Doctors Appointment

[allieinwonder]

Hello everyone...

I just got back from my first doctors appointment here in Germany.

They think its Crohns, like they said in the states, and they agree on getting the colonoscopy/endoscopy

The problem is, with the healthcare system here (a merge of seeing military doctors and going to german civilian doctors), this might take a long time. They said it will probably be a month before I can get my colonoscopy done.

What I am afraid of is my symptoms/problems going away before then...like the flare going away. Is this possible? I also hate that I'm going to be sick and uncomfortable for that much longer...

What do you guys think?

 

[Squadinho]

The problem is, with the healthcare system here (a merge of seeing military doctors and going to german civilian doctors), this might take a long time. They said it will probably be a month before I can get my colonoscopy done.

I had to wait about 5 months to get a colonoscopy appointment. If you're worried about the wait, you could maybe ask for a barium follow through. You can get them a lot more quickly over here in the UK can you can get a Crohn's diagnosis. Not sure about Germany though.

What I am afraid of is my symptoms/problems going away before then...like the flare going away. Is this possible? I also hate that I'm going to be sick and uncomfortable for that much longer...

Even if your symptoms went away, it is unlikely the internal signs would. I had my colonoscopy yesterday whilst currently on steroid treatment and not showing any external symptoms and the inflammation/ulceration was still pretty evident to see.

I hope your symptoms improve, or at the very least don't get any worse until you can get a diagnosis and get on some treatment.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I was initially told there was a 3 month wait for my colonoscopy (I called them back a little while later in tears, and when they heard how terribly I was doing and that I didn't think I could wait that long, they bumped me up to the following week). So only a month wait isn't too bad a wait for a c-scope.

Squadinho's right, even if you're not feeling bad, there can still be things like inflammation, scarring, ulcers, and microscopic evidence of disease that they can see on the scope or in the biopsies. Good luck on the scope, let us know how it goes!

 

[allieinwonder]

Wow, I didn't realize it could take that long. In the U.S., one of best friends went to a GI specialist, and was set up to do a colonoscopy 6 days later. Even got the prep stuff the day of her first GI appointment. I would have been rushed in like that as well, but silly me wanted to do it here with my husband.

The good thing about this is, my husband will definitely be back by the time I can get fit in. So I don't have to worry about who will take care of me afterwards now.

Thank you for the advice! I agree, I hope I don't have these extreme symptoms all the way until I can get treated, they are not fun...but you guys understand .