S
Strineski
Guest
Hi everyone! FIrst my apologies for making my first posting so long. I need to give some background. I have not been officially diagnosed, by based on my symptoms and blood work my GI doctor suspects either Crohn's or Celiac Disease. I go in next week for an endoscopy and colonoscopy. In the meantime, I'm trying to research as much as I can; in the three weeks since I met with the GI doctor, I have lost 8 additional pounds and have developed worsening symptoms. I was hoping I could list them here and see if they match some of yours? By the way, I am 40 years old; I have a family history of autoimmune disease, although nobody has been diagnosed with any related to the intestines; I have three kids and the youngest was born in October, so I have wondered if the postpartum sleeplessness/hormonal fluctations had something to do with triggering it. I've often had bouts with irritable bowel lasting just a few days, but I don't remember having anything remotely like what I've been going through. Here are the symptoms.
Daily diarrhea without blood; this started in late January. From the very first day of diarrhea I started losing weight, and have since lost 20 pounds. Some days I lose as much as two pounds. I have the occasional perfectly normal BM; maybe once a week; and at one point I even had four days in a row of normal BMs, but then without explanation the diarrhea returned. The fact that I had normal BMs made my doctor not suspect colon cancer--whew. In the beginning, these diarrhea attacks would often hit in the middle of the night so that I'd be running to the bathroom all night long; now I only occasionally have attacks during the night. When I do, it is almost always, without exception, five to seven hours after my evening meal (which is the biggest meal of our day, but I still don't eat NEARLY as much as I used to!).
Sometimes the diarrhea is crampy and gives lower pack/pelvic pain; sometimes the diarrhea is painless and I don't even know I'm going to have diarrhea until I use the restroom. Sometimes I get gnawing pains in differerent parts of my abdomen and lower back hours before any bowel movements.
Blood work showed elevated CRP and Sedimentation Rate; no anemia, but my symptoms have worsened since those tests were taken over a month ago.
Appetite is great sometimes; when I'm having a day with the painful, spasmodic type of diarrhea, my appetite goes way down.
Symptoms started during a somewhat stressful time in January when I was having trouble sleeping and was preoccupied with lots of things. I also had been sleep-deprived for three months at that point due to the birth of my baby who, of course, was up frequently at night.
Mild joint pain: the first few steps I take in the morning my feet feel like they're on pins and needles; I get migrating pains in knees, shoulder, ankles, and backbone. I am generally more achy.
I developed a sudden increase in eye floaters several weeks before any other symptoms; they were so bad and annoying that I was going to go in to an eye specialist, and then all of a sudden came the diarrhea and the rest.
Finally, the most worrisome symptoms for me--and I'm really hoping others of you have had them--are that my low-grade fevers are getting worse. I used to get one every couple of weeks; now I've had a low-grade fever for three days with severe chills until the Tylenol kicks in, and then I feel incredibly hot and sweaty until the meds. wear off and the chills return. I also get severe night sweats almost every night; I soak the sheets and my clothes. This has been going on for a month but are becoming more frequent.
Of course I have significant fatigue, too, which I assume is related to the water loss, diarrhea, anxiety, etc.
I would greatly appreciate any words of reassurance; if you think something even worse than Crohn's is going on, please don't tell me--I have to wait five more days before finally getting some answers and I'm just looking for a way to get through until then! If I have Crohn's, I've made peace with it because at least there are medicines, dietary changes, etc. that can help. So if you tell me that my symptoms sound consistent with others on this board, that would be very reassuring indeed. Thanks, and sorry again this is so long!
Daily diarrhea without blood; this started in late January. From the very first day of diarrhea I started losing weight, and have since lost 20 pounds. Some days I lose as much as two pounds. I have the occasional perfectly normal BM; maybe once a week; and at one point I even had four days in a row of normal BMs, but then without explanation the diarrhea returned. The fact that I had normal BMs made my doctor not suspect colon cancer--whew. In the beginning, these diarrhea attacks would often hit in the middle of the night so that I'd be running to the bathroom all night long; now I only occasionally have attacks during the night. When I do, it is almost always, without exception, five to seven hours after my evening meal (which is the biggest meal of our day, but I still don't eat NEARLY as much as I used to!).
Sometimes the diarrhea is crampy and gives lower pack/pelvic pain; sometimes the diarrhea is painless and I don't even know I'm going to have diarrhea until I use the restroom. Sometimes I get gnawing pains in differerent parts of my abdomen and lower back hours before any bowel movements.
Blood work showed elevated CRP and Sedimentation Rate; no anemia, but my symptoms have worsened since those tests were taken over a month ago.
Appetite is great sometimes; when I'm having a day with the painful, spasmodic type of diarrhea, my appetite goes way down.
Symptoms started during a somewhat stressful time in January when I was having trouble sleeping and was preoccupied with lots of things. I also had been sleep-deprived for three months at that point due to the birth of my baby who, of course, was up frequently at night.
Mild joint pain: the first few steps I take in the morning my feet feel like they're on pins and needles; I get migrating pains in knees, shoulder, ankles, and backbone. I am generally more achy.
I developed a sudden increase in eye floaters several weeks before any other symptoms; they were so bad and annoying that I was going to go in to an eye specialist, and then all of a sudden came the diarrhea and the rest.
Finally, the most worrisome symptoms for me--and I'm really hoping others of you have had them--are that my low-grade fevers are getting worse. I used to get one every couple of weeks; now I've had a low-grade fever for three days with severe chills until the Tylenol kicks in, and then I feel incredibly hot and sweaty until the meds. wear off and the chills return. I also get severe night sweats almost every night; I soak the sheets and my clothes. This has been going on for a month but are becoming more frequent.
Of course I have significant fatigue, too, which I assume is related to the water loss, diarrhea, anxiety, etc.
I would greatly appreciate any words of reassurance; if you think something even worse than Crohn's is going on, please don't tell me--I have to wait five more days before finally getting some answers and I'm just looking for a way to get through until then! If I have Crohn's, I've made peace with it because at least there are medicines, dietary changes, etc. that can help. So if you tell me that my symptoms sound consistent with others on this board, that would be very reassuring indeed. Thanks, and sorry again this is so long!
