New member very confused

[dani13]

Hello,
This is an incredibly comprehensive and informative forum; I feel so grateful to have found it.

I have had food allergies my whole life as well as eczema and rosacea. Two years ago I got the H-Pylori infection which really wiped me out but I was thankfully treated. I have not been the same since. A capsule endoscopy recently showed I have jejunal erosions in my small intestines. My new GI doctor thinks it is from Crohn's and wants to treat me for that with Pentasa.
Strangely for the past few months, since I gave up caffeine and nicotine replacement, I have had fecal incontinence. Historically, I have always been constipated and never had excessive or soft stool. It appears that without stimulants, I am not able to fully contain my bowels. I have found that taking Catecostim, which is L-Tyrosine and Guarnana, my diarhea stops. I can also eat yogurt for immediate backing up of my system but historically that shows positive of allergiy tests and I understand it is not good for ulcers. I am so confused as I understand that caffeine/dairy is not good for ulcer but somehow it keeps my bowel in tact.

I have not taken the additional blood test yet to determine whether it is Crohn's or not and have read that the blood tests are not very conclusive. Does anyone know if the blood test is a good confirmation tool? Does anyone also know if there is a more comprehensive stool test than the standard ones given by the docs so I can see if when I picked up that H-Pylori, maybe I picked up some other secret hitch hiker?

Thank you so much.

 

[Axelfl3333]

Probably the most conclusive test for crohns is a colonoscopy and biopsy,I had screaming trots as in almost no control and my bloods were fine!the poop test don,t know but wouldn't,t they check everything under the sun just in case.by the way never heard of yoghurt being bad for an ulcer,when I had one was told it was good for it.i think you need to have a good chat with your dr about your symptoms and treatment so you can get back to normal.all the best good luck

 

[SarahBear]

Welcome to the forum, Dani!

With IBD (as well as without), foods affect everyone very differently. I do agree that it's a little unusual for you to have better control over your bowels while consuming caffeine, though.

You're in a tricky spot since your problems are in the middle of your small intestine. Biopsies can't be taken as it can't be reached. Unless you have disease activity in your large intestine as well, a colonoscopy and biopsies taken there aren't likely to do you any good as far as a diagnosis goes. I was in a similar situation - my Crohn's is throughout my small intestine, but it was confirmed with a Prometheus blood test. With the combination of the blood test and images from the pill cam, your diagnosis would be fairly definitive. Keep in mind that while the blood test is not completely accurate, false results are generally false negatives. I wouldn't hesitate to trust a positive result.

:hug: I hope you find answers soon!