Is this even possible?

[swimbikerun]

Hi all -

I have had a battery of blood tests - all negative for Crohn's. I have also had an MRI that says no Crohn's. No typical symptoms so no D or C. Colonoscopy revealed ulcers in ileum. So while I know there is something going on (pain in ribs/upper back/neck/diaphragm/etc is it still possible that this is Crohn's even with all the negatives on tests?

My Dr continues to push Crohn's as the problem and even suggested that swallow a camera test. I am frustrated by this but do not want to be unreasonable. Definitely do not want to keep paying for "testing" focused at Crohn's if we should be letting this go and moving on to other suspects. Has anyone on this forum experienced anything similar?

Thanks in advance for any insights you can share.

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

Not as far as being diagnosed with IBD. But, I did go through the same thing before I was diagnosed. The summer I turned 16 on into my junior year in highschool I can't tell you how many tests I went through that came out negative for anything wrong. After the last one, I too told both by parents and the doctors I'd had enough. Sad part was that if they would have done one more, they would have found it. That's what happened just after I started college at 18, moved into the dorms and had started bleeding from the backside.

I'm not telling you to keep going, just what happened to me and in hopes you'll know you're not alone. I hope eventually you'll be able to get some answers too. Sending you lots of hugs...

 

[Scipio]

Visible ulcers in the ileum combined with pain are pretty strongly suggestive of Crohn's. I can see why your doc wants to keep testing. The negative blood tests do not rule out Crohn's. The negative MRI is stronger evidence than the blood tests, but it still doesn't negate the colonoscopy. Were biopsies taken during the colonoscopy? If so what did the histology show?

These contradictory cases are tough. If I were you I'd go ahead and try the capsule camera - to sort of break the tie between colonoscopy and MRI. It was capsule camera endoscopy that finally nailed down my diagnosis.