Question on behalf of my mother

[chewman]

Hi there, this post is on behalf of my mother.. i'd get her to post, but she's barely able to work her email!

anyway, she's had Crohn's Disease for the past 5 years I think.. but lately she's had trouble breathing..

even went as far as calling the emergency services to say that she couldn't breathe! The ambulance came.. checked over her.. brought her to hospital.. did the usual.. ECG etc. heart tests etc.. but couldn't find anything.. so discharge.

While i'm disappointed there weren't any other tests done or whatever.. i'm conscious of the fact that if you're not dying.. well then they have other patients to attend to. Still it's always remained a mystery.

Mum reckons its her Crohn's that's flaring up and the only way she can alleviate the pain and dizziness that she experiences as well is by eating she says..

so my question is can severe crohns cause shortness of breath? and dizzy spells?

ANY advice would be helpful. seriously!

Thanks
james.

 

[DustyKat]

Hi James,

Sorry to hear about your Mum, I hope things settle down for her.

Where is your Mum's Crohns located?

Has she had blood drawn for B12, folate and iron stores? Even with a normal haemoglobin you can still be anaemic. May go some way to explaining the dizziness and shortness of breath.

What medications does she take?

Dusty. xxx

 

[chewman]

Hey Dusty,

umm.. not quite sure where her CD is located.. i'll have to ask her when i get home.

she also had 10 ulcers in her colon.. which she took meds for, which have cleared up for about a year..

I'm pretty sure I've heard her say she is anaemic as well..

I'll ask her what meds she is on and where her CD is located when I get home.

thanks for replying!

 

[David]

Hi James and welcome

It's so kind of you to come here on your mother's behalf!

In addition to what Dusty said above, is your mum on any medications? If so, which ones?

All my best to you and your mom!

 

[xJillx]

Welcome, James. If your mother is anaemic, this certainly can cause her to be lightheaded and dizzy. I would certainly have her levels checked.

 

[chewman]

Cool ok so i've got some info from mum:

she's had crohns for 5 years this september
CD is mainly in her small intestine, though she said a little in her large intestine as well

medication she takes is Salofalk 1.5grams once daily (though her doc said maybe take two if it's really painful).

for her ulcers in the colon she was prescribed Somac 20mg.. but the doc said also take it to clear some acid (I think?)

she went to the docs the other day and they said her B12 was high.. also her blood pressure was 140/100...

 

[David]

Hi Chewman,

If her B12 and iron levels are good, the next thing I'd wonder about is the Somac which is a proton pump inhibitor. They can cause dizziness and anxiety which could lead to a feeling of not being able to breathe. But in reality, those symptoms could be caused by so many things, at least the doctors did a good workup of her and didn't come up with anything, that's usually a good sign. I hope she's been feeling better since your last post