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Severe Crohn's Episode

Hi everyone,

I'm a new member here on the forum and I'm looking for some help with my latest Crohn's issue: I won't get into my whole story here (I'll save that for the proper forum) but I was "sort of" diagnosed earlier this year with Crohn's Disease. They couldn't pass through the inflamed area to take a biopsy when I had my colonoscopy, so I was never officially diagnosed but my gastroenterologist is pretty certain that's what I have.

He wrote me a prescription for Flagyl, which I never filled as I started to feel better after I changed to a more healthy diet after the colonoscopy. The diet helped for a while until recently I started feeling pain again in my bowels. So I started on the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) about 2 weeks ago and it seemed to be working pretty well: I lost a bit of weight and wasn't feeling quite as energetic but my stools became solid and more regular (about once a day, sometimes once every two days) and the pain was gone almost entirely aside from some minor gas. I was aware that I was a little constipated but thought nothing of it because of how good I felt otherwise.

Then a few days ago the pain started to come back a bit worse, and yesterday I had a very severe episode at work: extreme pain (I think it was just in my intestines but it's hard to remember) and black, tarry stools (a lot more volume than normal too, so it seemed related to the constipation I was having.) So I went to the ER and they took a urine sample, took some blood, and a few x-rays but after a few hours they came back and said I looked fine and I was free to go.

I saw my gastroenterologist today and he doesn't believe diet has much to do with crohn's (like most doctors it seems) and he thinks there is bleeding in my stomach or large intestines (due to the black stools,) so I've been booked for a gastroscopy to check my stomach for ulcers. I still think it might have something to do with the constipation I've had: it seems like maybe the back up irritated some ulcers in my large intestines even though my inflammation only appeared to be in the small intestines during my last colonoscopy. He also prescribed Prednisone and Rabeprazole for me to take for the next few weeks.

I apologize for going on a bit long here but I'm just feeling scared and confused about what's going on and would be thankful for any help or feedback, thanks!
 
Your black tarry stools are definitely indicative of a lower GI bleed and should be treated aggressively. Your pain could be from your stomach processing the blood , since basically, your stomach doesn't like blood. You probably also noticed an unholy smell not usually associated with typical BM, even Crohns related.
Watch your bp and heart rate closely. If you get dizzy when standing and your heart rate is up, you are starting to have a hard time compensating the bleed.
 
Welcome to yhr group. I am sorry for what you are going through. I hope you get relief soon. When you get the chance, you might want to share your story in the thread Your Story. Please keep us supposed.
 
Sorry to hear you are going through all of this. My GI told me that diet has nothing to do with Crohn's...in other words it does not cause or cure it. Yes some diets can reduce symptoms and some foods can aggravate symptoms, but it is different for everyone. Please stay close to the instructions your dr gives you. Though you may not need meds forever I do believe it is important to take them to get the inflammation down. Inflammation even without any pain can still damage your digestive tract. Best wishes and keep us updated.
 
Thanks for the advice and well-wishes everyone. I didn't expect so much support (and so quickly too!)

A quick update: I'm taking my medication every morning now and so far, so good. No re-occurrences of that episode yet, and I don't seem to have blood in the stool anymore. I'm still getting cramps/pain daily but I assume that's still normal even on medication? It still seems related to what I'm eating (raw fruits and veggies seem to cause problems) so I'm starting to keep a food journal too.

Thanks again, everyone!
 
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