Getting a diagnosis - Any thoughts??

[Worried Mum!]

My 17 year old daughter has been ill for much of the last 2 years. First she had a chronically inflamed gall bladder which was removed , and then she had what was eventually 'diagnosed' as an appendix abscess that was accompanied by dreadful diarrhoea, fever and weight loss. Along the way to a this diagnosis she was orginally told she had Crohns disease but this was then retracted when they found a large abscess in the area of her appendix. She is repeatedly anaemic, feels sick, has no appetite, can't cope with late nights and has persistant stomach pain that is not always in the same place. Added to this, her hair is falling out in great chunks. She doesn't routinely get diarrhoea but often needs 'to go' urgently. Our GP thinks it's Crohns but the hospital keeps telling us a variety of things: it's gastroenteritis, it's appendicitis, it's Inflamatory Bowel Syndrome. We're getting nowhere fast and she's ill so much of the time. Does this sound like Crohns or does anyone have any other thoughts? How can we get a conclusive diagnosis?

 

[D Bergy]

She should be checked for Gluton intolerance if this has not been done already. It is a simple blood test to determine if she has Celiacs disease. Other than that, the doctors are going to have to figure it out. It could be Crohn's or any number of other things or a combination of conditions.

You need a specialist, not a GP. It is very difficult for anyone without a great deal of experience to diagnose this type of illness correctly. I spent a year wasting time with a GP. I do not recommend that route.

I do not know what would cause the hair to fall out. Is she on some kind of medications that could cause this?

I hope you can get a proper diagnosis. Very hard to treat until you have an definitive answer.

Dan Bergman

 

[Kev]

Hi Worried Mum. Sorry to hear what your daughter is going thru. Hope it turns about in the neaar future. I'm surprised with her history that a hospital would diagnose a case of appendicitis and not operate. Unless the location of the abcess poses a risk. I'm also suprised that, post G/B surgery, they didn't do an exploratory to see where that abcess was stemming from.. (I'm assuming the G/B was removed laproscopicly). Odd they didn't remove the appendix while in for the G/B. Anyway, did the doctors who did the G/B surgery walk you both thru the post op situations that may develop, there is a post G/B syndrome that could be causing a lot of her symptoms,, least that's what I was told when I had mine out.
As for the GP, has he/she ordered any bloodwork or tests, or referred her to a GI?
I don't know what locale you are situated in, how the hospitals or doctors are in whereever, but I think you need an unbiased opinion from a 2nd doc to oversee her case. Perhaps one that isn't closely affiliated with the hospital in question. It could be any of the illnesses that have been tossed around, it could be malpractice