indicated that I have Crohn's, although the gastro's opinion was that things didn't look like I do. My initial blood tests indicated inflammation. My follow up blood tests seem okay. I am supposed to repeat them this week. He does not want to give a definitive diagnosis until I do.

The biopsy also indicated celiac and follow-up blood tests confirm this.

I am gluten free now and my diarrhea has improved drastically. However, I am experiencing a flare-up of something right now. Yesterday I felt very bloated and sick all day, then I had diarrhea which continued into today. Tonight I am vomiting and have diarrhea. I don't feel sick generally---just my stomach.

It is possible that I had a gluten contamination, but if not, does this sound like Crohn's? Can I have Crohn's if my blood tests are okay?

Thank you for any information.
Yael

 

[Nancy Lee]

Hello Yael and first let me welcome you to the Crohn's Forum.

I cannot tell you if you have Crohn's Disease or not..
only your doctor can do that.

Usually though a biopsy is quite accurate,
but if your doctor is wanting more blood tests first,
before a definite diagnosis,
that is a sign of a good doctor.

The symptoms you are describing you have today,
do sound as though it could very well be Crohn's.

But, lets wait and see just what the doctor has to say okay?
Get those extra blood tests done and go from there.

In the meantime if you are feeling worse perhaps you should give him/her
a call to let then know what is happening.

All the best....please let us know how you do.

Once again welcome!

Healing hugs~Nancy

 

[Guest]

hi Yael, & welcome

as Nancy Lee says, it's so hard to comment as to whether this sounds like Crohns to us or not.. so many things can cause inflammation, diarrhea etc.. and i do know that some Crohns sufferers also have other diagnoses such as Celiac, IBS, Colitis..

i guess it's a wait & see time for you right now, to get all the relevant tests done, and results back, and see what your doctor advises. i see you're on a gluten-free diet now, but have you also geared your diet to a possible Crohns flare-up too? might be worth going on low-residue foods for a couple of days, to see if the stomach symptoms ease at all.

keep us posted how you get on, and i hope you feel better soon!

 

[yaelchai]

Thank you for the welcomes! I just got my blood test results. They don't seem very "off" to me, but maybe you can tell me if these results are consistent with Crohn's?

normal:
Alk. Phosphat.
AST
Bilirub. TOTAL
Iron
ESR

elevated:
ALT (GPT) 44.18 U/L (normal range 5.00-40.00)
CRP 0.84 MG/DL (normal range 0.00-0.75)

Thank you!
Yael

 

[katiesue1506]

Usually if its indicative of Crohn's, your ESR and bilirubin will be elevated and your iron will be low. This is just generally... you can have Crohn's and have normal tests and you can not have Crohn's and have tests that indicate Crohn's.

 

[dayng1016]

Hi Yael, welcome to the forum.
In my experience, blood test that I've ever had done, would not have shown that I have crohn's. My diagnosis came from the scopes and biopsies. The blood tests when I have them, prior to and since my diagnosis, have been normal. No vitamin deficiencies, blood counts, etc. ESR and CRP normal or very slightly elevated . So, I would not think that blood test would be the deciding factor. That's just my thought, but I would wait and see what your doctor says.

 

[giftedvision]

Hi Yael and welcome to the forums.
Like everyone else has said it is so hard to tell if a person has Crohn's or not seeing as so many things could cause these symptoms. I know before I was diagnosed I had really low iron and was at first told I was anemic. I'm not sure if it does have anything to do with the Crohn's or not though. My doctor didn't diagnose me with Crohn's until I had my colonoscopy. Have you had one yet?