I am lost...

Crohn's Disease Forum

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Jan 23, 2013
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Hello everyone. So I haven't made a post here since 2015 apparently. Believe it or not I didn't even know I had an account on this site until I was signing up a few minutes ago.

Sorry for this long post but please bare with me.

Anyways here is my story and I need a small bit of help. I am a 15 year old male. About 4 or 5 months ago I became constipated and I had blood in my stool. Not coated around the stool itself but separately. So I ended up going to the nearest Clinic. The doctor there took a Urine sample from me. He said there was no sign of bacteria. I also have a skin tag around my anus. Anyways the doctor said this is probably just some sort of infection and gave me a lubricant to use in my anus, some sort of a liquid to get rid of my constipation and gave me Metronidazoyl. (I really hope I go that right).

I took all of the things the doctor gave me and then about 1 week later I started to have really bad diarrhea. It was also bloody. So I went to the clinic and they took some blood tests and stool tests and they said that my Iron and blood levels (Hemoglobin) is very low hence the reason I am very pale and weak. They also said my stool came back positive for blood. This time the doctor sent me to the hospital. Long story short I was hospitalized for 4 days and they brought me in for Upper GI and Colonoscopy. Honestly the doctors hand writing on the report is so bad that I have no idea what it says apart from the fact that it says "Very Poor Prep" or something like that. But the doctor herself said that she saw patchy inflammation on my colon and it could either be Crohns Or UC.

She put me on a liquid diet with ensure plus drinks.

I also have allergy to Cows Milk as well. If I eat or drink anything with Cows Milk in it my lip swells up and goes red. But before all of my symptoms arised I used to go to Mcdonalds and I decided after nearly 10 years of getting Big Mac's without cheese I should try it with the cheese. I ate it and I didn't get a single symptom at all such as my lip swelling up or anything. So I decided to get the big mac with the cheese from then on and so I did. Suddenly 4 or 5 months ago my symptoms started showing as I explained above.

My question is could this all be due to my intolerance to Cows Milk and I kept on eating the cheese but it didn't show any symptoms from the outside but it kept damaging my colon and resulting in the inflammation? I keep trying to get in contact with my Doctor as well but she never rings me back so I am completely lost.
 
Welcome back. First of all, you might want to look for another doctor before long. Then, make sure you get tested. Let us know how it goes.
 
True food allergy ( lip swelling etc..) to any food can cause anaphylaxis
But some food allergies from childhood can be outgrown . Milk tends to have a higher success rate of outgrowing the allergy.
The safe way to know if you have outgrown an allergy is to see a board certified allergist who will test the skin and blood. Then if the doc feels the risk of allergic reaction is low based on those numbers plus the patients history an in office food challenge is set up in a hospital . Small amounts of the food are given over a very long period of time while the patient is monitored by the doctor until a full serving is achieved.
Definitely let your doctor know you had a true food allergy to milk

There is also something call allergic colitis . This is seen typically in infants.
When an infant has a cow's milk allergy of the gut ( not a true IgE allergy that can cause anaphylaxis or lip swelling etc..) . They have bloody stool and diarrhea.
Most infants outgrow allergic colitis by age 1.
So ask your doctor about allergic colitis .

Lastly there is eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders ( egid)
Where a mixed IgE disorder that can cause eosinphilic colitis (EC) due to an allergy ( again not anaphylaxis.)
There is alot of overlap between EC and crohn/UC and the medication is similar .

Again something to ask your doctor about

Eating a known allergen without the guidance of an allergist is extremely risky.
Kids/teens who haven't had reactions in years due to avoiding the allergy food or only had mild reactions ( few hives) can suddenly have full blown anaphylaxis with there throat closing and heart stopping in a matter of minutes .
I am not trying to scared you but it's important to be aware of what anaphylaxis can become.
It is also important for anyone with a known food allergy to always have an epi pen on them in case of a reaction.
 
Thank you everyone for the great explanation it means a lot. I will definitely get a second opinion hopefully. Best of luck all and also Happy New Year.
 
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