Self-Diagnosis

[jcd302]

I have had a problem for years with being sick when I am tired, like when in the Navy and my schedule would change. In the mornings after I'd been up an hour or so, I'd get BAD gas pain and diarrhea. I would get severe pains, sweats & cramps and actually pass out. I would come to rather quickly and be fine. I would have a few months and then be fine for a few years.
Fast forward to December 1998. I was driving truck and had one of these sudden attacks. This was at 7:45pm. I had just eaten dinner not an hour before. I got the pain & sweats and thought "I have to pull over" but never got the chance. Needless to say, I shouldn't be here as a took a loaded 18 wheeler down a Pennsylvania mountain. Tons of tests, no diagnosis.
May 2006, driving again. Talked into doing a "short" run to Wisconsin. For some reason I am nervous & tired. (They called me in the evening and I needed to leave at 3am). Same sort of symptoms, but more gradual coming on. I thought I would have time to get to the next exit, but no. I pulled off the expressway into some trees as I was passing out. Rest assured I no longer drive truck and even regretfully did not renew my CDL last time.
Now it seems most everything makes my stomach rumble & gassy. I used to be able to eat anything. No longer.
When I drove truck I used to hold my bowel movements for long periods as it is kind of a pain to find a place to park a semi. I wonder if that had anything to do with the problems I have now.

My doctor recently did stool and blood tests and said I am OK, but I either have IBS or Crohns. The only way to see is a colonoscopy. I am now unemployed and can't afford that, so I am going with the Crohns diagnosis as from what I have read, they almost sound like the same thing anyway. There is a guy at church who has Crohns, so we kind of talk about it occasionally.

 

[Rebecca85]

Welcome to the forum! Crohn's and IBS may sound similar as they have similar symptoms, but the cause of those symptoms is completely different. Crohn's is a disease, the intestines become inflamed and cannot do their job properly. IBS is a syndrome, the intestines are healthy. It is believed that IBS is caused by muscle spasms. You will need different treatments according to which problem you have.

The medications for Crohn's can have quite serious side effects, so you would not want to take them without an official diagnosis!

 

[DustyKat]

Hi jcd and :welcome:

I'm glad you found your way here. Sorry I'm not from the US but is there anyway you can get tests done while unemployed that you don't have to pay??? As Rebecca has said, you really need a diagnosis so you can least try to get on top of whatever it is you have.

Stick around and read through the forums and if there's anything you want to ask just fire away!

Welcome aboard!

Dusty.

 

[jcd302]

I won't take meds w/o being diagnosed. I don't like taking anything. Since I have gotten older however, I take some supplements and a multi-vitamin.
I am not in severe pain now, just a constant nausea and diarrhea. ALWAYS gassy, but fish oil made it really stink! I have been taking a 3mg Melatonin b4 bed to help me sleep good because if I wake up tired, I am worthless til noon. Later in the day I seem to be great, unless something causes me to flare up. Last night had salad at dinner... not good an hour later (we were invited to dinner by a board member at our new church). I am sitting there gassy, trying to hold it and finally had to excuse myself a few times. Good 20 minutes in the bathroom got me 45 minutes until we went home.
I was reading about DMSO and will see what I can find about that for Crohn's and IBS.

 

[Crohn's 35]

:welcome: to the forum, I certainly dont blame you for not wanting to take meds without being diagnosed. Probiotics help fight the bad bacteria, Broccoli is now said to help alot. Vitamin D3 is crucial, and magnesium citrate to absorb it better. Taking calcium for your age and gender , will also help problems if you do have IBD. I have a spastic colon and as mentioned there really isnt alot you can do for it. Avoid dairy and see if the gas goes away. I hope that helps you but get on Vitamin D it is an important vitamin!

 

[Crohns08]

I won't take meds w/o being diagnosed. I don't like taking anything. Since I have gotten older however, I take some supplements and a multi-vitamin.
I am not in severe pain now, just a constant nausea and diarrhea. ALWAYS gassy, but fish oil made it really stink! I have been taking a 3mg Melatonin b4 bed to help me sleep good because if I wake up tired, I am worthless til noon. Later in the day I seem to be great, unless something causes me to flare up. Last night had salad at dinner... not good an hour later (we were invited to dinner by a board member at our new church). I am sitting there gassy, trying to hold it and finally had to excuse myself a few times. Good 20 minutes in the bathroom got me 45 minutes until we went home.
I was reading about DMSO and will see what I can find about that for Crohn's and IBS.

Hi jcd,

If I were you I would try a holistic approach to this disease. Do some research on all of the different diets and see which one fits you best as far as what you can and can't tolerate. If you can afford it, a food allergy test would be beneficial in my opinion. I would try to stay away from general things that bother us for now such as grains, fiber, dairy, seeds, etc. Be scientific about it and find a safety food that way once you've eaten that for a week and you know for sure it's safe, then trying adding one thing in and so on.

Vitamins are great for you, D3 is critical for us as well as iron for those of us who are anemic. Just be sure your vitamins don't have yeast in them because that can upset your gut too! You might want to even try avoiding gluten. While that is more to do with celiac disease/sprue, some crohn's patients can't tolerate it either.

Exercise is also good for us; anything you can do to help repair your immune system that does not make you ill would be something that I would look into and thoroughly research. I'm doing my best to take a holistic approach so that I won't have problems down the road. Doctors these days only treat in the moment.