Why does the Big D occur?

[hippie4lyfe]

I had a lot of the Big D before I went on my meds, since than I have about 2-3 bowels movements a day usually formed. Today I had the big D. Why does it occur, am I going into really bad crohn's times? ahhh. Is the big D a really bad sign?

 

[D Bergy]

I believe from my experience that it occurs for the same reason you get the big D with the flu. Your body is trying to cast out dead or bad bacteria. Of course, a food that you react to can also produce this same effect, and probably other things as well.

For the most part though, I think it is the bodies attempt to purge itself of something it does not want in it.

When you take an immune suppressant of some kind, it prevents the immune system from reacting in this way. At least if it is working as it should.

When I took MMS, my big D increased considerably until it was done doing its job of killing bacteria. Then everything returned to normal no matter how much I took.

This is how I formed my opinion on what caused the big D.

Dan

 

[hippie4lyfe]

so if you arent getting it on a regular basis would it be ok to assume that it is normal from time to time to cleanse out the dead guys?

 

[D Bergy]

It may occur even with living bad bacteria. I think this is what does most of the damage. The body is using its defenses against the bacteria, but when you have Crohn's, it is never doing it effectively as it would in a normal person.

Your sudden big D could be caused by some food you ate. It could be that the bacteria in your intestinal tract has reached a higher threshold forcing your immune system to respond in spite of the medication. It could also be form a bacterial die off. I would think there would have to be some reason for a sudden bacterial die off significant enough to cause the big D, such as an antibiotic kill off or some other reason.

Our immune system is in a continual battle against bad bacteria but never really eliminating most or all of it. Our primary immune system (for lack of a better term) does not work as well as a normal persons. So then our secondary defenses kick in causing severe inflammation which is not harmful in the short term, but in our case it is not a short term so over time it is destructive.

The three methods of reducing or eliminating the inflammation involve suppressing the immune system response. This is what most of the main stream Crohn's medication attempt to accomplish.

Eliminating the bacteria that is causing the response. Various antibiotics can be used to do this. In my case I used an experimental chemical.

Or, attempting to correct the immune response to something closer to normal. This is what Low Dose Naltrexone attempts to do.

These are just my opinions, and they could be wrong. They are the best explanations I have at this time.

Dan

 

[hippie4lyfe]

ugh i have kept going today, i just bought a bunch of bananas as they are constipating.

 

[butt-eze]

When someone with crohn's has diarrhea it is because their colon is swollen and unable to absorb the fluids. The reason why it is urgent and we sometimes have accident is that when the colon is swollen we have no muscle control to flex and hold the diarrhea in.

 

[hippie4lyfe]

When someone with crohn's has diarrhea it is because their colon is swollen and unable to absorb the fluids. The reason why it is urgent and we sometimes have accident is that when the colon is swollen we have no muscle control to flex and hold the diarrhea in.

does that mean we arent getting proper nutrition. should we be drinking more ewater, and stuff with electrolytes when we have big D?

 

[RHOV]

Fewer nutrients are absorbed when the intestines are inflamed. Malnutrition is a common complication of Crohn's. And yes, drinking water or stuff with electrolytes like Gatorade is a very good idea!

 

[drew_wymore]

When you have D, you definitely need to keep hydrated. From what I've read, it occurs in Crohnies because the inflammation keeps your small bowel from absorbing the water that you normally would during digestion, you're also not getting the nutrients either. So you have all this excess fluid and thats what causes the D. I'm sure Bergy is right as well in that there are probably some bacterial reasons in play as well, otherwise there would be no way to explain away the flu and why you get D with that as well.

 

[hippie4lyfe]

hmmm, i had pains and bleeding a few days ago so i def had inflammation but i figured it went down or i better, so im not sure why this is happening.

 

[Isla]

You may of had ulcerations that went away but the inflammation is still there.

 

[BWS1982]

Actually the upper GI/small bowel secretes the fluids, for digestion purposes, and the large bowel/colon is supposed to absorb it back up in a healthy body....in a person with small bowel Crohns only, they get problems with malnutrition because nutrients are primarily absorbed there...in a person with large bowel Crohns only, diarrhea is an issue because it's too inflammed to absorb the said fluids (but malnutrition isn't as big of a problem because this assumption is that the small bowel is fine, large bowel isn't, still restrictive diet can cause nutrient issues)...in rectal Crohns, the urgency is a major issue (accidents), so when rectal AND colon-specific Crohns is present, you get MAJOR urgency/diarrhea issues (this is me)....

Refer to what I said for your Crohns to find your disease's propensities, the characteristics are a big help for coping.

I echo D Bergy's posts. Could be a fluke Hippie, refer to what you ate 24 hours prior.

 

[hippie4lyfe]

i should probably keep a daily log to get a better understanding of whats up

 

[drew_wymore]

Thanks for correcting my mis-information/understanding Benson =)

 

[BWS1982]

That's okay, I don't think it was an issue of that, I wanted to mainly summarize the location->effect so one could see what to look out for.

 

[Colt]

That makes a bit of sense for me since I lack the terrible D. When I had a colonoscopy early on my colon wasn't too bad off. My pain is mostly down around my ileum and as I figure the worst of my crohn's disease is beyond the reach of a colonoscopy.

 

[hippie4lyfe]

colt i think my ileum is affected most as well. i had a colonoscopy, endoscopy and x-rays taken so they could see how affected the region is that the colonscopy couldnt detect. you could try that if you are curious.

 

[theability]

There are numerous reasons for the Big D issue, with my Terminal Illeum being the main focus of my disease, the veryt nature of pain, and inflamation can cause spasms (increased peristolsis) which denys the body the chance to re-absord nutrients/vitamins and fliuds due to the hyperactivity of the bowel. the result is increased fliuds in stools and hence the diarrhea.
The major concern is the potent fluid loss can lead to hypovolemia (shock) and end you up in a very serious condition, like I am experiencing right now, in the hospital with active bleeding.

If you diarrhea is uncontrolled, you must get it looked at, despite what you feel, the complications are really huge and bleeding can occur, without you being able to see it regularly.

I hope the symptoms resolve, and you feel better, go see a physician if they are not better!!!!

Do well soon....

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

And yes, drinking water or stuff with electrolytes like Gatorade is a very good idea!

Try this stuff. Much better than Gatorade. A lot of sugar in those sports drinks.

I was spewing like Mt. Vesuvius yesterday and because Imodium bothers me, the druggist suggested this. Mix a little with water and down the hatch. Did the trick for me.

 

[drew_wymore]

LOL Pen you're such the little match maker aren't you? If there ended up being a couple from here imagine the little chronie kidlets they'd end up having