Possible Crohn's

[Crystalsnow]

Hello All!

I've been reading over the site and thought I would introduce myself and see if anyone has any input for me.

I never really had any stomach problems until 2 1/2 years ago when I had my second daughter. At that time I started having a lot of stomach pain and also GERD symptoms. They determined that I had some esophogeal damage and gastroparesis. I took Prilosec and eventually got better (and off all meds).

About a month ago the stomach pain started again, slowly getting worse, until the last two weeks when it got really bad. I've lost 10 pounds in 9 days because I just can't eat. It is a diffuse, constant pain--not cramping, though I have that occassionally. I only have diahrrea once in awhile. I have extreme fatigue, some chills (no fever) and I feel like my bones ache. I also have sharp left-sided pain which is why I origanally got a CT scan (history of kidney stones and ovarian cysts).

So my symptoms don't seem to correlate all that well, but my CT does:

-mild circumferential wall thickening with submucosal fat of the right colon at the hepatic flexure.
-mild pericolonic fat stranding and engorgement of vasa recta.
-small adjacent mesenteric lymph nodes and numerous (small) retroperitoneal lymph nodes.

From what I've read here is sounds like you don't always have to have diahrrea, but do you always have it during a flare? Or is it pretty common for people to have the pain issues first and the actual bowel problems come later in the disease??

Has anyone had similar CT results and it was--or wasn't--Crohn's??

I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy on Tuesday. Oh joy. Are the tests they run on the biopsies definitive for identifying an IBD??

Any info or advice is much appreciated!

-Crystal

 

[Crohn's 35]

Hi there welcome to the forum :bigwave: inflammation is a sign of a diseased area, and no not everyone has Diahreah, some constipate and some have normal bm's. Colonoscopies are in my 20 year of Crohn's and many scopes, is the best way to see what is going on. They should take multiple biopies because if they miss the spot it wont show a definate diagnosis. NO one person has the same symptoms but most are common with pain , then diahreah or constipation or could be a partial blockage from narrowing. Keep us updated, the scope is a breeze, it is the prep mostly is gross or the no eating. Please keep us posted and if you have any questions someone is always here to help. Good luck.

 

[xJillx]

Hi Crystal and welcome! This disease can be very difficult to diagnose. Trust me, I know. And symptoms vary from person to person. Some experience D, others deal with constipation. To be honest, I had no symptoms except for passing mucus when I was first diagnosed. Then, more symptoms developed. However, I still don't have D.

I think the colonscopy is going to give you the best picture (literally) of what is going on in there. Also, as you noted, biopsies can be taken. Granted, biopsies are not definitive. My biopsies have always been normal, hence why my GI has recently retracted my diagnosis (long story). So, try not to get disgruntled if it takes some time (and testing) to get some concrete answers.

Good luck and please let us know how the scope goes. What prep are you doing?

 

[Crystalsnow]

Thanks so much, Pen and Jill!

I think the prep is Go Lytly (something like that)--meant to reassure you that it's going to be fun and easy and light, I guess! They did sound concerned if I was going to be able to drink it all since I'm not consuming much of anything, but because my appt is late in the day they are letting me split it up between the night before and that morning. Don't know if that is better or will just prolong my misery. :ylol2:

Oh, they also gave me Bentyl. Anyone taken this drug?? Because it is an anti-spasmodic I question whether it will be useful for me since I'm not having much cramping.

I really feel for those of you who have been fighting for years to try and figure things out. I'm just really hoping for some answers. We've got way too many medical issues going on in our family for me to be this sick too!

 

[Crohn's 35]

Yeah I have Bentyl but not sure if it works for me either, I rarely take it because if I have big pain, I take Tylenol #3 with Codeine and don't like to over medicate. Ugh no eating all that time waiting would kill me :yfaint: ...:lol: not like I could use a few lbs off..ok maybe more than a few :ycool:

 

[xJillx]

I don't want to alarm you, but Go Lytly is not too yummy. I used it for my first colonoscopy and had a really bad experience. After the third glass, I couldn't keep it down. I had to phone my GI, who suggested I mix it with apple juice. Only then could I get through it. So, I suggest having some apple juice or lemon gatorade in stock in case you need to mix it. And splitting the dose will make it much easier! I didn't learn that until my second procedure. Good luck!

 

[Crystalsnow]

Yeah, I gained back the 20 pounds I lost last time I had the stomach probs, so I've got those. Certainly not a fun way to lose weight though. Not to mention that I love food, and love cooking and creating new dishes...

Thanks for the prep advice. I will definitely have some stuff on hand. And don't worry about scaring me. My mom already sat down and explained in gory detail how awful it's going to be. I think she mentioned how I'm going to want to die at least 10 times!

-Crystal

 

[Jessi]

Hi Crystal. Welcome to the family.

It looks like your scope is in just a few more days, right? We'd all love to hear the results as soon as you know.

I hope everything goes well for you. :hug: