Hi everyone. My search for answers led me to this forum which is a wealth of information and great comfort. My hope is by sharing my story, someone with a similar experience will be able to offer me some guidance.
First off I'm in the US Navy and its been nearly a year since I was commissioned. I am stationed at a shore command due to the nature of my job, but am a deployable element. Due to the qualification process, I have to be able to deploy and stand night watches <----where all my drama basically began.
My shift works two twelve hour days back to back, then two midnight shifts back to back. 8am-8pm, 8pm-8am. With turnover and training, we are there much longer than twelve hours, so it's closer to 14-16 hour days depending on what we are doing.
I began my shift work in November and during my very first midnight watch in November I began throwing up. Thought it was a bit of flu or too much caffiene, so they sent me home. About this time of the month I began to become exhausted. I mean, falling asleep driving to work, unable to workout, can't muster the energy to go grocery shopping kind of tired. I stopped going out with friends, doing anything basically. I continued on with my shift work, fighting nausea in waves everytime the night shift rolled around. My mother, an army vet, told me she used to battle the nausea late at night as well and it would get better.
It did get better, through December and into January I found a good system that worked for me and was more functional at work. Not at home though. I would come home and collapse and during my days off they gave us after coming off these late night shifts I would literally remain in bed for almost 3 days.
After a brief leave period for my sister's wedding end of January I resumed the night watch, which was when things went haywire. My first night watch I began to have a deep burning/throbbing pain in my left side. Began to worry since I have a history of ovarian cysts and was shortly after let go to the ER. They performed no tests, referred me to gyno and gave me pills for a UTI. The next day, extreme nausea. Woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like my guts were literally boiling. Rolling bubbles, I can't describe it, like a caldron was being stoked in my stomach. Finally went away at 6am and I could sleep. Mustered the strength for a run the following evening and a few hours later was back in the ER in extreme pain again on the left side. They referred me to gyno and gave me roxicet.
Went to gyno who performed an ultrasound. Totally normal. Quickie pelvic revealed nothing abnormal. They told me I never had a UTI and to quit taking those meds. After a quick questionaire where I revealed my wrestling with constipation and noticing quite a bit of mucus in my stool, she decided I needed to see Gastro. The earliest available appointment was a month from then.
In between that day and the following weeks, the pain meds complicated what became some pretty bad constipation and I quick taking them because they were messing me up. Went in and out of the ER 4 more times alternating between extreme pain and extreme nausea. Never ran a fever once. No urine or blood tests indicated anything abnormal (beyond whatever the ER actually tests for). My stomach is haywire at this point, contracting and burning when empty, nausea and bubbling when it has anything in it.
During this time my primary care doctor sent me off for my first real test: an abdominal xray. He tells me what it reveals he has never seen in his 30 year medical career. My colon and is nearly devoid of all fecal matter but is literally stretched to it's max with gas. Tells me to avoid fat and milk til I see gastro and to take anti gas meds til we figure out what is causing the crazy gas buildup there. We all breathe a sigh of relief as cutting out those foods does help ease my pain.
Two weeks later I see the doc again. I go over my symptoms again and add in at this point I am weak, exhausted beyond belief and losing my hair for a couple months at this point. She asks to test my thyroid. My results come back and I find out I have hypothyroidism. So I began taking medication for that with the hopes my energy will improve and my hair will grow back.
GI appointment rolls around where I am due for an endoscopy/colonoscopy. I tell the doc about the new diagnosis and he seemed very optimistic that the thyroid is causing all the ill. Tells me since I'm on the table he'll take a look, but expects me to be a ok from top to bottom.
When I wake up, I am handed a print out and told to modify my diet to high fiber, no nuts, seeds, alcohol or milk products and absolutely no smoking. Later in the evening once the drugs have worn off I began to google what my findings were.
I have Grade 1 esophagitis (basically an inflammed esophagus from acid bubbling up from my stomach). I had been biopsied in 4 places due to "a mild erythema of the stomach". Lookup revealed that meant my stomach was inflammed. I expected them to find an ulcer in there so I was surprised they didn't see one. Next page I see my colon checks out normal but they found an ulcer in the terminal ileum of "uncertain clinincal significance", which they also biopsied. When I googled "ulcer terminal ileum" my world literally rocked. Everything comes up Crohn's. In the days since as I have continued to search and read up on IBD my fear builds. Does anything else caused ulcers there???? I have gone through hundreds of medical articles and found nothing but Crohn's. I know ulcers in that particular spot is one of the big ways they can distinguish it from UC.
I am at a loss. Until 4 months ago, I was an energetic, bubbly 26 year old proudly serving her country. Now I could potentially be facing a lifelong disease and a medical discharge. I should have the lab results back in 3-6 days and am patiently waiting. My symptoms basically remain although the pain is a little less. If anyone has had a similiar situation I would love to hear some advice. Particularily from anyone in the military. Thanks for reading guys. I know I'm not a doctor and I'm not trying to diagnose myself, but can't help but feel that tug in your gut when you know something is wrong.
First off I'm in the US Navy and its been nearly a year since I was commissioned. I am stationed at a shore command due to the nature of my job, but am a deployable element. Due to the qualification process, I have to be able to deploy and stand night watches <----where all my drama basically began.
My shift works two twelve hour days back to back, then two midnight shifts back to back. 8am-8pm, 8pm-8am. With turnover and training, we are there much longer than twelve hours, so it's closer to 14-16 hour days depending on what we are doing.
I began my shift work in November and during my very first midnight watch in November I began throwing up. Thought it was a bit of flu or too much caffiene, so they sent me home. About this time of the month I began to become exhausted. I mean, falling asleep driving to work, unable to workout, can't muster the energy to go grocery shopping kind of tired. I stopped going out with friends, doing anything basically. I continued on with my shift work, fighting nausea in waves everytime the night shift rolled around. My mother, an army vet, told me she used to battle the nausea late at night as well and it would get better.
It did get better, through December and into January I found a good system that worked for me and was more functional at work. Not at home though. I would come home and collapse and during my days off they gave us after coming off these late night shifts I would literally remain in bed for almost 3 days.
After a brief leave period for my sister's wedding end of January I resumed the night watch, which was when things went haywire. My first night watch I began to have a deep burning/throbbing pain in my left side. Began to worry since I have a history of ovarian cysts and was shortly after let go to the ER. They performed no tests, referred me to gyno and gave me pills for a UTI. The next day, extreme nausea. Woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like my guts were literally boiling. Rolling bubbles, I can't describe it, like a caldron was being stoked in my stomach. Finally went away at 6am and I could sleep. Mustered the strength for a run the following evening and a few hours later was back in the ER in extreme pain again on the left side. They referred me to gyno and gave me roxicet.
Went to gyno who performed an ultrasound. Totally normal. Quickie pelvic revealed nothing abnormal. They told me I never had a UTI and to quit taking those meds. After a quick questionaire where I revealed my wrestling with constipation and noticing quite a bit of mucus in my stool, she decided I needed to see Gastro. The earliest available appointment was a month from then.
In between that day and the following weeks, the pain meds complicated what became some pretty bad constipation and I quick taking them because they were messing me up. Went in and out of the ER 4 more times alternating between extreme pain and extreme nausea. Never ran a fever once. No urine or blood tests indicated anything abnormal (beyond whatever the ER actually tests for). My stomach is haywire at this point, contracting and burning when empty, nausea and bubbling when it has anything in it.
During this time my primary care doctor sent me off for my first real test: an abdominal xray. He tells me what it reveals he has never seen in his 30 year medical career. My colon and is nearly devoid of all fecal matter but is literally stretched to it's max with gas. Tells me to avoid fat and milk til I see gastro and to take anti gas meds til we figure out what is causing the crazy gas buildup there. We all breathe a sigh of relief as cutting out those foods does help ease my pain.
Two weeks later I see the doc again. I go over my symptoms again and add in at this point I am weak, exhausted beyond belief and losing my hair for a couple months at this point. She asks to test my thyroid. My results come back and I find out I have hypothyroidism. So I began taking medication for that with the hopes my energy will improve and my hair will grow back.
GI appointment rolls around where I am due for an endoscopy/colonoscopy. I tell the doc about the new diagnosis and he seemed very optimistic that the thyroid is causing all the ill. Tells me since I'm on the table he'll take a look, but expects me to be a ok from top to bottom.
When I wake up, I am handed a print out and told to modify my diet to high fiber, no nuts, seeds, alcohol or milk products and absolutely no smoking. Later in the evening once the drugs have worn off I began to google what my findings were.
I have Grade 1 esophagitis (basically an inflammed esophagus from acid bubbling up from my stomach). I had been biopsied in 4 places due to "a mild erythema of the stomach". Lookup revealed that meant my stomach was inflammed. I expected them to find an ulcer in there so I was surprised they didn't see one. Next page I see my colon checks out normal but they found an ulcer in the terminal ileum of "uncertain clinincal significance", which they also biopsied. When I googled "ulcer terminal ileum" my world literally rocked. Everything comes up Crohn's. In the days since as I have continued to search and read up on IBD my fear builds. Does anything else caused ulcers there???? I have gone through hundreds of medical articles and found nothing but Crohn's. I know ulcers in that particular spot is one of the big ways they can distinguish it from UC.
I am at a loss. Until 4 months ago, I was an energetic, bubbly 26 year old proudly serving her country. Now I could potentially be facing a lifelong disease and a medical discharge. I should have the lab results back in 3-6 days and am patiently waiting. My symptoms basically remain although the pain is a little less. If anyone has had a similiar situation I would love to hear some advice. Particularily from anyone in the military. Thanks for reading guys. I know I'm not a doctor and I'm not trying to diagnose myself, but can't help but feel that tug in your gut when you know something is wrong.
I had some of the same things that you are explaining. I am so tired all the time I can't stand it, therefore the fact you have to stay up as much as you do makes my heart go out for you. My Chrons come on really fast just liked you explained. I hope your answers come quickly.
