I've been having GI problems for ten years, I won't bore you with the details but I had an MRI and CTE recently which showed I had a stricture on the ileum terminal, which would explain the extreme pain and vomiting I can get. I think the reason my diagnosis is taking so long is it's pretty dormant and has become less of a problem over the years as diet seems to work quite well in putting it into remission. Although they found this scarring they couldn't find any active inflammation. I'm due to have a colonoscopy next which I think I'll have done under GA as the last two times I had that test it was so painful I was screaming. The gastro thinks my bowel is probably a bit stuck down. As there is no active inflammation they cannot for sure say it's Crohn's, although this is most likely given my history. What do i do if all the tests come back normal apart from this stricture? Does that leave me with no firm diagnosis for the rest of my life unless it gets worse again?
Still no firm diagnosis
- Thread starter redmazzy
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If they are normal
Then the GI would have to have a valid reason as to what caused the stricture
How to prevent it from happening again
Not sure if too many things can cause a structure in the bowels other than Crohns
But just a mom so there may be something
Tagging Scorpio
Good luck with the colonoscopy
Then the GI would have to have a valid reason as to what caused the stricture
How to prevent it from happening again
Not sure if too many things can cause a structure in the bowels other than Crohns
But just a mom so there may be something
Tagging Scorpio
Good luck with the colonoscopy
Assuming cancer* has been ruled out, I'm not sure what would cause a stricture other than some inflammatory process. but if the inflammation is truly under control and you are left with the stricture as the only real problem, that is good news. They can treat the stricture with balloon dilation, or if the stricture is too large, with surgery.
Once the stricture is dealt with it should not come back unless the inflammation does. So you should undertake a program of regular follow-ups with your GI to monitor for any recurrence of the inflammation.
*And cancer of the small bowel is pretty rare - much less common than colon cancer.
Once the stricture is dealt with it should not come back unless the inflammation does. So you should undertake a program of regular follow-ups with your GI to monitor for any recurrence of the inflammation.
*And cancer of the small bowel is pretty rare - much less common than colon cancer.
Well apparently endometriosis and some appendix related thing can also cause a stricture, so if the colonoscopy doesn't show anything up I'll have to go through another round of rests to rule out endometriosis. My GI thinks it's most likely Crohn's but without active inflammation how do you say for sure.
