Intermittent diarrhea and no appetite

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FleurDeLis

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Hello All,


Ok so here is the skinny. For the past two years I have been having intermittent diarrhea and when I say that I should be using caps because it is severe. This happens for a few weeks. Then I can go 10 days or longer without having to go. But I will say that my gut is constantly hurting. I seem to have an itchy bum as well. And when wiping it feels like razor blades are going across that area. No matter what. I went and say a G.I doctor this past week. She ordered blood work (no surprise), a CT scan of my abdomen, as well as a colonoscopy as well as the one where they stick something down your throat. She said that most likely I have Chron's or celiac disease. My maternal grandmother has Celiac. She lives a normal life but cant eat anything that is worth eating anymore. You know that whole Gluten-free thing. I currently weigh 107 and am about 5'6" or so. i have always been skinny but I have dropped about 20 pounds or so. Oh yeah did I mention that I HAVE NO APPETITE at all. Like zero. I eat once a day because that is all that I am hungry for. I know, I know, you really need to eat. Well I cant. How do you eat if you aren't hungry? Once apon a time I tried to gain weight with the all the GNC stuff you could buy I was consuming 3000 calories a day and not one pound did I put on, I was working out. I have had my thyroid checked and of course, nothing to report. So I am curious if it is b.s or if someone might have had the same syptoms and if they were diagnosed with this or something simmilar. Well thanks for your time guys. :confused2:
 
Hello, and welcome, Fleur. Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well... When do you get your scans/results? I hope you are able to get a diagnosis soon. Have you been prescribed any medications? A lot of the symptoms you describe are similar to what a lot of us deal with... Myself personally, when I am sick I lose my appetite completely, lose weight, have stomach pain, cramps and diarrhea (w or w/o blood)... For the itchy/irritated bum, try using moist wipes and a soothing cream.

Keep in close touch with your doctor, and keep us posted on how you're doing! Feel free to ask questions, search the forums as you'll see a lot of us have the same questions, and we all have different stories and experiences to share!
 
I have my CT scan this coming Thursday. But my colonoscopy isnt until 13 May 2009. I am very nervous. No medications yet but I am thinking that will come soon. You had said that my symptoms were very similar to what those with Crohns deal with. What about not haveing a BM for extended periods of time. It is either cant go or cant stop going no happy medium. I do use wet wipes as well but no real relief comes with that. I am just lost in Wonderland trying to find the exit out of the rabbit's hole.
 
welcome fleurdelis, i have crohn's and before i was recently diagnosed, i was at my worst... no appetite, weight loss and lots of abdominal cramping and constant pain in my lower right side (which turned out to be a stricture - i.e. narrowing of the intestine)... i didn't have diarrhea but instead i had constipation occasionally or sometimes pain and bleeding during a BM... also joint pain and fatigue...

i'm not sure what the symptoms of celiac disease are... but i wish you luck with your results, and hopefully you get the right diagnosis and effective medical treatment.

take care
 
Finally starting to see a light at the end of the rabbits hole. Thanks for the info. I was wondering if the symptoms I was having was of Crohns or not. I am curious though what the process is after being diagnosed. I know everyone is different and each procedure varies per person. But can someone shed some light on this subject. Iwould like to know everything from a low grade case to a much more severe case. Thanks for all the helpm Also can someone break all the medicines and side effects. Is there somewhere I can go to actually see what crohns looks like. I would really like to see it during the colonoscopy video. Thanks again sorry fir all the questions.
 
Don't be sorry for all of the questions, that's what we're her for!
When my butt hurts from wiping, I use a cream called Calmoseptine. It's the best cream EVER and it can heal your butt overnight - not kidding. Use the search option here and type in calmoseptine, you will find info on it. Your pharmacy may even be able to order it by the next day depending on where you live.

You can find a colonoscopy vid on youtube I'm pretty sure. Youu might not want to see it though. I know I wouldn't. The procedure itself isn't bad, but that's cuz most of us sleep right through it.
Also - ALL the medicines list side effects. Don't let that scare you into not taking them. I have had almost no sides from ANYthing I have taken. They just have to list them because they are possibilities.

Welcome, and good luck with your tests.
 
So can you "My Butt Hurts," tell me step by step what happened after finding out that you had Crohn's. I would love to hear your story or for that matter your story as well, "cheeky," your symptoms are almost exactly like mine. What foods should I avoid, what foods tear you up, I know everyone is different but I am curious if there is a common factor. Seems to be spicy food. My wife wants to go eat Mexican today.......I promised her we will. So I will have to report back with what happens after the meal.
 
Here's my experience (sorry it's pretty long)

Fleur, since i am newly diagnosed, i can tell you what has happened with me so far when it comes to treatment:

- went to emergency mid december 2008 because of severe cramping and ongoing pain in my lower right side... thought it was my ovaries or something like that... although the symptoms came on right after eating a bit of chinese food.

- at emerg, they ended up taking my blood ...

- based on my bloodwork results, which were waaaaaay off, and the cramping, they wanted me to stay overnight and get an ultrasound ... i had to beg them for pain killers, which they only gave me AFTER hours and hours because they wanted my bloodwork to be completed first... so finally i received percocet which relieved the pain and i fell asleep

- the ultrasound results showed that my intestines were inflamed... and the analysis said possibly crohn's colitis

- i got copies of all the bloodwork and ultrasound results, then saw my family doctor immediately

- she referred me to a GI (gastroenterologist) - btw, she was alarmed by my bloodwork and when she saw it was likely crohn's all the years of me complaining of other symptoms all made sense to her ...

- since it was the christmas holidays, the GI's office was closed for a couple of weeks... during this time, i was in total agony...didn't eat much at all, no appetite, was constipated some days... and had a hard time getting in and out of bed, in/out of cars and walking around.... i spent most of the time on painkillers, sleeping and using a heating pad, and drinking hot tea.... i was lucky to be on holidays from work...

- i finally got to see the GI by Jan 5th, i was required to have a colonoscopy.... i drank Colyte preparation (which i won't lie, it was difficult to do since i was so bloated and didn't feel like drinking... but i got through it)

- i arrived for my colonoscopy and was sedated through an IV... well, this didn't seem to prevent me from feeling a great amount of pain when the scope was inserted...

- the GI could not complete the procedure since my inflammation was very severe and it turned out i had a stricture (in the lower right side that was giving me the most pain)...

- my GI handed me a brochure about Crohn's... asked to speak to a family member (my grandma who drove me),,,and he prescribed me 40mg Prednisone and scheduled a CTScan

- the prednisone made a drastic difference in a short amount of time... i hadn't felt that great in a long time, this drug was a miracle... luckily i didn't experience the most horrible side effects... just mostly a HUGE increase in appetite, some water retention and near the end, some weight gain (about 20 pounds)... but no moonface or acne or insomnia or any of the other terrible symptoms i had read about

- the CTScan wasn't as bad as i thought, though i was surprised that they ended up inserting some bag up my butt... they filled it with water to help stretch my intestines while doing the CTScan imaging...


- i had to follow up with my GI when i was close to finishing my prednisone taper, and he asked me how my symptoms were, he wanted me to continue the taper a bit longer as i transitioned to a new medication called Imuran, i was prescribed 150mg he told me i'd have to see him again in a few weeks

- as i was eager to get off of Prednisone, i shortened my taper... instead of tapering by 2 weeks, i continued the 1 week taper... which was not a good idea since i ended up having withdrawal symptoms (consistent headache, difficulty sleeping, vomiting, joint and muscle pain, generally felt terrible) - i made a thread about my experience so you can search for that if you wish...

- when i finally finished the pred, the imuran hadn't yet kicked in because it takes anywhere from 3-6 months to really take effect, though my GI told me it would only take 3 weeks... well, not in my case

- so i had some inflammation in my eye (episcleritis), my skin (severe erythema nodosum on all over my shins) and after the eye and skin inflammation went away, i had a flare up... i just remember eating and feeling very full/bloated, then getting cramps and eventually vomiting... but it resolved on it's own by the next day

- a few days later i felt pretty much back to my old self...

- i saw the GI at the end of april, he says the flare up sounded like it was caused by an obstruction (blockage in my intestine due to the stricture)... he asked how i was feeling, and by then i felt good... he said he'll continue me on the imuran and that i'll have to get another colonoscopy to see how things look...

- every time i had seen my GI, he warned me that i may have to have surgery to correct my stricture because it is pretty severe.

- right now, i'm in the process of getting a new GI (that's a whole other story), and once i do, i will get another colonoscopy and go from there.



i've already talked about my experiences in other threads... but that's basically the coles notes version.

hope it helps.
 
OH MY GOD CHEEKY......THANK YOU SO MUCH....LIKE I SAID CT SCAN THIS THURS....COLONOSCOPY NEXT WED AS WELL AS SCOPE DOWN THROAT......I AM CONCERNED SEVERLY.......MY BODY IS WASTING AWAY BEFORE ME YESTERDAY I ATE AT 2:00 PM (LUNCH) AND THEN DID NOT EAT ANYTHING AGAIN UNTIL 6:00 THE NEXT DAY.....THE DOC THINKS IT IS CROHNS LIKE I SAID.....MY GRANDMA HAS CELIAC WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY FORM OF IBD BUT SHE CANT HAVE ANY GLUTEN IN HER DIET AT ALL. I HAVE BEEN HAVE intermittent diarrhea FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS I FIGURED UP YESTERDAY AS WELL AS intermittent CONSTOPATION BUT MOSTLY ON THE C SIDE OF THINGS FOR ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME. I HAVE FOUND THAT EVERY YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME I GET THESE REALLY BAD EPISODES. NOT SURE WHY. I AM IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE SO THIS MAKES MY JOB A LIVING HELL. I WAS TOLD IF IT IS CROHNS OR ANY OTHER I WOULD PROBABLY BE KICKED OUT OF THE MILITARY. SOME GOV. HUH? THIS PAST NOV I TORE A MUSCLE IN MY INNER LEFT THIGH AND SPENT TWO WEEKS IN THE H FOR A CONDITION CALLED RHABDOMYOLOSIS CANT SPELL IT BUT GOOGLE IT. IT BASICALLY SHUTS DOWN YOUR KIDNEYS EVER SINCE THEN MY GUT HAS BEEN 10 TIMES WORSE THANKS FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE DOING FOR ME TALKING WITH YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE GIVES ME A SOME FORM OF PEACE I AM LITERALLY FREAKING OUT AND FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE BEEN TO THE MIDDLE EAST AND NOT GET SCARED THERE THIS SAYS A LOT. THANKS AGAIN!
 
hey fleurdelis, you're very welcome, i'm glad i could help you... but at the same time, i hope you don't get too stressed about this - i know i know, easier said than done - but you don't want to aggravate your symptoms anymore... you have a stressful enough job as it is.

i wish you all the best, and keep us posted... hope you feel better soon.

take care
 
hey fleur
it seems like your account might have gotten deleted? there are some kinks in the site and it has been happening accidently lately to some members, so everyone's really sorry for the frustration! if you want, please re register :)

as far as your crohns, when im flaring horribly i eat virtually nothing as well. i lost almost 40 pounds in 6 months and im little to begin with--like 120 lbs is the biggest ive ever been. so you are definitly not alone in the weight loss and zero appetite.
during those times i try to drink nutritional supplements like boost, ensure, carnation instant breakfast, etc. even when im not hungry i try to drink some, calories and nutrition are so important. your body is working so hard when its inflamed and it really needs the energy! im not good at forcing myself to eat enough, but every little bit helps.

good luck with the tests, let us know how it all goes ok?
 
thanks cheeky and kello82.....i had to change my account info so LoneStar0922 is my new login I will take into consideration with the drink supps but I cant really cant take that stuff you mentioned cause it royally screws my G.I up but I will keep all posted as to what happens after my test results thanks so much everyone
 
Ok so had my CT scan have not seen the results yet but holly hell someone should have warned me about the barium.....the test was at 745 this morning it is now 730 pm and i still have that horrible taste in my mouth not to mention i am in horrible pain......my lower right side has been showing me that it hates me very much I will keep ya posted guys thanks for the support
 
oof yeah the barium sucks.
sorry for no warning.

the pain might be because it is kinda difficult to pass sometimes. have you pooed it out yet? if not...it will go with time. but it sure sucks while its in you.
 
Yes yesterday I came home from work and it was like someone turned on the water hose and it came out but my gut has hurt really bad......Colonoscopy on Wed as well as EGD holly crap ready to get it over with
 
thanks for re-registering! & sorry your account got deleted.. i thought our problems with that were over now :(

good luck with the colonoscopy, it's not half as hard on your body as the barium, you'll probably feel perfectly back to normal straight after the test.. no nasty stuff to get rid of after. i hope the results are good ones, and give an indication of what's happening so that you can get on the right treatment and feel better soon!!
 
Ok I just got a call from the G.I office. The nurse that gave me my CT results said that everything checked out......she then said you do have a fatty liver and you probably need to loose some weight. I laughed and she asked what was so funny and I told her no, I need to gain weight. I weigh 100 pounds.......there was nothing but silence.....she thought I was lying......I told her to go pull my chart and she did......came back and was like ok we are really going to have to take a look at this during the Colonoscopy.....does anyone have this or know anything about it?
 
whoaa that is very strange! i mean, i dont know anything really about the fatty liver, but i cant believe she thought you were overweight!

huh. what does she mean they will take a look at it during the colonoscopy? take a look at your liver? they cant see your liver with a scope....
maybe it is meds that are affecting your liver somehow? i dont know at all really, just kind of thinking out loud.

well im glad that the rest of your ct checked out ok.
good luck with your colonoscopy, its tommorow right? that means you will be starting the prep soon hooo boy, i am sorry. awful nasty stuff!
feel free to come on here and whine about it while your chugging :) lol we all do
 
kello,

I know right.....I was very shocked thanks for the input though....no the prep starts tomorrow at 3:00.....yuck..........I am very confused with my body....I think it hates me.....lol....well i cant wait to find out what is wrong so I can get some treatment. Thanks again
 
lonestar
I have a fatty liver probably 1 out of every 2 people have it at least thats what the dr. told me. The er dr asked me if I drank all the time and i told him I only drink socially. It is very common.
bethyd78
 
Well the day of the colonoscopy is finally here upon us. I have my procedure at 1230 cst. Yesterday was not very fun but I was expecting alot worse. It was almost like a very bad day with D anyway. The only thing that sucked was not being able to eat. At 2:00 today it will be 48 hrs since I last ate. Which is bad because I dont usually have an appetite anyway but yesterday I think because I couldnt eat was why I wanted to eat. I will keep all posted as to what happens.
 
lol lonestar thats the way it always works for me too. when im that sick, i could go for days with no appettite. but always during prep time i felt starved.

well it is all over now, yes? please let us know how you are
i hope you went and got a nice tasty meal after your test. thats always the best part :)
take care
 
yes, good luck lonestar.... and lol it's so true that only on the day of the colonoscopy prep i felt so hungry... it's totally mental.

it's interesting about your liver though, i'm very curious to find out more about your situation.

take care
 
Oh my goodness cheeky. Your diagnosis time sounds exactly like mine except that I had gone to the ER many times and they just kept giving me home kit enemas....salt water on inflammed self = want to die. :S

Fleur welcome. Feel free to talk about anything and everything on here. We have all suffered or have someone we know who is suffering from these diseases...it definitely helps to hear others say that they have gone through the same things..makes some of it easier to take and the support from everyone helps on days when you just need a little extra.
 
jamie2462 said:
Oh my goodness cheeky. Your diagnosis time sounds exactly like mine except that I had gone to the ER many times and they just kept giving me home kit enemas....salt water on inflammed self = want to die. :S
Click to expand...

oh my gosh! i couldn't imagine having to do an enema while in that condition, poor you, that's terrible!

well, hope you're doing much better now. thanks for taking the time to read my long post and were able to relate.
 

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