Hi! I'm undiagnosed, but want to talk about symptoms

[Chris1]

Hi everyone, my name is Chris and I'm new here!
I'm still undiagnosed, but back in June/July i started experiencing mild bowel pains. My doctor thought I was constipated and so he prescribed me a laxative (macrogol) to take for about a week. This worked to clear my system, but about two weeks after having stopped taking the macrogol, I realised that I still had diarrhea and bowel pains (sorry if that's too much info!).
I visited the doctor again and did both blood and stool samples; the results indicated that everything is normal, except a perhaps raised amount of white blood cells...
I'm now waiting to have a colonoscopy in April. My doctor has explained to me that he expects that I may have Crohns, ulcerative colitis or some form of auto-immune disease.
I'm quite confused and a little worried.. The only symptoms that I've had are diarrheah and bowel pains, so I'm clueless as to what my diagnosis will be.
Reading my story, would anyone be able to shed any light upon it? Thanks!

 

[afidz]

Hello and welcome!
Do you know what kind of blood tests you had done? Does your pain/diarrhea get worse when you eat? Are there any foods that you noticed making you feel sicker than others?

 

[Chris1]

Hi! I'm afraid I'm not sure what blood test was done, I should have asked! I haven't found any foods that make me more sick either - so far I've tried avoiding dairy, 'junk foods,' alcohol, breads and carbie foods. But no, things don't seem to get worse after I've eaten as such. I'm vegetarian, which I thought could be an issue, but my doctor doesn't think it should be a problem.
Recently though, the diarrhea and pains have eased, although I still experience mild pain a few times each day, but I haven't changed anything in my routine or diet.
The raised amount of white blood cells, found in my blood test, would make sense to suggest an auto-immune disease of some form - but that seems to be the only thing that makes any sense to me so far!

 

[Olproblems]

Hey Chris!
Thanks for posting. Sadly I can't offer much help, but I'm walking right along beside you. I'm new to this, undiagnosed, and I have the same symptoms as you describe. I'll be reading your thread often.
The only advice I can offer is limit your food intake to foods you know you can digest and handle well, then add one thing at a time to your diet. (For the past three weeks I've lived off of mashed potatoes, steamed carrots and zucchini along with nutrient drinks)
Hopefully you find relief soon and get some answers.

 

[heatherb]

Hi

I'm new to here too after having problems for a while. Chronic diarrhea and bowel pains - I'm off for my bloods doing tomorrow (joy). Could you ask your docs which you had done? Luckily I have a referral form for mine. They're testing celiacs and serology and other stuff too (not that I really know what it all means).

It's good you've got a colonoscopy booked. My GP wants to refer me to a GI. Problem is I'm an international student from the UK in New Zealand so it's a little bit more of a convoluted system. Still, she seems nice and helpful.

It might help to do a food diary in the mean time and you can give this to your GP after the colonoscopy. It seems like all of this is a case of detective work for me... bowels are complicated apparently!

I hope you get some answers,

H

 

[afidz]

Hey, thanks for getting back to me
I was looking up bacteria overgrowth syndrome, I will give you a link as well to do some of your own research, but 2 of the symptoms are abdominal pain and diarrhea. So far I haven't found anything on elevated white blood cells but I am still looking around. Did your doctor say anything about anemia? That seems to be a common symptom as well. From what I understand, There are good bacteria in your digestive track that help with digestion. Sometimes there is too many good bacteria and it starts to cause problems. Check out the link I left below, hope it helps!
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/212861-overview

 

[Chris1]

Thanks for your replies everyone, and sorry for my delayed one!
Heatherb - I have tried keeping a diary; I kept notes on what I ate, my bowel movements and any pains I had. I didn't really find any patterns though. I mentioned that my symptoms have subsided a bit recently, I think this could be because I've been living with my parents over the Xmas period and they eat a lot more carbie foods, so it could be reducing my diarrhea. I hope your blood tests went well! I'll try to get hold of my doctor when I'm back at Uni and ask what test I did.
OIproblems - I think I'll be taking your advice and trying to have a more basic diet for a while, and then add new foods and see what happens.
Afidz - My doctor has mentioned anemia, but also says he doesn't think I have it, haha! I will look into your link though. Any knowledge is better than no knowledge hey!

I've been experiencing quite a bit of heartburn in the evenings recently. It doesn't really sound related in my opinion, but seeing as it's stomach acid, I figured it could be!