Hi as from my other thread I have been dealing with chronic diarrhea and malabsorption for Now 18 months. I've had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy which showed inflamation they also mentioned a flat stomach which after another consultation they have explained it as a flat duodenum I don't know what this means. I am now awaiting an MRI for my small bowel but have just had some bloods bad and my protein is very low. I'm not sure whther this is the same condition or something else. Has anyone had low protein and a flat duodenum? And as from my last post I moved doctors and will be putting in a complaint about that useless piece of work thanks x
More tests but still no confirmation
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I haven't heard of a flat duodenum before, sorry. Maybe someone else has. Low protein levels are relatively common here.
I hope they're able to figure out what's going on with you soon.
I hope they're able to figure out what's going on with you soon.
Hi Abbie, a normal duodenum has a lot of villi, which increases the surface area to help with absorption. In some diseases, coeliac disease in particular, will cause loss of the villi. In mild disease, the villi are blunted (shorter), in more severe disease you can get a total loss of villi. I imagine that is what the "flat duodenum" was referring to.
the doctor mentioned celiac but i have now been tested for that and it was negative and my new gp said it wasnt that as my syptoms dont match up theyve ruled everything else out other than Crohn's which i am having an mri for. will they actually be able to pick that up in a mri the doctor wont send me for xrays and im young and doesnt want to affect my ovarys. Does the low protein mean my kidneys are now being affected. Really worried about all this its already affectin my whole life to the point my husband cares for me i dont want to end up with kidney failure on top of that 
thanks for the replies x
thanks for the replies xHi Abbie, there are a number of things that can cause villous atrophy - coeliac, drugs (NSAIDs), Crohns.
An MRI can show features typical of Crohns, although you'll have to put it in clinical context (positive symptoms, abnormal bloods, elevated calprotectin, etc).
A low protein can be due to a number of factors.
1. Inadequate intake (ie malnourished) or inadequate absorption (malabsorptive condition)
2. Excessive losses (ie. Kidneys - proteinuria, easy to check with a urine test, or bowel - protein losing enteropathy, easy to check with a stool tests, most inflammatory conditions can lead to a protein losing enteropathy, including Crohns).
Hope that is helpful.
An MRI can show features typical of Crohns, although you'll have to put it in clinical context (positive symptoms, abnormal bloods, elevated calprotectin, etc).
A low protein can be due to a number of factors.
1. Inadequate intake (ie malnourished) or inadequate absorption (malabsorptive condition)
2. Excessive losses (ie. Kidneys - proteinuria, easy to check with a urine test, or bowel - protein losing enteropathy, easy to check with a stool tests, most inflammatory conditions can lead to a protein losing enteropathy, including Crohns).
Hope that is helpful.
Hang in there. I hope your doctors figure it out. I have never had a flat stomach /malabsorption/diarrhea. I've had low protein but only after having a baby. I went 6 years without being diagnosed properly. I've had three colonoscopies /2 egd/ blood test, small bowel series. Misdiagnosis of ibs,spastic colon.
Hi Abbie..I haven't had a flat duodenum but do have chronic diarrhea and malabsorption probably from all the bowel resections Ive had. I try and eat a high protein diet and if I do a liquid one. I make my own chicken brothy soup with organic chicken thighs, Chicken broth and a few vegetables cooked in a slow cooker. I also drink eas liquid advantage which is low in carbs, high in protein. I just saw ensure has a number of high protein shakes with low carb to. I haven't tried any of the ensure products but have read they are really good.
For the chronic diarrhea. I have had quite a time with it for the past few months resulting in having to stay at home near a foilet. Lomotil doesn't work for me anymore so I quit taking it. I have tried questran which worked really well in binding the burning bile salts and bulking things up. My difficulty with it is even with one packet I get constipated so it's one extreme or another.
I also read on here under the stoma sub forum that some people use cooked pasta to make things s bit more formed. I tried this and cann say it works! If you can tolerate carbs you may want to try this as well as bananas.
Hope that helps and that you're feeling better soon!
For the chronic diarrhea. I have had quite a time with it for the past few months resulting in having to stay at home near a foilet. Lomotil doesn't work for me anymore so I quit taking it. I have tried questran which worked really well in binding the burning bile salts and bulking things up. My difficulty with it is even with one packet I get constipated so it's one extreme or another.
I also read on here under the stoma sub forum that some people use cooked pasta to make things s bit more formed. I tried this and cann say it works! If you can tolerate carbs you may want to try this as well as bananas.
Hope that helps and that you're feeling better soon!
