Need help. Need hope. Want my life back.

[DaisyBB22]

Hi. I am Brittany. I am 31. Past history: 2005 had an external hemorrhoid and constant diarrhea. I couldn't sit flat on me bum without being in tears. I went to the hospital for a test, and I believe I drank "barium"? Either way, I remember them taking an x r ray right after I finished the drink and then one like 20mins later? (Long time ago, sorry) I also remember telling me that it was probably going to take awhile for the barium to go through. After the 2nd x-Ray, the drink had already gone through my system and wanted out. Long story short, Something showed up at the end of small intestines and the beginning of my colon. The GI wanted to do a colonoscopy and endoscopy, but I chickened out and used the Citracel instead.

Since then I have a lot of times where I urgently need to go number 2 and all that comes out is mucus and faint bits of #2. This is terribly hard to describe and disgusting, I'm sorry. I also will have some episodes sporadically where I will wake up in the middle of the night and be completely covered in sweat with the most horrendous stomach cramps. These episodes usually involve at least 3 times to the bathroom until it's over. It's HORRIBLE! I take all of my clothes off bc I'm burning froom the inside out and have a hard time staying on the toilet seat bc I'm sweating so much I'm sliding off. The cramps are out of this world painful. They make me drool, feel like I have to vomit also, which has only happened once(2weeks ago) and with every cramp even though they hurt so bad, I know whatever is inside of me is coming out! When I do eliminate each time, I stop sweating immediately and freeze to death. Like I said it takes about three times until I am functioning again.

So, 3 months ago I started to notice a huge flare up in my acne. Except this was not acne as I know it. I had big red blister like raised bumps that covered my whole face. They were painful. Very painful. I thought it was a food allergy and stopped drinking caffeine and cheese. Ultimately, they went away. But I did start drinking a lot more water and taking a natural Tumeric anti inflammatory vitamin. At the same time these "zits" were occurring, I had noticed the ends of my hair breaking off, which I finally had to cut bc the breakage left me with about 3" of hair in spots. My nails were also very brittle. Last month I had 4 periods. Yup. 4. Im back to normal again.

Within these last 3 months I have been very up and down with my mental state. I am a happy girl and dont optimistic to a fault sometimes, so this upsetting. I weight 125.6lbs as of today. On July 8th of this year I weighed 140lbs. (All weight was taken on same scale). So the weight loss is what brought me into my GP last Friday. He ran blood tests and allergy tests on me. No allergies to any foods. The blood test was great except I had an insufficient amount of Vitamin D so I am also on 5000units of a it D a day.

How could I have an insufficient amount of vitamin d?! I work in the horticulture dept at a park district and I am laboring everyday rain, shine or snow all year round OUTSIDE! Whatever!

On Tuesday (two days ago) I went to subway and got a fresh chicken salad. I ate. 40mins later I sweat through my shirt and was shaking, my legs were weak, I was nauseous, my head and back were on fire and my stomach was cramping badly except I did not have to go to the bathroom. I sat in the bathroom stall for 35mins and by that time work was over and I was able to go home. I came home and felt I needed to go #2 urgently. I went and when I went to clean myself there was something hanging out of my anus. I moved from side to side, I stood up, and when that didn't work I just panicked and pushed it back in. I've dealt with an external hemorrhoid, now I have an internal one. Which is fine, no blood, no pain, it just was a very traumatic experience that I never want to happen again. Went to Urgent Care and it was a hemorrhoid.
Yesterday when I woke up from work I ate some frosted flakes, I made it through work until 910. I had to leave because I couldn't function. I felt dizzy, cramps, weak, shakey, nauseous and my head and back were sweating again. I went home and didn't feel better until around 1pm after sleeping on the floor with my dog, which I NEVER nap. But for the past couple months I have been so tired it doesn't matter how much rest I have gotten, I'm pooped and can fall asleep anywhere. At dinner last night, same thing happened. This morning I didn't eat anything before work but still felt nauseous. When I was at work I ate a half of a clementine. 20mins later, sweating, dizzy, shakes, heart racing and now I'm home miserable again.
My GP had referred me to a GI which I can't get in to see until October 28th and as of today just referred me to an Endocrinologist which I have an appt for next Tuesday.

*I want to define the dizzy, nausea thing real quick : it feels as if I have just drank copious amounts of alcohol and I am a staggering drunk. I can't see right, I don't know what I am doing, I get off balance, I can't really even think or talk. And no, I am not drunk

Does this sound like Crohn's disease to anyone except me? I'm beside myself right now. I can't function properly and can't even make it through a whole work day. I feel like it's getting worse and worse.

Please help! I want my happy life back.

 

[DaisyBB22]

People are reading this and not commenting..... What does this mean? I'm lost

 

[eccalynn85]

First there is no need to feel embarrassed about talking about poop on a Crohns forum. I have talked about poop for so many years that I have lost all sensitivity to the subject! Anyway I'm sorry to hear you are having such a hard time right now. You could call the GI specialist and find out if you can get in earlier, you can also ask to be called if someone cancels!

They are probably going to want to do a colonoscopy. Don't be to scared of the colonoscopy the worst part is the prep but it is worth doing if you can find out what is going on!

Are there any foods that you can eat that don't cause major issues? One of the first things I had to do when I was diagnosed was weed out the foods that caused me problems!

I also recently had a problem with my skin almost exactly the way you describe it. I found out for me it was really bad rosacea associated with a compromised immune system. Mine has since almed down but I do still have some redness and scaring.

I hope you can get in to see the GI doctor soon!

 

[buttER]

Hi DaisyBB22
The sweating part sounds nasty and I havent heard many people mention that so I wonder what is causing it. Have you checked your temperature? When I was flaring I had a fever co-inciding with the diarrhea. You need to check at a certain time every day (for example, the same time every morning) to get a baseline reading, and then you can measure when you are feeling hot and sweaty. If you do get a fever that is something you need to tell your GI.

I was also wondering if you should take a look at your diet. For many of us certain foods will trigger cramps and diarrhea. You mentioned salad: that is a big no-no for me and many others. In fact, no raw fruit or vegetables for me. Or milk products, or this or that!! It is worth finding out what makes you worse so you can avoid it.

I also recognise your description of feeling "drunk". For me it was a long time ago (and I hope I never have it again, it is crippling and you just want to crawl to bed). At that time I also had non-headache migraines (which caused nausea, bowel upset, visual disturbance, balance problems, facial paralysis and came on after a wave of tiredness). Since I was treated for the migraines nearly 15 years ago that has not happened often any more, max 1 or 2 days a year. And guess what, foods are also a big trigger for migraines. Who knows if migraines are associated with IBD?

I hope that helps a bit. Hang on in there and be prepared for your GI meeting.

 

[JohnWh]

Hi britanny, how did the appointment go?

Your symptoms could very well be crohns, but also other things.. First off I would take a fecal stool test: calprotectin.
If that's high then I think it probably is either crohns or UC.
Then you def need the colonoscopy to check things out.
If you're having big troubles with colonoscopy, they can find out quite a bit from an MRI, butt., they will need the colonoscopy afterwards to confirm findings to make a diagnosis. Also I need to mention the fecal test is not always reliable. But a good pain free first to do.

Try it carefully, perhaps low fiber low residue.
And natural stuff as much as possible, also careful with caffeine and perhaps milk.. I'm having the mucus thing too, it's common for crohnies, I'm gonna stop cola and milk for a while to see if it's correlated. Most likely mucus is just a sign of inflammation, the intestinal tract is in overdrive and want to expell whatever it thinks isn't supposed to be there.

Big hug to you, john

 

[JohnWh]

Yes eat carefully., and yes when your intestinal tract is damaged there's problems absorbing vitamins as well as nutrition. Perhaps also low on minerals would have an effect on ability to absorb vitamin D.?
Check blood anyways. But carefull with food high on iron or iron supplements. VERY hard and may aggravate inflammation. One last thing, don't push too much when on toilet. Not healthy even for healthy people. For hemorrhoids try to make stool soft.,, google what to eat.. Perhaps a mild laxative oil. But again those things will help the most for people without a big health issue. If you have crohns, medication like prednisone, entocort, imuran and especially remicade could heal the rectum as well as your other problems.

 

[Ttoz]

It sounds like what my wife was going through for over 2 years! She had a colonoscopy done twice, 6 months a part (and a lot of other tests/allergies/blood work ect). They diagnosed her with irritable bowel and didn't find anything alarming. She has been so much better and pretty much normal after she went to a dietitian. She doesn't eat gluten anymore -not at all, and hardly any dairy. She also stays away from sugary things (still eats fruits and honey and that kind of sugars). I don't want to say "don't go see a doctor for this" but I really think you would benefit greatly from a session with a dietitian. I think hers did a pretty intense work up.. Blood, stool ect.