Eating food- makes symptoms worse and more hunger?

[bny806]

I have been sick for 3 years.... but we are just now getting answers and getting to the bottom of it all.. Crohns is 1st on the list (mostly small bowel involvement).. My sister has crohns as well.. Anyhow, when I flare I drop weight pretty quickly.. but I have realized that if I eat a big meal.. I will be starving minutes later - a nauseating starving feeling.. IF I eat before bed, I wake up soooo hungry.. in pain and nauseated.... I have GERD and gastritis, which can be uncomfortable.. but the real pain starts about 20 minutes later usually (I suspect when it hits a part of the SMall bowel)..

Anyhow.. I do hurt badly when I am hungry too.. but If I just eat light crackers only all day.. then I don't get that hunger feeling.. I feel like my bowels don't move as fast .. and even notice I seem to absorb my pills better.. But I need to eat and gain weight!

When this all started I was eating about 5000 calories a day - all I did was eat high calorie food.. and I dropped weight SO Fast.. I also had to have bowel movements like 30 times a day! (been gluten free ever since just in case)

 

[theOcean]

With Crohn's, when you're in a flare your body malabsorbs nutrients, which leaves you feeling like you're starving all the time like you described. I get like that when I get sick, too.

Do you have a GI? It's been three years, so I assume you've informed a doctor about your symptoms, right? Is it okay to ask what medications you're currently on, so we can see what we can possibly recommend?

 

[bny806]

Thanks!!! Yup, I have a GI... I had a bit of a workup 3 years ago.. but then I developed scary neuro symptoms... which for me took priority over the GI ones... We ended up treating the neuro sx with IVIG... which happened to fix my GI issues! (I had gone strictly gluten free before the IVIG as well)... I had a scope then that showed gastritis, esophagitis but that it...

I struggled with being ill and having intermittent GI flares x 3 year.. but I always told myself - it's not IBD since I don't have any blood... well in the meantime my sister (who had all the same symptoms as me) got diagnosed with pretty severe crohns..

about a month ago I got the worst GI flare yet - then came the blood in the stool and I thought ok.. I do have IBD.. time to get back to being poking and prodded! They found that I am really deficient in a bunch of vitamins! (did this cause my neuro issues??? as GI issues started months prior to neuro.. plus i was breastfeeding and post partum - 2 kids within 16 months)..

The scope 2 weeks ago showed a friable colon.. gastritis, esophagitis and thats it... I just had the barium swallow this week - ugh it has only worsened my GI issues - and more blood now too.. Can't eat .. barely walk at times due to the pain in my abdomen when I move my legs..

I am on IVIG, plaquenil, and now vitamins too...