Hi all, I am new to this site as I just happened to stumble across it yesterday looking for answers. I feel as if I am in a hopeless situation that has no answers. After reading so much information on this site last night (I stayed up way to late gaining information from this site) I feel like this website could be my saving grace. Some of what I want to share might fall into the TMI category but I am so fed up I want to try and find some answers to my problems and I’m hoping someone out there can help as I really hate to think I am the only one suffering with this. I started having problems over 13 years ago after my daughter was born. I had to have a c-section and it was after that surgery when the troubles began. Anything I would eat would cause my stomach to start cramping up and I would have to race to the bathroom and I would have diarrhea. I eventually went to the doctor for this and I was told I had IBS and I was given various medications to try but nothing seemed to help. Several years went by and I did eventually have a colonoscopy and a hida scan, I was told my colonoscopy was normal and I wouldn’t need to have it done again until I was 50. My hida scan showed that my gallbladder was nonfunctioning and I had it removed. It’s been the past few years where things have really gotten bad. My stools consist mainly of diarrhea, however occasionally I am constipated and I rarely have what I would say is a ‘normal’ looking poo. However when that happens I find that I am having to sit on the toilet for long periods of times. There are also times when I have a BM and it looks like a thin piece of ribbon which makes me think there is a fissure somewhere. Other times my BM’s seem to contain a lot of mucus and at times it seems like there is oil or grease in the toliet. There are times when the color tends to be a very odd color of yellow, and when that happens I know it is the beginning of a spell where my insides are hurting and cramping and I have to really watch what I eat. The odd thing seems to be that when I am in this mode it seems like I can eat carbs and sugary foods without many problems if any at all. However I really have not actual trigger foods like I have been reading about on here. I can eat the same thing for a week and it might bother me one or two days that week. Then it might not bother me at all for a month and the next month there is no way I could even attempt to eat it or I will end up in the restroom. The past several months if not longer I have started having really bad cramping on my insides after I eat. I refer to it being my insides because it really doesn’t feel like it is my stomach; it feels like it is my colon. I don’t know how to describe it but it seems like it is my lower abdomen that starts hurting. It will start feeling like it is hot on the inside and real heavy feeling. Yesterday I hadn’t eaten anything all day and when I got home I had a piece of pizza. It was 30-45 minutes later my stomach was cramping and I had goose bumps and had to race to the restroom. My BM was the odd color of yellow I mentioned earlier however the substance of it looked like sediment or sand of sorts at the bottom of the toilet. That isn’t uncommon for my BM’s but I am just getting so tired of not feeling well I want to find some answers and that is when I found this sight. Every once in awhile I will have an odd cramping/stabbing pain in my lower left abdomen, which I had yesterday afternoon and then I had a BM that totally wiped me out. It left me feeling totally yucky. Almost like I was a little nauseous and just completely exhausted not to mention my bum was hurting and burning almost the rest of the night. That also is not uncommon for me to feel that way after I have one of these spells. I will feel yucky the rest of the day/evening and will feel extremely tired. I also have what my husband said is a skin tag thing just outside of my anus. I thought it was a hemmorhoid and my sweet husband was helping me to take care of it and that is when he said it looked more like a skin tag. The other thing I have noticed is that when this skin tag seems to be irritating me I seem to have more severe problems with all of this. Yesterday in the shower it felt like it had torn a little bit while I was washing and today it was so sore and burning when I was trying to wash it I had tears in my eyes. I have been dealing with all of this for so long and without any real help from physicians that I don’t know what to do. I even went to a GI one time begging him to give me an illiostomy bag so I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain and embarrassment of this anymore. I was told that they don’t give illiostomy’s for IBS. the only thing i have noticed that i don't have problems with is loosing weight or having bloody stools, at least i don't think i am having bloddy stools. i can't see any blood except when my skin tag is bothering me. Can anyone help me or give me some advice? Does this seem like it is something more than IBS and how can I get my physician’s to understand I need some help? I hope I haven’t offended anyone with some of the graphic details as that wasn’t my intentions, I am just at the end of my rope.
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Can anyone help me?
- Thread starter sshelledy
- Start date
I would definitely go back and see another GI for a second opinion and simply tell them you are not leaving until you have a plan in place to figure out what's going on. Honestly, I think when you go in for a second opinion, you are taken a bit more seriously because they want to find what the previous doctor missed. At least that was our experience with my son.
I hope you find answers and relief soon. Don't give up. Good luck!
I hope you find answers and relief soon. Don't give up. Good luck!
Artisan105
Yondaime
Don't eat pizza... processed bread is not good for your gut. The oils, cheese(dairy), the meats, just everything about a pizza is bad.
And you are right... sometimes your normal foods that didn't hurt you will hurt you during a flare up.
I really think you should start a journal of the foods you eat. Make an effort to take liquid vitamins with your food so your body can have the vitamins it needs.
Your poop consistency will vary from time to time but if you do have a flare it usually is dark/heavy diarrhea.
You know when a flare up is happening if:
You are in so much pain ( normal pain meds don't work), Might be throwing up a lot - to the point of bile just coming out, you have bad diarrhea constantly, you will/might have blood in your stools, you will have a fever, you will have acne because your body has so much internal heat from the fever, you might develop ulcers, you will be super tired all the time, etc.
Just tell your doctor everything you said here. Ask him about other options. Tell him about your living situation- any stressors. Tell him what medicine works and doesnt for you.
1) Stress-free envirnoment
2) Focus/Research on what you can eat. Don't just eat anything.
2a) Write a Journal on what hurts you and doesn't. You might have to give up Pizza
3) Force yourself to workout- walk around with your ipod. This will help with digestion/movement of your bowels.
4)Take your medicine properly. Don't over medicate- especially on your pain meds. This will cause constipation.
5)Make small daily goals and achieve them.
6)Stay Positive. You can do it!
God bless
And you are right... sometimes your normal foods that didn't hurt you will hurt you during a flare up.
I really think you should start a journal of the foods you eat. Make an effort to take liquid vitamins with your food so your body can have the vitamins it needs.
Your poop consistency will vary from time to time but if you do have a flare it usually is dark/heavy diarrhea.
You know when a flare up is happening if:
You are in so much pain ( normal pain meds don't work), Might be throwing up a lot - to the point of bile just coming out, you have bad diarrhea constantly, you will/might have blood in your stools, you will have a fever, you will have acne because your body has so much internal heat from the fever, you might develop ulcers, you will be super tired all the time, etc.
Just tell your doctor everything you said here. Ask him about other options. Tell him about your living situation- any stressors. Tell him what medicine works and doesnt for you.
1) Stress-free envirnoment
2) Focus/Research on what you can eat. Don't just eat anything.
2a) Write a Journal on what hurts you and doesn't. You might have to give up Pizza
3) Force yourself to workout- walk around with your ipod. This will help with digestion/movement of your bowels.
4)Take your medicine properly. Don't over medicate- especially on your pain meds. This will cause constipation.
5)Make small daily goals and achieve them.
6)Stay Positive. You can do it!
God bless
Jim (POPS)
Jim (Pops)
- Location
- Antioch, Ca
Hello and welcome to the forum. I want to tell you that you DO NOT bleed with IBS. Never. I would make sure to go back to the GI and have them look into this more. I know what you are talking about. I went through the samething as you are going through and I ended up needing a resection.
I lost about 40lbs over a period of about 1 year. It sounds to me that you could have IBD. I would get a 2nd Dr. to look at you. This is nothing to play with. I don't want to stress you out but you need to get this under control.
Stress can also play a big part with IBD. Try to stay calm as much as you can. I know you feel like this will never end but you will get better. Just demand that the Dr. look for what is causing this.
Jim (Pops)
I lost about 40lbs over a period of about 1 year. It sounds to me that you could have IBD. I would get a 2nd Dr. to look at you. This is nothing to play with. I don't want to stress you out but you need to get this under control.
Stress can also play a big part with IBD. Try to stay calm as much as you can. I know you feel like this will never end but you will get better. Just demand that the Dr. look for what is causing this.
Jim (Pops)
It looks as if you should find a really good GI and get another opinion.
What you are describing does not really fit with IBS
Have you had a complete blood picture done such as CBC, CRP, ESR, VitB12 and iron levels etc
Increased inflammatory markers would not fit with IBS and should be evaluated.
There are some member recommended physicians on the forum, perhaps if you take a look around there might be that special doctor for you.
What you have been told I do not find very acceptable, and you should not continue to suffer.
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha
What you are describing does not really fit with IBS
Have you had a complete blood picture done such as CBC, CRP, ESR, VitB12 and iron levels etc
Increased inflammatory markers would not fit with IBS and should be evaluated.
There are some member recommended physicians on the forum, perhaps if you take a look around there might be that special doctor for you.
What you have been told I do not find very acceptable, and you should not continue to suffer.
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha
GO BACK TO YOUR DOCTOR (or see another)!!
I had awful symptoms for YEARS with no diagnosis. I was told it was stress, IBS, anxiety, even (i kid you not) Pelvic Inflammatory Disease from an STI!!! (which I was tested for and was all negative!)
I was really quite ill, and all the years of mis diagnosis have led me to have an ileal stricture, which I have recently had surgery to remove.
Crohn's can affect any part of the gut, so a colonoscopy may not show anything, my worst problems were in my small intestine, which is really hard to get to. Blood tests can show inflammatory markers, so they should be done. In the UK these are ESR and CRP. They can also test for anaemia and increased white cell count.
Seriously, don't take sh*t from your doctors. It makes you so much more ill in the long run. OK, you have to pay for your care, but you get a choice! Us on the NHS (UK) get free healthcare, but we get what we're given and have to fight for better.
All the best x I know it's awful, I was made to feel like I was going mad until I finally got a diagnosis, and was in equal parts terrified and relieved xxx
I had awful symptoms for YEARS with no diagnosis. I was told it was stress, IBS, anxiety, even (i kid you not) Pelvic Inflammatory Disease from an STI!!! (which I was tested for and was all negative!)
I was really quite ill, and all the years of mis diagnosis have led me to have an ileal stricture, which I have recently had surgery to remove.
Crohn's can affect any part of the gut, so a colonoscopy may not show anything, my worst problems were in my small intestine, which is really hard to get to. Blood tests can show inflammatory markers, so they should be done. In the UK these are ESR and CRP. They can also test for anaemia and increased white cell count.
Seriously, don't take sh*t from your doctors. It makes you so much more ill in the long run. OK, you have to pay for your care, but you get a choice! Us on the NHS (UK) get free healthcare, but we get what we're given and have to fight for better.
All the best x I know it's awful, I was made to feel like I was going mad until I finally got a diagnosis, and was in equal parts terrified and relieved xxx