New - Any help/suggestions appreciated

[SawyerAshton]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm a 31 y/o male and have had issues for quite some time.

This year has been a horrible GI year for me. Here's a relatively short history:

At age 18 I had an ulcer the entire length of my esophagus then a few years later had 2 more one upper and one lower.

Sort of lived through this for a while (31 y/o now).

This year my issues started to get worse. I started having diarrhea every day. I used to eat fruits and veggies all the time and now one bite of lettuce sends me running.

Upper endoscopy (4 months ago) showed inflammation in my esophagus, large hiatal hernia, and possible Barrett's esophagus. Was put on Dexilant.

Colonoscopy (1 months ago) showed moderate inflammation in my terminal illium. Was put on 800 mg of Asacol HD.

Upper endoscopy (4 days ago) showed more inflammation in my esophagus and now in my stomach. The sphincter is opened about an inch or so in diameter at all times. Dr. is convinced it's Barrett's. biopsies will come back Wed.

Also had a Ab ultrasound (4 days ago) due to an intense pain on my right side just under my ribs. Ultrasound showed a polyp in my gallbladder.

He's holding out on giving me the diagnosis of Crohn's but says that's what he thinks my 'lower' issues are.

I will be sent for a CT scan of my abdomen soon.

My question is this:
Is or can all of this be related? I'm now getting pretty scared. I knew I had some GI issues, but didn't quite expect it to be bad from beginning to end.

I've now quit eating all veggies and can't eat anything with too much fiber. I'm very weak and fatigued and constantly have a low grade temp @99.5 all the time (that's been there for a few years)

I'm just starting to feel like I'm crazy and people around me just don't understand how I feel.

 

[glum chump]

Hi SawyerAshton

Welcome to the forum.

You sure have had a lot of stuff going on in the short span of a year. I'm not sure that I can answer the question you asked, but some of the stuff you're saying resonates with my experience of Crohn's. I went from loving fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils etc., to not eating any of it for a long long time. The low residue diet, being afraid to eat a lot of times, along with diarrhea and abdominal cramps left me weak and feeling tired all the time. The constant low-grade to high body temperature didn't help matters.

Why is your doctor holding out on giving you a definitive Crohn's diagnosis?

Have you had your iron and B12 levels checked? This could be another reason for your tiredness and fatigue. Have you tried Immodium for diarrhea? Or Lomotil (this is a prescription medication)? A low-residue diet may be helpful, along with nutritional supplement drinks like Ensure/Boost.

I don't doubt that you feel that everything is out of control and that you're going crazy. Some days can be so surreal, especially with so many trips to the hospital and diagnoses that are all over the place.

I hope someone else on the forum will come by and be able to give you a better answer than me.

Good luck with the CT scan---I hope you get some answers soon and that you can begin treatment.

Cheers,
Kismet

 

[SawyerAshton]

Hi SawyerAshton
Why is your doctor holding out on giving you a definitive Crohn's diagnosis?

Have you had your iron and B12 levels checked? This could be another reason for your tiredness and fatigue. Have you tried Immodium for diarrhea? Or Lomotil (this is a prescription medication)? A low-residue diet may be helpful, along with nutritional supplement drinks like Ensure/Boost.

He's holding out because most of my blood work came back not typical of Crohn's. He wanted to try a bit of treatment before handing over the diagnosis.

I know my iron has been checked quite a few times and came back fine. I don't recall on the B12.

I have tried Immodium, but with no response from it. Haven't done Lomotil.

I never thought of trying a supplement drink. I will try that this week.

 

[scottmyster]

HI Swayer, It sounds to me it's Crohn's related it can effect the whole digestive system from your anus to your mouth. The complications that your having really applies that. i know you've had alot of tests done and alot of symptoms that all point to crohn's. But, i don't know why the doctor is waiting to diagnosis you and receive treatment right away before it gets any worse then it already is. I am no doctor but i have had crohn's for 21 years now and counting and i do know much about this disease. I hope you get the right treatment that you deserve I would press on my doctor a little more if i were you and get to the bottom of things and finally diagnosis you properly deserve. best wishes