Is this IBD?

[eleanor_rigby]

Hi all, I am 26 years old. From the age of 16 onwards I would suffer bowel spasms intermittently for days at a time and then they would go away. The pain would be excruciating but I passed stools as normal that were normal. I was not fatigued, had no blood, no diarrhea or constipation, no fever, no night sweats. This was my only symptom.

Then when I was 22 I woke up one day with horrific pain on the right side. I kept getting misdiagnosed. I had a CT scan which revealed a mass. I had a colonoscopy which revealed my bowel had perforated and an abscess had formed and I was a total mess inside. They had to operate on me (bowel resection) and I was given the diagnosis of Crohn's disease. When I met with GI for followup she told me that they had since had the results of my operation from pathology and they said "no evidence of Crohn's - looks to be acute appendicitis". So my GI said it seemed that my appendix had burst and perforated my bowel. For the past three years I have never had bowel spasm since my surgery. I have had regular Faecal Occult Blood Tests and a variety blood tests which have all come back as normal. I have felt completely well in myself for the past three years.

Then Thursday night I started feeling bloated. My bowels made gurgling sounds I started getting bowel spasms (not too painful). I am very concerned I have been misdiagnosed and could have Crohn's which is now "back". I feel well in myself (no faitgue, no fever). I am opening my bowels as normal and they look normal - no diarrhea, no constipation, no blood. What the hell is going on? I have rang my GI to make an appointment but God knows when that will be :yfrown:

 

[Axelfl3333]

With any luck it's just some viral thing try not to worry it only makes it worse.

 

[SarahBear]

Don't worry yourself yet!

It sounds pretty unlikely that it's IBD. More likely, the original diagnosis was correct, and you're just experiencing a virus or some other illness, like Axel said. While it's possible to have IBD with no symptoms other than pain, it's extremely unlikely, especially if it's severe enough to cause a bowel perforation.

Have your current symptoms continued since Thursday? Are they constant? If not, how often a day are you experiencing them?

If the GI isn't getting back to you, you might consider seeing your GP in the meantime. How often have you been seeing your GI?

 

[eleanor_rigby]

Thank you for your optimism I wish I could share it! For me I feel like it can't be anything other than crohn's because I used to get bowl spasms so often and regularly for six entire years prior to my bowel resection. Then nothing post bowl resection until now 3 years later, the bowel spasms are back. I know it is very confusing that I don't get any other symptoms. When my bowel was actually perforated I had a lot of symptoms - extreme fatigue and fever but nothing prior or post.

I went to the doctor on Saturday who also felt it was unlikely to be Crohn's because I was not having any other symptoms. He prescribed me mebeverine and said he just thought it was bowel spasming from perhaps IBS. But would a bowl resection really send IBS into "remission"? Seems very odd! Yes my symptoms have continued since Thursday night but have not got any worse. They are just up and down. Waves of spasms throughout the day. The pain is nowhere near as bad as what I used to get prior to my bowel resection though.

After my operation I did stool samples every six months and met with my GI every year and had blood work done every year. This third year I had a telephone conversation only and was discharged so I don't have to see/speak to the GI again unless anything happens.

 

[UnXmas]

I'm not sure if you have Crohn's, but it seems highly unlikely, given your history, that you would now have "just" IBS. Do you know soon can you get an appointment with your GI?