Is diarrea always present in chrons?

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YJ120

YJ120

Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Messages
208
Hi All,

In brief I was hospitalised in Nov 10 for 9 days, after lots of tests I was diagnosed with Chrons disease - firstly by the colonoscopy consultant. I went back for a check up early Dec 10 and a doctor also diagnosed chrons and also confirmed it in writing.

So I went back for my next appt and the Consultant told me it might of been infection! I'd just got my head round it being chrons. Lucky me if not though - I know that. However, since I#ve come of the steroids, I have all symptoms - skin rash, aching joints (really struggle sometimes), extreme fatigue, inflammed eyes. I just don't have diarrea.

I've had another appointment today and he's still saying infection - even though I have all these other symptoms. He doesn't care about them - all he talks about is diarrea! I asked him why he is so focused on diarrea and he said that is the main symptom! I told him it is possible to have chrons without constant diarrea (which I've found out from many sufferers) and he said if the chrons is in the large bowel - which is where the inflammation and ulcer things etc showed on last colonoscopy - there will always be diarrea? Is this correct?

I've got another colonoscopy on Friday :(.

Thanks in advance for any replies - I'm at my wits end with it all, I feel so weak :(

Thanks Yvette xxx
 
Addition to above.......

Sorry....I should of said, prior to me going to hospital I had diarrea for over 3 years...it just got to a point where I was going 20+ times a day for a couple of weeks and that's how I ended up in hospital. xx
 
No, my stools were normal for a number of years after being diagnosed, it was really only in the last 2 - 3 years that I had Diarrhea and was going like 10 + times a day. My Crohns was 95% in my Colon too. My colon has since been removed and I have a Stoma and actually puts out thicker stool than before.
 
Hi Rob,

Thank you. This is why I don't understand why my Consultant is so focused on diarrea??

It's so frustrating!

Yvette
 
I have never had diarrhea with my crohn's like you I had inflamed eyes. that was my main symptom. I went to a GI only because i was (still am) having bad heartburn.
remind the consultant about your other issues. ask for a through explanation and get a copy of all your test, get a second option!
 
I had D when I was first Diagnosed now I have the opposite. I have other symptoms like my eyes hurt bones etc. I sometimes don't think docs understand our problems LOL Good luck hang in there.
 
I don't mean to be so blunt, but that doctor needs a reality check, and it definitely sounds like you need a different doctor.

Unlike ulcerative colitis, Crohn's is less likely to present regularly with diarrhea, especially of the blood-containing variety. My dad had over three feet of his colon affected and it was only until he was in his last horrible flare that he had anything like diarrhea (and it was almost all blood at one point). It took him 20+ years to develop it that bad.

That you were on steroids and tapered only to have worse symptoms is extremely significant. It sounds like classic Crohn's to me. I'd suggest getting a more reputable opinion.
 
Quite obvs, you have your answer. I never had D either. At first, my stools were normal. I just had a cough, and abdominal pain. In fact, I had a barium follow through, and it came out clean! I only got diagnosed after a very painful abscess, and colonoscopy.
 
That's one of the wonderful, amazing (SARCASM) things about this disease. The symptoms vary so widely! We are all beautiful unique symptomy snowflakes.

The problem comes when a doc has a checklist of diagnostic criteria and your symptoms are atypical and then they don't know what to do (usually this involves ordering tests, but it sounds like your doc is ignoring those?) and sometimes they will even tell you there's nothing wrong (because they don't know what *is* wrong) and it's in your head.

But just because your symptoms aren't "typical", if they aren't typical for you that's a problem.
 
Hi All,

Thanks for your comments. I'll have the colonoscopy on Friday and then will definitely be changing consultant. It frustrates me so so much that all he concentrates on is D! Grrr!

Thanks again xx
 
It sounds like you've already gotten the answers you're after, but I wanted to chime in. One more can't hurt! I haven't had the frequent bathroom trips or the big D much either. I was diagnosed around the same time as you in Sept 2010 after being hospitalized. I went to the hospital due to nausea, vomiting and a painful distended abdomen and they thought that I had some kind of infection due to an elevated white blood cell count. Further tests made them suspect Crohn's. My Crohn's is centered in my illeum, which is the third and last part of the small intestine, so maybe that makes a difference?
 
Ive been diagnosed for 1 month, after tests and blood work. The only time I had diahrea was fora week then it went away and came back which lead me to c the doc and get diagnosed. I am on aasacol and I have trouble with constipation need stool softners and laxatives. I have all the other symptoms though. I hope that helps. I wish you luck!
 
Ive been diagnosed for 1 month, after tests and blood work. The only time I had diahrea was fora week then it went away and came back which lead me to c the doc and get diagnosed. I am on aasacol and I have trouble with constipation need stool softners and laxatives. I have all the other symptoms though. I hope that helps. I wish you luck!
 
Thanks Social me....it's so frustrating that my consultant onlly thinks about diarrea!! Grrr! xxx
 
I never have more that 3-4 BMs a day even during a severe flare. The inflammation gets so bad that its very difficult to pass a BM. So there ya have it. D is not a requirement of having crohns. I would get another opinion.
 
Maybe you should print out this thread and present it to the doctor! Seriously, you should consider getting another gastroenterologist's opinion. I rarely have diarrhea - and even when I do I'm not entirely sure it's attributable to the Crohn's.
 
Mine started with constipation too I believe. I was 19 years old and away at college. I had an x-ray done and it looked like huge clouds in my abdomen. The doctor told me I was full of s*%# literally. He gave me a script for Go-Lightly. This constipation occurred 3 times until I was 21. At 25 it turned to diarrhea.
 
hi, i have been battleing with constipation with my crohns. everytime i go to emerency room they told me its not crohns because people dont get constipation with crohns pfft right..

you definitly need to tell your doctor that theres people out there that only suffer with constipation because not everyone gets D..
 
YJ120 said:
Hi All,
I have all symptoms - skin rash, aching joints (really struggle sometimes), extreme fatigue, inflammed eyes. I just don't have diarrea.
Click to expand...


hey yvette,

i definitely have crohn's (in fact, i have the most common form of it ileocolitis) and just like you, my symptoms presented with the joint pain, fatigue (eg sleeping 14 hours and still feeling lethargic), skin inflammation (erythema nodosum), eye inflammation (episcleritis, redness, blurry vision at times), i had some cramping at times but NO diarrhea!! also, all my blood work was showing signs of inflammation - CRP, platlet count was high, WBC elevated, sedrate, and i was anemic...
the only bowel movement problems i noticed sometimes was bright red blood in my stools... i mentioned it to my doctor and they thought it was hemmoroids!

after lots of bloodwork and seeing a couple specialists (i even saw a GI and he didn't realize it was crohn's) my rheumatoligist said i had an autoimmune condition called palondromic rheumatism... so anyway...

things progressively got worse.. then BAM! i end up in emerg, with excruciating cramping pain... my bloodwork was off the charts... they did an ultrasound which confirmed there was thickening in the bowel (which led to seeing the GI again for a colonoscopy which he couldn't even complete because my stricture was so bad and i was in so much pain, i also had a CT scan done) and eventually i got diagnosed with crohns, and at that point it had become very severe.

everyone was surprised i didn't get diarrhea... not everyone with crohn's gets it. i have experienced constipation at times of bad flare ups, but not the big D.


hope this helps and good luck to you!
 
Hi Yvette,

I'm sorry to hear you have problems with your GI. I think a lot of the symptoms depend on what's happening inside you and which part of the gi tract is most affected by the disease. More often than not you can find crohn's your TI and when that happens some of the bile instead of being reabsorbed gets into yr colon and attracts water...and after that you explode a few times usually. However, some people have their Crohns in the colon or higher and their TI works relatively good. I think that is when you have d-free crohns.

That said I'm not a doctor and may be wrong.

Take good care of yourself. :)
 
@Ari, yeah i see what you're saying about it depending on where your crohns is, i always wonder about that...
but i'd like to say, i have crohns in my terminal ileum (stricture), distal ileum (which just recently put me in the hospital with an obstruction), transverse colon (stricture) and ascending colon (stricture just above cecum)... and even with all of those areas affected... i very very rarely get diarrhea... at it's worst, i vomit and get constipated...so i'm wondering if we are the type that tends to get obstructed, maybe that's what explains no diarrhea because of being blocked up?

aah who knows, this disease is just complicated and everyone is different. it's fascinating isn't it?
 
I always had bouts of diarrhea then I had a Ileo put in and after my reversal I now ALWAYS have diarrhea. But that's probably more to do with everything that was done to my intestines and the reattachments.
 
i was dx in june 2010. i had runny d and abdominal pain for a month. was treated by my primary dr for infections and nothing happened. then he did a colonoscopy and he saw ulcers and lots of scar tissue. he said my crohns was "mild" and there was nothing to worry about since he caught it so soon. so i was on asacol and 80 mg of pred. all was good until nov 2010 i was hospitalized for bleeding and severe pain. saw the gi dr at the hospital and he said there was no way i had crohns at 19 years old.. so he took me off all meds (no pred taper..SUCKED) and sent me on my way. dec comes around the d is back 30+ a day, litterally moved my blanket and pillow in the bathroom. was hospitalized again and got a different gi. this GI has sent me to 2 speciality hospitals, and done 6 colonoscopies and one endoscopy. my crohns has moved to "oh just a mild case" to "severe". ive been in the ER over 50 times and hospitalized 6 times since. i am now on remicade and this gi has it noted from him and the two drs at the speciality hospitals that i deff have crohns and im finally getting some answers. good luck to you. its soo tough having a dr not understand whats going on and thinking your crazy just bc they dont know what to do. i had a very long road and spent a year of my life laying in bed, taking pain meds and living in the hospital or ER. i really hope you get some answers soon. it never hurts to get a second opinion, i got several and it did wonders for me. i wish i wouldve done it sooner.
 
Yes you can have D with Crohn's but I have run the gambit in 54 years with Crohn's and it comes and goes. I was lucky and had only one emergency surgery in 1989 and received 15 units in just 5 hours. The surgeons and doctors could not figure why I was still talking like crazy. I could have gone into a coma any time. My wife also started cheating on me at that time (around 1990 emergency doctors told me "sorry your wife is a tramp to get that STD she would have been sleeping around") and I was married for 14 years and just had 2 kids. My wife told me the doctors were full of it and I believed her and was deaf, dumb and blind. My ex wife moved out in 2005 and in with an ex marine 14 years younger than her. She was very abusive for 14 years of a 30-year marriage. She was cute and came across very honest but was not. She spent all my money and paid off all her cards just before she left and also left me with a house in foreclosure. I was having a Crohn's flair and she abused me as a slacker and not getting a 40-hour a week job. I wish I could of. But she lived with me and knew of my limitations and it was an excuse to leave a sick person for a healthy one. She was greedy and only thought of her self so if that happens to you it is not your fault. The other person has no compassion and just cares about what makes them happy. I wasn't a slacker I had made and lost 2 fortunes to Crohn's. At 59 I'm starting over again but I am alone and it is hard with no support. Some people think because a person has Crohn's they are inferior. I had employers tell me they didn't want sick people working for them. I consider my self lucky because of Crohn's I have had about 35 jobs and business (mostly done with mass prednasione) from manufacturing video products to inspecting 747's. I now have an appointment for a UW Crohn's specialist. My gastro guy of 25 years has maxed out my options for controlling my Crohn's because I have become intolerant or can't tolerate other meds and I have tried them all. I also grew intolerant to Remacade. Watch for symptoms like lockjaw a within a day of getting Remacade. For me it was a pre-curser to a major reaction where I couldn't move and just laying down felt like I was hit by a car. I may have also developed Fibermialiga and arthritis from it (used it from 2000 to 2007). Although it is going to effect everyone different. I would not ever wish Crohn's on anyone but some people who think it's an excuse, your not that ill, faker, sure your bleeding internally work that 40 hour week so I can spend the money. I wish they could spend a few months in our shoes but people like that couldn't take it. We work 3 times harder than a healthy person has to do the same work. Our guts hurt all the time. Our muscles, joints hurt and sometimes we feel very weak. Mornings are real bad sometimes and sometimes all day. It is the human pecking order that people dump on and leave spouses that are ill. I think these people are more selfish, primitive and may have the ability to care but not the ability to love. They are usually ignorant and not very smart people. They are usually hurtful people who might teach others or your children that you are not good enough to be there mother, father or their spouse. I have meant hundreds of people like that over 50 years of Crohn's and they aren’t worth being around so don't let them mess your mind up. My ex wife and my sister who is 10 years older are like that now. My ex wasn't for the first 12 years of our marriage but then just turned. And I was sick off and on then also. Seek out a good doctor specialist in Crohn's if you are diagnosed. If I had to do it over I would try to avoid the drugs that mess with your immune system in a big way because in the long term they can mess with other things. If a doctor gives you a medication and you have a reaction but the doctor doesn't believe that the drug can do that (remember they are educated on these meds by the pharmaceutical sales person) and says lets try it again, RUN! I have been there and that is never a good sign of competence. Good luck and I am going to be an old Crohn's test subject at the university now. I'm going to see is I can be tested with some natural type medications.
 
Hi all :)

Thanks for all your messages and support. I haven't been on for a while, because of being messed about so so much and I couldn't face talking about it.

I've complained about my consultant, got another colonsocopy with another consultant and that showed abnormalities and had a CT Scan - I have stayed under the care of the new consultant and he has been brilliant. I have seen him today again, after all results are back and I am finally diagnosed with crohns and have been given medcation! I'm so relieved, I was discharged from hospital after a 10 day stay in Nov 2010 and I've finally got answers 8 months later!!!

I've lost sooooooooooo much money and have been off work so many times, I'm surprised I still have a job. Luckily I work in HR so know exactly what can and cannot be done!! Thank god for the DDA!!!

SMS Seattle - your story really touched me. People like that are awful, I really hope things work out well for you :).

Thanks again all, Yvette x
 
THANK YOU for asking this question!! I have been struggling to find an answer for this, as I am normally constipated, and have been so all my life. I remember my parents rushing me to the ER when I was about 6 with severe stomach pain...only to be told I was constipated.

Now I feel like I can stop goggling "crohn's+constipation"

Nat:)
 
I am a 69 year old male that was diagnosed with crohns November 2011. The only symptom that I had was a bloated stomach that felt like I had swallowed a watermelon. I spent a whole year going through tests to diagnose my problem. I never had D, vomiting, or blood in my stool. I had normal, daily BM's right up until November when I became constipated and visited the emergency rooms on a weekly basis. I was finally admitted to the U of M hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. For three weeks, I was treated with steroids in hopes of avoiding surgery; however, the day after Thanksgiving, I had 18" of my small intestine at the terminal ileum removed. Most of the doctors that I saw dismissed Crohns due to my age and my lack of typical symptoms. Surgery confirmed that I do have the disease. I continue to suffer from severe bloating, back problems, eye problems and have just developed a huge hernia at my incision site. I have learned that it can be a difficult disease to diagnose and treat but you need to try another doctor in order to get the help you need. It sounds like the one you have is on the wrong track. It took me several doctors to finally get help. Don't give up!
 
Last edited:
Whether it's diarrhea or constipation or something in between, crohns manifests itself in all sorts of ways, which makes it really hard to diagnose and treat. My problem has always been severe constipation -- to the point where when I was first getting diagnosed, I gained literally 15 pounds of weight from pure WASTE that was sitting inside me! -- so that's been it's own battle, but diarrhea presents problems, too. If you don't trust this doc, get a new one. Can't stress enough how amazing my doctor has been over the course of my treatment and how helpful his support has been to me. If only I could shrink him and put him in my pocket all day long ;) dare to dream, right?
 
Oh thank goodness for this thread!

I'm currently un-diagnosed (suspected crohn's but possible some other kind of inflammatory bowel disorder) but I've never had problems with D in fact quite the opposite. I've had severe constipation in the past and at the moment whenever I go to the bathroom its small, hard pellets covered in mucous and occasionally streaks of blood.

I now feel a bit better at thinking I might be on the right track for a diagnosis knowing that we all experience different symptoms with inflammatory bowel disorders!
 
Thank you very much for your comments. Prior to being diagnosed I alwats had diarrea, but now my main symptom is pain....and boy does it hurt! Ouch!

I'm on the medication train, going from med, to med and still waiting to find one that works for me.

I won't give up :) Thanks again.
 

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