I know something is up with my digestive system, but what?
I'm finding it impossible to get anyone to take me seriously, possibly because my main symptom is constipation not diarrhoea.
I can just about control the constipation with diet, but it's not returning me to full health. I am now strict about avoiding gluten and baker's yeast because they bung me up - with gluten it could be for a week. I've been biopsied for celiac disease, and that was negative. I have doubts that the test was done correctly (not enough gluten, not enough samples etc), but I couldn't eat the stuff for long enough to get tested again, and in any case I am now gluten free and still having issues.
My blood work is always completely normal, except for nutritional related things, which are usually borderline but borderline is still normal in my doctor's eyes.
I've been through the process of identifying a nutrititional deficiency myself, correcting it and seeing improvements, with iron, B12, magnesium, and zinc. The latest thing to come back borderline was vitamin D. My 25OH D is 26 nmol/L in a range where severe deficiency is 25, so once again borderline. I'm waiting to hear what my doctor says about that.
On the digestive front, my symptoms are actually not too bad.
I get mild proctitis from time to time, usually when the constipation is more severe. The constipation is happening somewhere else though... maybe it's what they call right-sided constipation (I get soreness on the right hand side). Once the poop reaches my rectum, I can poop with no trouble at all. The longer that there is no poop in my rectum, the worse things seem to get. Once I become more regular again, it seems to resolve.
After a gluten challenge a year ago, my bowel started waking me up in the night. That gradually settled once I was back to my gluten free diet. However, in the last couple of nights, I have been woken up at 4 am by my bowel trying to move things along. The first night was moderately painful, which is unusual for me. The second night there was no pain, I was just suddenly wide awake at a very odd time with my digestion being very busy. I didn't poop because I don't poop a lot, but it felt like part of that process.
I also get geographic tongue almost constantly now, and it can burn. Again that's linked to the constipation. Worse gut, worse tongue.
I don't know whether to push my doctor to find out what is going on. On the one hand, my symptoms are not too bad, providing that I stay on top of nutritional deficiencies - that's what gives me symptoms that I struggle to cope with like brain fog and severe cold intolerance. I am also doubtful that they will be able to see anything that they didn't see before (I've had a small bowel MRI and fecal calprotctin tests as well as the upper endoscopy). On the other, it feels like there is a problem that is still progressing.
What would you do?
I'm finding it impossible to get anyone to take me seriously, possibly because my main symptom is constipation not diarrhoea.
I can just about control the constipation with diet, but it's not returning me to full health. I am now strict about avoiding gluten and baker's yeast because they bung me up - with gluten it could be for a week. I've been biopsied for celiac disease, and that was negative. I have doubts that the test was done correctly (not enough gluten, not enough samples etc), but I couldn't eat the stuff for long enough to get tested again, and in any case I am now gluten free and still having issues.
My blood work is always completely normal, except for nutritional related things, which are usually borderline but borderline is still normal in my doctor's eyes.
I've been through the process of identifying a nutrititional deficiency myself, correcting it and seeing improvements, with iron, B12, magnesium, and zinc. The latest thing to come back borderline was vitamin D. My 25OH D is 26 nmol/L in a range where severe deficiency is 25, so once again borderline. I'm waiting to hear what my doctor says about that.
On the digestive front, my symptoms are actually not too bad.
I get mild proctitis from time to time, usually when the constipation is more severe. The constipation is happening somewhere else though... maybe it's what they call right-sided constipation (I get soreness on the right hand side). Once the poop reaches my rectum, I can poop with no trouble at all. The longer that there is no poop in my rectum, the worse things seem to get. Once I become more regular again, it seems to resolve.
After a gluten challenge a year ago, my bowel started waking me up in the night. That gradually settled once I was back to my gluten free diet. However, in the last couple of nights, I have been woken up at 4 am by my bowel trying to move things along. The first night was moderately painful, which is unusual for me. The second night there was no pain, I was just suddenly wide awake at a very odd time with my digestion being very busy. I didn't poop because I don't poop a lot, but it felt like part of that process.
I also get geographic tongue almost constantly now, and it can burn. Again that's linked to the constipation. Worse gut, worse tongue.
I don't know whether to push my doctor to find out what is going on. On the one hand, my symptoms are not too bad, providing that I stay on top of nutritional deficiencies - that's what gives me symptoms that I struggle to cope with like brain fog and severe cold intolerance. I am also doubtful that they will be able to see anything that they didn't see before (I've had a small bowel MRI and fecal calprotctin tests as well as the upper endoscopy). On the other, it feels like there is a problem that is still progressing.
What would you do?
