Small bowel follow through this morning..

[momofkkcg]

Hello everyone!

Well we got back the results of Gracie's labs today. Showed "Inflammatory Bowel Disaese unlikely". So everything was normal there.

Her small bowel follow through was also normal this morning. Has anyone ever had one of these?? Gracie was a trooper and did great with drinking the Barium. We had to walk around in the hallway for about two hours to get the Barium all the way through. Then they plopped her on the table....pushed on her tummy...and said "looks good"! Really?? That took less than 60 seconds! Makes me nervous when things are done in haste.

Anyway...I hope that is good news! Her GI will be calling me later to let me know if we are going to be doing the colonoscopy. He wanted to wait for these results. But I'm not sure which way he wanted the tests to go before doing the colonoscopy. He said the only way to really tell is to look. We shall see!

One good thing that I am excited about is that her Rhuemy put her on Amoxicillin 500mg twice a day just to see what would happen with her joint pain. She still has her joint pain...but her fevers are gone!! That is exciting! Last fever was Sept 18th! I wonder if that will help them figure anything out??

Thanks for reading everyone! Your feedback is ALWAYS APPRECIATED!!

Lisa

 

[izzi'smom]

I work in xray...the abdominal xrays they take to check her progress is where they get a lot of the info...the fluoro is always fast-they are just checking the junction between the small and large intestine.
It usually evaluates diameter, peristalsis, and the flow of barium.
Unless she also had a barium enema or an upper GI also, this exam generally only examines the small intestine. If there are questions of large bowel or stomach disease, I would guess there will be additional testing.
Best of luck!

 

[momofkkcg]

Thanks so much Angie for shedding some light on that test! Is Crohn's frequently found in the small intestines??

Lisa

 

[izzi'smom]

The five types of Crohn's disease with their symptoms are:
Ileocolitis: Ileocolitis is the most common type of Crohn's disease. It affects the small intestine, known as the ileum, and the colon. People who have ileocolitis experience considerable weight loss, diarrhea, and cramping or pain in the middle or lower right part of the abdomen.
Ileitis: This type of Crohn's disease affects the ileum. Symptoms are the same as those for ileocolitis. In addition, fistulas, or inflammatory abscesses, may form in the lower right section of the abdomen.
Gastroduodenal Crohn's disease: This form of Crohn's disease involves the stomach and duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine. People with this type of Crohn's disease suffer nausea, weight loss, and loss of appetite. In addition, if the narrow segments of bowel are obstructed, they experience vomiting.
Jejunoileitis: This form of the disease affects the jejunum, which is the upper half of the small intestine. It causes areas of inflammation. Symptoms include cramps after meals, the formation of fistulas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain that can become intense.
Crohn's (granulomatous) colitis: This form of Crohn's disease involves only the colon. Symptoms include skin lesions, joint pains, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and the formation of ulcers, fistulas, and abscesses around the anus.

There can be overlap between these types of Crohn's disease. Some people have more than one area of the digestive tract affected.

Copied from web md.
A small bowel follow through, mri, and ct or camera endo are the only ways the small intestine can be seen...the scope can't reach most of it.

 

[dannysmom]

...
Well we got back the results of Gracie's labs today. Showed "Inflammatory Bowel Disaese unlikely". So everything was normal there.
...

One good thing that I am excited about is that her Rhuemy put her on Amoxicillin 500mg twice a day just to see what would happen with her joint pain. She still has her joint pain...but her fevers are gone!! That is exciting! Last fever was Sept 18th! I wonder if that will help them figure anything out??

Lisa

Hi Lisa. Thanks for the update! I have some questions for you if you do not mind. Did your doctor say "Inflammatory Bowel Disease unlikely" or is this on the lab report? If it was on the lab report, I wonder what blood test was done? IBD 7?

How long has Gracie been on Amoxicillin? Did the rheumy say if he was trying amoxicillin to fight some bacteria? or does it have its own anti-inflammatory benefits that he was trying? Just curious here. Danny has been given antibiotics too last year and they did seem to help for some time, but I think he was on them too long and they then caused additional problems. But that is just my guess.

Good luck with the testing.

 

[momofkkcg]

Thanks Angie!!

Well Gracie's symptoms have not been intestinal at all. She has a loose bowel a few weeks ago. And she does have quite a few tummy aches...but what prompted me to take her to a Rheumy was joint pain, fevers, Conjunctivits and what appears to be Erythema Nodosum. Then they suspected a GI issue after they ruled a few things out on their end. Her Rhuemy did say that Sarcoidosis was still on the table but he wanted to explore this avenue as well.

Which raises another question...if in Sarcoidosis when granulomas form it causes ACE levels to rise...would the same be for Crohn's Colitis?? Wow! It is beyond me how these Docs figure this stuff out!

Hey Jeanne!!

The lab report stated that...not the Doc. Here are the labs as listed on the report...I have no idea what they are: ACCA, ALCA, AMCA, Atypical pANCA, IBD6, gASCA. All normal or negative.

As far as the Amoxicllin goes...he told me he was just taking a stab in the dark and out of curiosity wanted to see if it would make a difference. Her temps have stopped which suprised me because he didn't mention it as a possiblity. My first thought was "ok...where was the infection??" But Amox does have anti-inflammatory properties as well. So who knows really.

You all are so nice to talk with! So experienced and willing to share! It gets frustrating meeting blank stares from friends who don't understand your concerns.

 

[DustyKat]

Thanks so much Angie for shedding some light on that test! Is Crohn's frequently found in the small intestines??

Lisa

Hey Lisa,

Ileo Colitis is the most common type of Crohn's and affects about 40-45% of sufferers, this is followed by ileitis which affects about 30% of sufferers, so 75%, some put the figure as high as 80%, will have some sort of small bowel involvement.

It's good to hear the Amoxicillin is doing some good and I hope it does help point them in the right direction too!

Keep us posted on how you go with the GI, :hug: to Gracie and a great big YAY for handling things so well, bless her...:award2:

Dusty. xxx

 

[momofkkcg]

Gracie's doc called today. He doesn't want to do anymore testing unless she starts having more symptoms. Right now she doesn't have much...just some tummy aches. But I wonder if those are more frequent because of the Amox she is on.

She has an appt with her Rheumy on the 14th of next month. He said if nothing was found with GI...he was going to start treating her joint pain.

So I guess we wait and see...and hopefully nothing develops!

Thanks everyone!!

 

[dannysmom]

Right now she doesn't have much...just some tummy aches. But I wonder if those are more frequent because of the Amox she is on.

Any long-term antibiotic could cause (or increase) stomach problems. I think I would call the rheumi and ask about the tummy aches and Amox ... you could also let him know that so far nothing was found by the GI and they were not going to do anymore testing unless more symptoms appear.

 

[DustyKat]

Hey Lisa,

I so hope things settle for Gracie, fingers and everything else crossed!

The antibiotics may well cause that and/or diarrhoea. Just what you need when you are looking out for intestinal symptoms! Ugh!

Good luck hun and keep us posted!...:goodluck:

Dusty. xxx