Hey all,
Wasn't getting a response in the members only area so I am posting here. I'm 24 years old, male, recently been having some symptoms of Crohn's disease.
My Story -
A month ago, I got a sharp, sore pain located around the liver and wouldn't go away for a week. I got it after having a really greasy burger with a beer for lunch. It especially hurt while breathing (5-6/10) and started during the walk back to the office. I don't drink a lot so I was perplexed. I went into the ER after finding no relief for a week. They did a CT scan and ultrasound to see if it was appendicitis or gall stones. They didn't find anything other than a slightly swollen liver. The doc said it was just because I'm a tall, big guy and discharged me saying that I should stay away from fatty foods and get more fiber. I thought maybe my swollen liver could be from "drug induced hepatitis", as looking back on it, the night before the pain I took a double dose of Advil. This was to kill a pain I was having in my back. The back pain went away, but I took it on an empty stomach and figured that the NSAID was what caused my liver to have an adverse reaction.
Well, I did what the doc said, and switched from a sort of typical American fast food kind of diet over to a "healthier", "leaner" diet of whole wheat, white meat, and vegetables for the next couple of weeks. I was getting lots of fiber, the pain went away and I thought everything was good. Well, my birthday came around on the 2nd and was a "treat-yo-self" Tuesday, so I went to Red Lobster for lunch. I ordered some trout, diet soda, as well as steamed broccoli. 4-5 hours later, BAM!, sharp pain right where my appendix is and it pulses for 2-3 seconds before disappearing completely. (8/10 on pain scale) This little "flash" happens maybe 8-10 times an hour. I go for a day without it changing, and I fear the worst - appendicitis. I go in to the ER again and they look like I'm wasting their time. There is no pain when they press on my gut, no fever, no nausea or vomiting, no real diarrhea to speak of. My white blood cell counts and electrolytes were perfectly healthy. They discharged me with a prescription for Ultram, a pain medication. I didn't want anything to do with it as the side effects looked lame and strengthened by asthma (which I had as a kid). I toss the papers, go home, continue to eat fiber based diet thinking it was too much greasy fat at the restaurant (greasy fish, Red Lobster biscuits, etc).
Needless to say, the "flash" pain went away and turned into a constant soreness, kind of like a muscle pain in the same area. I began thinking I might have strained my abs from lifting furniture, and that it wasn't digestion related at all. I decide to eat more protein... within a few days the pain returns as strong as the flash, about a 7/10 and only occurs a few hours after I eat something. I got scared and switch to a bland diet of white rice, apple sauce, juice. The pain stays and diminishes slightly, so now I'm on a clear liquid diet. I've nixed the caffeine and citric acid as well. It is now day 4 of my CL routine of water, apple juice, broth, and jello. It isn't fun, but the pain is down somwhere between a 1/10 and a 3/10 depending on the time of day and am able to go to work just fine.
My problem is I don't have a primary care doctor as I just moved to this area and when I called a GI directly, they couldn't get me in for over 2 weeks... which is ridiculous. I don't know if I should go to the ER again and see what they can do as I don't feel like it's an emergency. The CL diet is just killing me energy wise, I am constantly hungry and wanting to sleep all day. Don't know if I can go a whole week on this. I have an appointment on Tuesday with a family doctor in the area (soonest I could find). I now look at the 8 pages of that Ultram prescription the doc gave me a week and a half ago and see that she indicated on the last page that I should be on clear liquids and in bed this entire time... why she couldn't have made that clear before discharging me?
I'm thinking Crohn's. I look at the symptoms and find myself checking a lot of the "serious" ones off, but less of the common ones off. It's weird. The previous swollen liver, a toenail that might be clubbing, pain at my ileum when I eat, mild diarrhea if I eat small meals without any fiber, a sore in my mouth... but... I don't have nausea, vomiting, anemia, blood in BM/urine, fever, or any of that.
A month ago I was able to eat an entire pizza, do Irish Car Bombs if I wanted, and feel 100% fine. I don't understand how this happens...I try to eat healthier and I get wrecked. I'm afraid eat anything now. What should I do?
Wasn't getting a response in the members only area so I am posting here. I'm 24 years old, male, recently been having some symptoms of Crohn's disease.
My Story -
A month ago, I got a sharp, sore pain located around the liver and wouldn't go away for a week. I got it after having a really greasy burger with a beer for lunch. It especially hurt while breathing (5-6/10) and started during the walk back to the office. I don't drink a lot so I was perplexed. I went into the ER after finding no relief for a week. They did a CT scan and ultrasound to see if it was appendicitis or gall stones. They didn't find anything other than a slightly swollen liver. The doc said it was just because I'm a tall, big guy and discharged me saying that I should stay away from fatty foods and get more fiber. I thought maybe my swollen liver could be from "drug induced hepatitis", as looking back on it, the night before the pain I took a double dose of Advil. This was to kill a pain I was having in my back. The back pain went away, but I took it on an empty stomach and figured that the NSAID was what caused my liver to have an adverse reaction.
Well, I did what the doc said, and switched from a sort of typical American fast food kind of diet over to a "healthier", "leaner" diet of whole wheat, white meat, and vegetables for the next couple of weeks. I was getting lots of fiber, the pain went away and I thought everything was good. Well, my birthday came around on the 2nd and was a "treat-yo-self" Tuesday, so I went to Red Lobster for lunch. I ordered some trout, diet soda, as well as steamed broccoli. 4-5 hours later, BAM!, sharp pain right where my appendix is and it pulses for 2-3 seconds before disappearing completely. (8/10 on pain scale) This little "flash" happens maybe 8-10 times an hour. I go for a day without it changing, and I fear the worst - appendicitis. I go in to the ER again and they look like I'm wasting their time. There is no pain when they press on my gut, no fever, no nausea or vomiting, no real diarrhea to speak of. My white blood cell counts and electrolytes were perfectly healthy. They discharged me with a prescription for Ultram, a pain medication. I didn't want anything to do with it as the side effects looked lame and strengthened by asthma (which I had as a kid). I toss the papers, go home, continue to eat fiber based diet thinking it was too much greasy fat at the restaurant (greasy fish, Red Lobster biscuits, etc).
Needless to say, the "flash" pain went away and turned into a constant soreness, kind of like a muscle pain in the same area. I began thinking I might have strained my abs from lifting furniture, and that it wasn't digestion related at all. I decide to eat more protein... within a few days the pain returns as strong as the flash, about a 7/10 and only occurs a few hours after I eat something. I got scared and switch to a bland diet of white rice, apple sauce, juice. The pain stays and diminishes slightly, so now I'm on a clear liquid diet. I've nixed the caffeine and citric acid as well. It is now day 4 of my CL routine of water, apple juice, broth, and jello. It isn't fun, but the pain is down somwhere between a 1/10 and a 3/10 depending on the time of day and am able to go to work just fine.
My problem is I don't have a primary care doctor as I just moved to this area and when I called a GI directly, they couldn't get me in for over 2 weeks... which is ridiculous. I don't know if I should go to the ER again and see what they can do as I don't feel like it's an emergency. The CL diet is just killing me energy wise, I am constantly hungry and wanting to sleep all day. Don't know if I can go a whole week on this. I have an appointment on Tuesday with a family doctor in the area (soonest I could find). I now look at the 8 pages of that Ultram prescription the doc gave me a week and a half ago and see that she indicated on the last page that I should be on clear liquids and in bed this entire time... why she couldn't have made that clear before discharging me?
I'm thinking Crohn's. I look at the symptoms and find myself checking a lot of the "serious" ones off, but less of the common ones off. It's weird. The previous swollen liver, a toenail that might be clubbing, pain at my ileum when I eat, mild diarrhea if I eat small meals without any fiber, a sore in my mouth... but... I don't have nausea, vomiting, anemia, blood in BM/urine, fever, or any of that.
A month ago I was able to eat an entire pizza, do Irish Car Bombs if I wanted, and feel 100% fine. I don't understand how this happens...I try to eat healthier and I get wrecked. I'm afraid eat anything now. What should I do?