Going crazy - bloody bowel movements

[MicroByte]

It's been a while since posting, but I am at the end of my rope with my older son's situation. He was diagnosed in April with colitis after having bloody bowel movements for about a week. Since then, he's had a colonoscopy which the doctor determined was colitis related. This was a blow given a few years ago, his younger brother was diagnosed with Crohn's.

My dilemma is that with a modified diet and the medications he's gone through, the bleeding is still there. It is better on some days, worse on others and I cannot correlate what would be causing it.

Since his diagnosis, he's been on flagyl, sulfasalazine, prednisone and now pentasa. None of these seem to be helping. We've modified his diet to be more natural, home cooked eliminating sugars, grains and gluten. This was our approach to our younger son with Crohn's and it seems to be keeping him in check and he's been doing amazing.

The only symptom my older son has is the bleeding. He has about 1-2 BM per day and doesn't suffer with any type of pain or sense of urgency like I've read with other people with Crohn's/colitis. If it weren't for the bleeding, he would appear absolutely fine.

I've tried correlating food to him bleeding more or less and I can't fit it together that way. A food journal has led to nothing that I can isolate that is a trigger.

The latest though I had was something with physical activity. This all started in the Spring when he was more physically active with sports, scouting and just running around being a kid. I'm trying to monitor to see if there is a relationship between the 2 and will get a better opportunity this week since he's out of school and will be resting.

My question is if anyone else has had a situation similar to this? Similar in the sense that there was bleeding with no other apparent symptoms. I'm really losing my mind over this, trying to keep things in order and trying to unravel why this is happening and how to fix it.

So sorry for the long rant but I'm really at a loss. Thank you in advance for reading through this, any offering of advice or guidance is very appreciated.

 

[Axelfl3333]

I think the doctor,is required if for no other reason than peace of mind.

 

[my little penguin]

Hugs
For most diet doesn't fix crohns or colitis but can make it worse during a flare .
I know my kiddo and a lot on here just needed the right med.

It doesn't look like you tried any immunosuppresants or biologics ...
Since pentasa is a very mild drug . Have you asked his Gi aboit Mtx?
Has he had blood work done or imaging to see if it's in his small bowel as well

 

[jeteyetaylor]

Hi, i am new to the Crohns forum and diagnosis. The only symptom other than being really thin was bloody diarrhea for us. He had no pain. When he was scoped endoscopy and colonoscopy there were sores all the way from espphogus to his bottom. Only when the doc palpated his lower right abdomen by the appendix was it mildly tender. My thought was did they do an m.r.i will dye to see the rest of the intestines? There are many feet they cant see. Swollowing a camera could be helpful too.

 

[Kev]

This disease can present itself in many different ways. Back in 06, I bled tremendous amounts... This year, when my disease flared up again, I haven't bled at all.

Have you looked at the various medications for long term treatment? I haven't heard of anyone being able to curb the disease just using anti-inflammatories like Pentasa, as it only treats the effects, not the cause. The typical medications are Azathioprine, Methotrexate, or the various biologics.... Remicade, Humira, Cimzia. However, since your son seems to be experiencing very mild symptoms (aside from the bleeding) he may be a good candidate to try LDN (low dose Naltrexone). Of the options out there, it offers the lowest risk of side effects. The problem with it is finding a doctor who will prescribe it, and a reliable source. It kept me in remission for over 6 years, and it is considered safer than taking an aspirin. Perhaps because your son is only experiencing mild issues your doctor is not being aggressive about treating it. That may be because the traditional drugs carry some major risk.

As for trying to control this disease with diet, the only diet I've ever heard anyone claim to be able to control it with is the SCD, and it reportedly takes a great deal of time and strict adherence to it in order for it to work. I looked at it myself, and I realized that I just couldn't make a go of it. I tried controlling mine by keeping a food journal, noting all my trigger foods... but the only benefit I ever achieved was some alleviation while flaring.

Anyway, I wish you the best...