Inflammed Discending Colon & Severe Pain With Bowel Movements

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KnightRobby

KnightRobby

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Feb 12, 2013
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If you don't have time to read (which I understand), I'm asking: Any thoughts? Should I try the Miralax again or does anyone have any other approaches for resolving severe, persistent pain from lower colon pain after bowel movements?

I recently had a colonoscopy (again) and afterwards, as expected, I wasn't able to use the restroom for the past 2 days. After the first very painful day, the lower pain seemed to subside as it did last time (it is lower left side pain), but when I finally had a bowel movement the severe pain has returned. Once it returns, it stays and worsens with each bowel movement. I am eating healthy. I've tried low residue diets, which only make matters worse. I've tried every imaginable type of diet (soluble fibers, etc, etc). In the past, I have dealt with chronic constipation and still do - no diarrhea.

I am wondering how I go about getting through this pain. I have heard several people mentioned taking Miralax, but I have already been on that beforehand (I am sure laxatives, etc got me to where I am now with my pain) and would prefer not to take that junk as I am already having problems with anything unnatural (severe food intolerances). However, I am still wanting any input you may have.

I have tried warm prune juice at night and morning with some olive oil, but it might be too rough but at least it helps me to go. I am also taking Licorice Root, a very strong multi-vitamin for Celiacs (CeliaAct), 50 Billion Probiotic Supplement, Magnesium 500mg daily, B12 Liquid, etc. My doctor also put me on Cipro, because he feels like he can't find the exact cause and believes it is a bacterial infection of some kind.

Any thoughts? Should I try the Miralax again or does anyone have any other approaches for this?
 
I think it's important to consult with your GI to understand why you have so much pain after a bowel movement. Stool softeners may help but they would be masking the underlying problem. I think it's important to understand the cause of this problem.

I also find that lots of lukewarm water helps to move the bowels. I almost always have the other problem but I wish you luck it sounds like you are following a lot of the natural remedies.
 
Thanks for the responses. I really do appreciate it. I am having yet another food allergy reaction - this is insane.

I am calling my GI tomorrow. And yes, definitely sticking to healthy foods (which isn't helping at all) and warm liquids...

David, it's interesting you should ask about the bowel pain. Let me explain: I've had 2 colonoscopies so far, cleaning out my system completely. Both made me constipated for around 2-3 days as expected, so there was no movement and hardly any activity. After my second colonoscopy, I paid very close attention to my pain levels. A day after it was severe on the left side (mainly lower descending colon). However, on the third day I noticed the pain was subsiding greatly. I was perplexed. Then I had a bowel movement and the pain was back. It gets more severe with bowel movements, which usually occur in the morning, but afterwards there is a constant level of pain.

I am also having severe food intolerances and allergies that are very sudden.

I am now on Cipro as well. I've only been on it maybe 2-3 days without improvement.

I am having severe problems digesting meats/proteins or carbs. I am taking digestive enzymes, which are not helping.
 
I'm actually doing that today. I thought I had it down with my safe foods, but apparently not. I've lost a lot of weight though during this time and weigh around 110 at 5'10.

How long do you think it is before I can focus on gaining weight? And how do I get around malabsorption I am having? I can't drink milk products, so boost/ensure is out of the question and they usually contain preservatives, etc. Do you recommend anything for someone that is nearly allergic to everything.

Currently I am crushing CeliacAct pills and taking those. I am also on a strong Vitamin B12 Liquid (includes other Vitamin B's). CeliacAct vitamins cover pretty much all the other vitamins, except iron - which I don't want to take because I am already dealing with constipation problems.

Appreciate all of the support! Really could use it. Still waiting on my biopsy results.
 
I've looked into all of the natural protein nutritional options and nearly every single one of them has something I am allergic to, whether it is corn, potato, peanut, etc. My allergies are out of control. I've had suggestions given to me, but someone always shows me a product that contains something I am allergic to - even if it is natural. I can't drink milk, so that isn't an option, and any unnatural ingredients are just as bad.

I feel like I am bound to end up in the hospital. They can't find what is wrong with me. I've already been diagnosed with Celiac but my doctor is confused as to why I am not showing any internal signs of Celiac. He's done the biopsy and still waiting for the results.

I am really wondering if it is something completely different. He claims he has ruled out cancer, but I feel like I am heading down that road anyway at this rate. I can't even hardly handle simply meats like fish, chicken, etc.

And I don't know what to think about being on Cipro...I'm at a total loss.
 
Hey, I just noticed you said you were diagnosed coeliac, do you happen to know if you've had a TTG test and if so, what the levels were? It is possible to have coeliac but have negative biopsies.. my blood tests repeatedly came back at 200+ ( normal is 1-10) but endoscopy and biopsies were totally normal.

If you have got coeliac, that could be causing some of the symptoms, even if you arent eating gluten, it can take a while for the symptoms to settle, especially inability to absorb nutrients and even medications. It could also be hampering the healing of any crohns inflammation currently present.

Is it milk or lactose that you are allergic to? Im sure my doctor has said to me there is a form of supplemental drink that is lactose free. Maybe it would be worth you getting a consultation with a dietician to help you work around the issues your having.

I hope things improve for you soon.
 
I am scheduling a Dietician - which I should've done a long time ago. I have so many problems going on though: severe chronic eye pain from a dislocated jaw, which makes sitting here at the PC very difficult. And the pain from Celiac/Crohn's. I believe this doctor is doing tests (as I hope) that I am not aware of and he is not letting me know what they are because 1) I am young 2) They are probably serious tests.

If it is Crohn's and Celiac, what am I to do then? And what do you recommend as a starter's diet? I am doing an Elimination Diet as recommended by David. I have found (believe it or not) I can handle: Cabbage (cooked, juiced into soup), Green Beans (canned, cooked), Avocados (cooked), some Brown Rice (cooked). I am wondering: Is there a common denominator in terms of ingredients/minerals to all of the foods I have mentioned? I have no idea where to even begin if I have Crohn's, but this type of support is immensely helpful.

Oh, by the way, how did they test you for lactose/milk intolerance? They wanted me to travel clear down to Phoenix for a simple breathe test which is ridiculous (I see many doctors as it stands). There has to be a simpler way of finding out...I also wonder if it is type of intolerance where I can only have only so much milk vs completely being unable to drink it. I've tried the lactaid pills which did not work and Goat's Milk - all of which makes my constipation even worse. I did fair better on Goat's Milk though, but I'd like to introduce it slowly way down the road.

Again, I wanted to seriously thank you all for your help. It's been insanely rough. Trying to be strong for my family though.
 
I too suffer bad constipation and have been going through the wringer with it as of late.
I have tried every laxative and supplement available. I take a double dose of miralax as directed by my doc and now I am still struggling but I am going to the bathroom every 4/5 days.
I am also only eating soft foods ie soup yoghurt scrambled egg mash potato etc which has helped mostly with the pain but I still have no more answers for regularity or nausea.

good luck!
 
Thank you David.

Novice, eggs cause severe constipation (I never knew this either). I would stop them immediately and see if that helps. Also, does your lower left side ever feel tight? Because mine does, indicating procolitis (it is also painful). It could be muscle spasms in my case or something else entirely.
 
I was diagnosed with coeliac before the crohns so that was somewhat easier for me. My coeliac was diagnosed about a month before my crohns pain started but i wasnt diagnosed with that until last year.

If you find you are coeliac, then removing gluten from your diet is the first thing to do. Although it does sometimes take a while for everything to settle, most people find at least some improvement within a few weeks and it prevents any further damage.

I can understand your doctor not wanting to stress you out but I would be careful they arent keeping things you need to know from you. Sometimes its just as important to know what we dont have. I was only 14 when I was diagnosed with coeliac and 15 when I got my first crohns symptoms and had all sorts of tests, and my then GI hid nothing from me. Unfortunately I had to stop seeing him when I turned 18 as he only treats children.

Some people find that they cannot tolerate lactose/milk when they are first diagnosed but when they are healed they can begin to re-introduce it and dont have any issues. This is because it is the tips of the villi (the parts of the intestine damaged by coeliac) that digest the lactose, so if they are severely damaged then its harder to digest the lactose.

As a starting point for diet, Id say the simpler the better, everyone is different so its hard to say what will and wont work. Thats why i recommended the dietitian as they can give you more tailored advice. I would keep going with the elimination diet. Slowly re-introduce things one by one so you can see what causes a problem and what doesnt. Keep a note of the symptoms and if something triggers them then take it back out again.

I was never actually tested for lactose intolerance, but I have heard of people having the breath test, here they can just do it at your local hospital, I wouldnt of thought it was really that specialized..

If you do have crohns then at least you'll have an answer and can start to move toward treatment and remission. We'll all be here to support and help you and you can ask us anything and everything or just have a big rant if needed. If coeliac is causing you issues absorbing medications then possibly you'd be better off with medications that are injected while your healing. Not all doctors will go for this but it was recommended to me when I was younger so it might be worth a mention to your GI.

I hope this helps a little, we're all here for you and if it would help at all you're welcome to PM me anytime. :hang:
 
I've been diagnosed with Celiac Disease from a blood test. It was 138/30 which is pretty high. I have no idea why he is even questioning that I have Celiac; I obviously do. I've been on a Gluten-free Diet since January and have only gotten worse. I am wondering if it is something else entirely. Crohn's Disease is probably it alongside Celiac and a dislocated jaw. Wonderful.

And now, last night my ankle began to hurt severely and I am on Cipro - which is a sign of a potential repturing tendon. So I am off of that medication and my ankle is in pain. I am having absolutely no luck with any of these Western approaches. I have yet to try prednisone or Humira, but would rather just go to a Naturopathic(sp?) doctor at this point.

And yeah, that is what I was thinking; the breath tests should be easy to do. Additionally, I don't understand why he hasn't done that for bacterial infections as it is very easy to do - as I recently found out.

I've jumped from doctor to doctor and they all seem like they just don't know what in the world they're doing.
 
Yeah that is pretty high, I wouldnt question that either. If you were already gluten free when you had the biopsies that might be why they look clear, the GI should know that tho... I can relate to the jaw issue.. My jaws dont align correctly, my top jaw is too far forward and the bottom too far back, this means they regularly click, pop and lock, Im on the waiting list for surgery to have them fixed.

Joint pain isnt uncommon with crohns, it could be another effect of that. Its unusual that you havent been given steroids yet, those are usually one of the first ports of call with IBD. I can understand your frustration and desire to stay away from all these strong medications tho.

The apparent lack of logic in some doctors really amazes me sometimes...
 
It's ridiculous how many people I am running across that have jaw problems. How long have you had your problems? I have been dealing with mine for 15 years and had an extremely late diagnoses - which I have found out can be quite common because TMJ is still pretty new to the medical community.

Does anything help with your TMJ pain? Mine is classified as severe, chronic pain in my left head/neck/eye. I am looking at buying a TENS Unit at this time. It is terrible and I believe is triggering a lot of my stomach problems.

I'd be willing to do a trial run of steroids at least to see if they could help. My family history indicates that they would. I like all natural approaches, but believe they can be just as harmful in some cases as much as more conventional treatments. So they both need to work together in unison.

I'm also pretty surprised at the limited medical knowledge of these doctors. I don't know if you have heard of the Hunters Gatherer's Diet (I believe it is called) but a very successful doctor who treated her MS outside of her own Westernized medical knowledge spoke about many things - most interesting of which was the fact that the best doctor is the internet (that is if you find multiple, reliable sources that corroborate one another). Here is the vid that someone shared with me awhile ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc

How long before your jaw surgery? Have they given an estimate and have you tried other treatment options before the jaw surgery? I am going to an Oral Surgeon very soon (again) and probably just going to head down that road finally.
 
Its something that seems to run in my family, its developed as i've grown and gotten more painful and stiff over the last few years.. My sister had her bottom jaw broken and re-aligned as hers wasnt as severe as mine, but im having both broken. It does seem to be a fairly common thing.

I find that cold like an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel helps my joints sometimes, it kind of numbs the pain (be careful not to leave it too long) but weirdly its worse in the winter.. Also I try and kind of bite to the side rather than using the front of my mouth, might sound strange but it helps when things are bad. The worst thing is if it locks open... it did it for the first time after vomitting when I was in hospital and the nurse just gave me a glass of water and walked off..... :ybatty:

Maybe it would be worth mentioning that to your doctor.. I can understand what you're saying, I think some doctors could benefit from using a combination of both with their patients.

You know what.. that doesnt really surprise me at all.. Ive had doctors look me in the face and go " read this website then come tell me what to do" (id been diagnosed like 2 weeks at this point and was pretty sick).

I dont know yet.. Ive been on a waiting list for 3 years almost.. I have to have braces for a few months before the operation but if i dont have the operation I cant have braces because they wont work alone. So its either surgery or live with it for me.
 
Thanks for your advice on the eggs I did not know they could cause constipation either! However I know thats not the cause of mine lol. Eating eggs is relatively new to me and the constipation is not lol.
Am keeping a food/pain journal for my own knowledge hopefully it will shed some light on what causes these symptoms. So far I have found no correlation lol buy hopefully in time

I do get lower left side pain. And lower right upper left upper right lol. My pain is always consistent with active inflammation.

Good luck and thanks again
 
@valleyangel32, Wow 3 years. That's ridiculous. I bought my TENS Unit today and it is highly rated. It is one recommended to me from my TMJ group I joined on Facebook. It's at Overstock.com and is half off right now and is called the TENS Unit 7000 (highest rated one). I'll see how it works out.

I use a combination of ice and heat. My eyes kill me and I really don't know what to do for them at all.

I recall you said you have both Celiac and Crohn's. What did they do in the beginning stages to treat you and what are they doing now? My doctor seems clueless.

@Novice, no problem. Yeah, eggs in moderation would work though. I think have hard boiled eggs can also help, as I understand. I have heard that prune juice with 1tbsp of olive oil in the morning and at night can help, but can also be rough for some. It has to be warm though. As does warm water (no cold liquids).

And what about you Novice? What are your doctor(s) doing for you at the moment and anything helping?
 
Yep .. welcome to the NHS. I've not even heard from them since last year and theyve not seen me in over 2 years. From what they have said I should be at the top of the waiting list by now but you never know with these things...

Its really difficult to manage the pain behind the eyes..I find that if my eyes are bad and I bite down on anything with my back teeth it sends a searing pain from my jaw up through to the back of my eyes. Im having problems with my wisdom teeth too, theyre meant to get taken out I think, but my dentist cant do anything to help me he has to leave everything to the hospital -_-.

At the beginning we just had to deal with my coeliac. So I went on a gluten free diet and iron tablets. It was strange really, I didnt have any symptoms classic of coeliac, but i'd had some bloods done and they came back with aneamia so they tested me and it came out positive. It took a while from that for them to fully diagnose me, like i said my biopsies were totally normal. So they kept repeating my bloods over a few months and the same result kept coming back and they diagnosed on that.
About a month after that I started getting pains in the right hand side of my stomach. So they did another round of tests, bloods. ultrasound, barium follow through but nothing showed and my peadi GI didnt want to put me through a colonoscopy at that stage, he said he'd put me through enough. The only thing they had found was high levels of calcium in my blood, but we think that just runs in my family.

I kept going back to the GP and they gave me medications for IBS which never worked, then kept giving me different painkillers, some worked, some didnt.

Things stayed like that until last year.. I finally saw a GI in the adult department after months of letters from my GP and my peadi GI nagging him. He organised an MRI scan but that took 3 months. Just after the MRI I started university, and thats when things went down hill. After about a month of uni I was drastically loosing weight (again), the pain had doubled and I was vomitting. I had to go to hospital 3 times in 3 weeks and had to leave uni because I was too ill to ever go to lectures.

Back home I went back to see a new GI who organised my colonoscopy and told me he was almost certain I had crohns. He started me on a high dose of prednisolone and I had my colonoscopy about a month after. They officially diagnosed me there and then.
I stayed on prednisolone until febuary this year (from november) and started entocort. Eventually the new GI said there wasnt much they could do with medicine, and surgery was my best option, so thats what we did. Just over 5 weeks ago I had a laperoscopic hemicolectomy and it seems to have been a big success :).

Im now seeing two different GIs The first one is clueless and totally missed me loosing a stone in 6 months and the new is brilliant but doesnt deal with crohns much so says he cant keep treating me alone -_-.

At the moment i'm not on any medications and not sure if i'll be having maintenance medication. I have a follow up on the 19th so i guess i'll find out then.

I would say, if your doctor doesnt shape up, Id get a new one. In 6 months, mine got me tested, medicated, refered for surgery and operated on... it took my original specialist a year and a half to organize one scan.. so a new doctor really can make a huge difference.
 
Apologies for the long reply, but I can't believe you have the exact same conditions as me. Wow, your story sounds similar to mine. Thank you for answering most of my questions as I will refer them over to my own treatment plan and now I have some questions for my GI doctor for sure.

I first had a suspicion about Celiac and decided to get tests done at an Allergist, who confirmed my suspicions. Ever since then, however, I have only gotten worse. The one thing I do not know about is the anemia. I have all of the signs though, one of which is Terry's Nails (whitening of the nails with red at the edge), which can indicate diabetes (ruled out), malabsorption, and anemia. So I am assuming I definitely have anemia considering all of my other symptoms.

I deal with severe constipation and know iron pills worsen this - so I am a bit worried of the consequences. So I am going to buy a slow delay tablet, which as I hear alleviates this problem.

I've had an MRI and it showed my ilieum was inflamed. Most recently, the colonoscopy/endoscopy showed no inflammation and my doctor is once again confused. I am wondering if anemia can cause Celiac and Crohn's?

I had no idea you had surgery. How did they determine you were eligible for surgery and what part of the colon did they remove (left/right/sigmoid)? Because I think they wouldn't even consider surgery for me due to it being "only scattered inflammation in the descending colon." I know it is more than that; it's got to be UC. I am thinking that might be the path I am going down here, because I feel terrible. I am also thinking of trying a Mesalazine drug, which targets the left-sided colon. Have you ever tried Mesalazine (5-ASA)Pentasa, Lialda, etc? I am certain I have anemia and also major nutrition problems, plus I am allergic to every food.

I've already been to one terrible GI doctor, then moved onto my current GI doctor - who is better but I expect him to be more knowledgeable. I don't know how I would ask my primary to switch doctors again...So now I'm going to ask for blood work for anemia and vitamins/minerals. Do you think I should ask for any other tests? I seriously think I have UC and it is painful. Plus I can definitely feel tightness/spasms on the left side.

Pain meds and laxatives, I believe, is what brought me to this terrible situation, and I don't know if I should just go back on pain meds until they determine if I should have surgery or not.

I've always felt light headed, but more recently I truly feel like I am going to faint. I believe I am dealing with significant anemia...

Again, appreciate the input.
 
You're very welcome, I'm glad its helping.

It may have been that the stress of being diagnosed with coeliac or the big change of diet that you had to undertake. For me my crohns symptoms started a month after I was diagnosed so I personally think the stress could have been a trigger.

If you are having problems with aneamia you do need it confirmed before starting supplements, so its good you're going to get this checked. Some of the tablets do cause constipation but you might be able to find one that you can tolerate. You can also get liquid iron which some people find is better than tablets, or if you cant tolerate any of the oral iron you can have iron injections. If your aneamia is severe then you may be given iron infusions through an IV instead.

The colonoscopy/endoscopy can only see the inner layers of the intestines, so there is a possibility that you have inflammation in the deeper layers of the ileum and that's what the MRI picked up. The coeliac or crohns/UC could have caused the aneamia, but I dont think aneamia could cause those. It may be that the aneamia has triggered a flare up by putting stress on your body though.

During my colonoscopy they found a number of ulcers and a stricture that was so closed they couldnt fit the scope through it, even though they pushed it pretty hard. So they gave me quite a long course of steroids, and every time they tried getting me to taper my symptoms got worse, I ended up in hospital with severe pain and I would just randomly vomit. The GI referred me to the surgeon for a chat to see what they thought and we told them how I'd had the pain for around 5 years, and nothing seemed to be getting rid of it, only disguising it, so it would always come back. He said I could either keep going as I was or have the surgery, and my GI confirmed that it looked like medication wouldnt help me. So we went for surgery, I had a right sided hemicolectomy and so far, so good, and I'm really glad I went for it, as despite the long course of steroids, my lymph nodes were still pretty inflamed. Ive tried pentasa, but that was a very short course, my GP gave it to me to try and keep me out of hospital in between visits to the GI, I still ended up in hospital and at my next visit my GI swapped me to entocort.

I understand what you mean. Hopefully if you go back to him with this information he will prove to be a little more helpful. You might want to ask them to check your inflammatory markers to see if there are signs of inflammation in your bloods.

I find that laxatives cramp me up really badly, doing the prep for the colonoscopy and the surgery was horrible. I have been perscribed laxatives before by GPs and juniors and my GI took me straight back off them, and perscribed a stool softener instead which work by making your stools easier to pass rather than causing the intestines to constrict, so it avoids the cramping. As for pain meds, some people do find certain ones will bung them up or give them nausea. The biggest one to avoid is NSAIDs like ibprophen, some people also find that codine will constipate them, but if they take it with a stool softener then they are ok. I used cocodamol for a long time without any noticeable problems. Paracetamol is a very safe choice and its pretty rare for it to cause people problems.

Is the lightheadedness worse if you stand up from lying down than when you stand from sitting? Or worse if you stand quickly than slowly? I have something called posteral hypotension which means my blood pressure drops when I stand, so it I stand too quickly I get dizzy and sometimes things go black. It could be this or it could be aneamia that's causing your symptoms.
 
Nothing much but waiting right now.
Drs hoping that by tapering off the pred the narrowing in my small intestine will open up a little lol but nothing has really changed!
Have been on remicade and humira in the past so my guess is that when I see him tues hes going to suggest cimzia. As he doesny recommend surgery or Methotrexate and im not sure what else I can do lol.

I hope you find some answers soon. I hope we all do! Until then ill be living on miralax lol
 
Hey Knightrobby , just wondering how things are going now? Did you manage toget in with your doctor and get some testing done at all?
 
Thank you all for your support. Right now I am not doing very well, but I found out about this Low Fodmap Diet which I am going to give a go. I am down to eating pureed spinach with green beans, olive oil, and tons of vitamins. Plus a vegetable protein drink, which makes me even more constipated. I am considering that I have a major magnesium deficiency as I was on Gabapentin - which can in turn cause this. Now I am curious to see my test results.

Also, I got a call from my GI doc who is getting me in on Thursday of next week, thank goodness. It sure does beat waiting an entire month.

If you can think of any really important tests and/or questions to ask him, I'd sure appreciate it!
 
I haven't had time to read through all of thus, but commenting because I don't want to lose the thread!!! You sound very similar to my daughter!! Will be back!; xx
 
Make sure you get all your vitamins tested, and magnesium, iron, potassium maybe your calcium and zinc too.

You could ask him to do some imaging, either a CT or MRI to see If the inflammation is spreading, or if the intestine walls are narrowing. If either test shows progression, you might need to look at a capsule endoscopy (not if there's narrowing) or a colonoscopy/endoscopy (depending on where the inflammation is).
 
Hi

My daughter got diagnosed with coeliac disease back in December, she was negative on blood test but positive on initial biopsies. These are now negative though because of the gluten free diet.

After going gluten free, she pretty much just got worse! She didn't start off with constipation but has severe constipation now and went through months of vomiting every day upto 12 times, because nothing was going through!

Her main and worst symptom is lower left abdo pain. This is so severe that no pain relief really works and she has now often feels very light headed and dizzy and has started passing out! They were going to do a colonoscopy this week but have now decided after yet another hospital stay that it will be too painful, so did a flexi sig instead which showed constipation!!

All her blood work comes back normal, except B12 which has been down in 60s she needed B12 infusions, but it is rapidly dropping again. Her latest ferritin level was 12. Everything else always spot on!

I really feel your frustration. All you can do is keep fighting. I know there are a lot of brick walls on the way. Try and get as much testing as you can to try and get the full picture. We have swapped GI's too, I think there are many people on here that go through a lot of GI's until they find one that works for them.

Good luck!!
 
What types of food intolerances/allergies do you have KnightRobby and how were they diagnosed? How soon after eating do you get symptoms?

What I found is that my symptoms are worse from eating - any food will likely make me feel bad, and the more I eat the worse I feel. Too much fibre worsens my symptoms, but apart from that I just feel worse from food period. There are also all sorts of invisible factors that cause my symptoms to vary from hour to hour and week to week, which makes it very hard to determine whether a change in symptoms is due to my diet or to any other factor. If it appears that you're intolerant to everything, I think it would be a good idea to consider whether it's not something other than food that's causing fluctuations in your symptoms.

A diet of spinach, green beans and olive oil is not going to do your health any good at all.

Are you still having pain with bowel movements - what is the pain like? Does it hurt when you have to strain? I find lactulose really helps constipation. Also (sorry if you mentioned this somewhere already in this thread) have you tried stool softeners rather than stimulants? They don't have the same risks for becoming dependent on them as laxatives do.
 
Sorry to hear you're going through all this.

I too experience Lower Left pain along with Lower Right (even tho, Right is more common in crohn's) Inflammation is what causes the symptoms you
describe, when I get them.

Perhaps they can do a Pill Cam for you, and see if you have anything going on in the areas they can't view from the top or bottom with a scope.

As for blood work, I'd suggest all the typical ones for IBD, SED rate, inflammation makers, CBC, etc. As well as, Vit D (almost everyone with IBD is deficient), Ferritin B12/binding Iron (for anemia - only Hematocrit/Hemaglobin testing, is not enough).

This is really a stretch, but look up HAE (Hereditary Angioedema) HAEA.org
It can present in the GI track, and cause intense swelling - it's not a GI disease, although often mimics them when it effects the GI track (HAE effects all parts of the body, depending upon the person). It is difficult to test for, but if it even seems like a possiblity once you've researched it, find a good allergist/immunologist - to at the least rule it out.

Best of luck to you, hang in there...sometimes answers are just long in coming.
 

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