Waiting on colonoscopy - Need some help!

[Herewego]

Quick backstory:

> I've been having diarrhea with blood since last Thursday, combined with heavy abdominal pains, bloating, cold sweats, etc

> By this Monday it got too much, I checked into ER. My blood work was stable but showed inflammation. I was let go as an outpatient waiting for a colonoscopy.

> The Doctors suspect a colitis, probably Crohn's disease.


But reading this forum I'm not sure I've heard of anybody with quite my symptoms? I'm starting to doubt I have Crohn's and that it may be more serious?

My stool are almost completely watery, barely anything remotely solid in them at all. It has now been 7 days. While my severe abdominal pain has died down a bit, I'm still passing blood every time I go, and I'm going around 5-8 times a day. Nothing I do does anything to help at all. What I eat, how much I eat, or if I simply don't eat at all.

What particularly bothers me too the stool itself. Even without the blood, it's a certified mess. Whenever I look at it I can't help but think that I'm dying. Mucus, black, disgusting messes

The thing is... It's around-the-clock. Even if I'm not eating or I've barely eaten anything. 24-7, it can wake me up. It's completely crippled my ability to do anything.

Is this common with Crohn's???

I know I should wait on the doctor, but for symptoms this serious I really feel like they've left me in the dark waiting for a colonoscopy as an outpatient. It'll be 3 days tomorrow.

 

[Christi]

Hi herewego, i would suggest you should get to your GI asap if its that serious. All of that symptoms does not sound good. Now i know even blood in stool are not good. Please keep us updated and good luck

 

[Clash]

There are a number of CD patients with the symptoms you stated, not that anyone on here could say for certain.

A lot of times if CD is located in the small bowel you will see black in the stool since blood has a longer transit time from the small bowel.

Since CD or IBD can be so individual in its presentation of symptoms it is sometimes difficult to compare person to person.

But watery D with black and blood, frequent and nighttime bms, abdominal pain can all correlate with CD.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi Herewego, welcome to the forum. First of all, please try not to worry too much. I realize that's easier said than done, but stress will only make you feel worse. I hope we can relieve some of your fears here. And may I just say first of all, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. People tend to only write about the bad times - most people don't come to the forum to say they're in remission or talk about how good they feel. So you may notice a lot of horror stories on here, but it's not all bad, believe me.

Blood in the stool can indicate a number of things, anything from cancer to IBD (Crohn's/colitis) to hemorrhoids (and hemorrhoids can bleed a ton, it looks scary for sure but it's a relatively minor thing and usually easily treated). The cold sweats could indicate an infection. Particularly since you've only been ill for about a week, it could be something like a bacterial infection. It also could be something like Crohn's, so it is good that you're having a colonoscopy to be sure. Make sure that they take biopsies during the colonosocpy, as there are a few conditions (such as microscopic colitis) that can only be found on biopsy. If it were me, I'd also be asking the doctors to do stool tests to check for bacterial infections such as c diff. That's something that's relatively easy to confirm or rule out. Stool tests can also check for inflammation - that test is called fecal calprotectin. Have you had any stool tests done yet? What about bloodwork? They can check your CRP and ESR to see if you have inflammation in your body, and they can check to see if you're anemic from the bleeding, and they can also look at your vitamin levels to see if you have any deficiencies (vitamins such as D3, B12, iron and folate tend to be low in people with IBD). Stool tests and bloodwork would be a good idea to do while you're waiting for the colonoscopy.

Have you had other symptoms before last Thursday? Even things that seem unrelated, such a joint pain, eye pain, skin issues? Do you have any family history of IBD?

 

[Tralfaz2013]

That's great advice from Cat-a-tonic.

Your symptoms sound like mine many years ago and I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Very similar to Crohn's but has inflammation in one area through the large bowel (Colon) whereas Crohn's is patchy areas of the inflammation and can appear all through the gastrointestinal track.

I was diagnosed almost 40 years ago and have lived and worked with the disease and done everything I have wanted. Yes, it can be annoying - you learn to find toilets in the most unlikely places. Here in Australia we have an app for iPhones an Androids that has been developed by the Government and it locates the nearest public conveniences to wherever you happen to be at the time. I have traveled to the most remote parts of Australia and used it many many time.

you will get through this with the support of your family and friends - including people on this site.

Best wishes from Australia.

 

[Kero]

Welcome to the forum! We are here for ya Like Cat-a-tonic said, most people aren't asking questions or looking for help when they have their disease under control

I have been suffering from diarrhea for over 2 years. One of the biggest things is to try and keep hydrated. You can get dehydrated quite quickly with constant D.

Hope you get answers soon!

 

[ronroush7]

There are a number of CD patients with the symptoms you stated, not that anyone on here could say for certain.

A lot of times if CD is located in the small bowel you will see black in the stool since blood has a longer transit time from the small bowel.

Since CD or IBD can be so individual in its presentation of symptoms it is sometimes difficult to compare person to person.

But watery D with black and blood, frequent and nighttime bms, abdominal pain can all correlate with CD.

I saw black in one of my stools yesterday.