Greetings to all! I'm a 29 y/o female from Alabama and over the past six months I've been dealing with a worsening problem. I’ve been lurking around the forum for a few days, and I suppose it’s time I go ahead and post.
I had my Gallbladder removed in 2006 because I'd developed gallstones and a very large one was blocking the duct. I know that's not really related but I mention it because this seems to be where I trace the origins of all my GI problems. I'd had my Appendix out when I was 14 due to acute appendicitis, but never suffered any long-term effects. After the gallbladder removal, however, I found there were a lot of foods I could no longer digest. Sesame seeds and lettuce were permanently off the menu. Sausage went out when I discovered that fennel seeds bothered me. As long as I stayed away from whole seeds and lettuce, however, I was fine.
Until six months ago.
I can't put my finger on what started it. I was having more and more diarrhea, a lot of times immediately after eating. Remembering my post-surgical experiences, I started eliminating foods from my diet. No more tomatoes, no fast foods, no whole grains. It seemed to improve a little bit, and then nosedived. It seemed like anything I ate put me instantly into the bathroom. The pain was astonishing: I've had serious stomach flu once or twice, and that was nothing compared to how bad this hurt. At the time I didn't have a GP, so I went looking for one. Finally found a DO who has turned out to be both helpful and sympathetic. (If you couldn't tell, I've had bad experiences with doctors long before this.) When I weighed in, I'd lost 15 lbs from my last weigh-in at a walk-in clinic for an eye infection 2 months prior. He gave me antibiotics, a weeks' run of 10 mg Prednisone, a months' Bentyl, and Mobic, prescribed a low-residue diet and told me to come back in 4 weeks.
I was diligent with my low-residue diet. I bought Soy Milk, biscuits, rice, bananas, applesauce, animal-crackers, rice cakes, etc. It didn't seem to make much of a difference. I paid the price for forgetting to take my Bentyl before eating as my GP suggested, and instead took it 4 times daily at set times. The Bentyl does seem to help quite a bit. I don’t have the spasm after eating anymore. The diarrhea continued accompanied by bloating, fatigue, heartburn and pain. Lots of pain.
Went back to my GP last week with continued symptoms. I’d lost ten more pounds. He drew blood, not sure what he was checking for but they only got 2 vials so I assume it was just very basic tests. He said he was thinking IBS at first but that he was very worried about Crohn’s disease. They did an abdominal x-ray and said it came back clear. He suggested that I flush with a saline laxative (which was most unpleasant) then try a gluten-free diet instead of the low-residue. I added a multi-vitamin on my own.
So I went back to the store and bought gluten-free things, but I still didn’t put veggies or beef back into my diet. Basically, over the past week I’ve been living off of gluten-free animal crackers, plain rice cakes, tea, water, juice, and meds. The past two days things have been getting worse. I get hungry every now and again, so I try to eat, but when I do the pain is instant and intense, usually accompanied by nausea. I’ve been feeling feverish but my temperature is very low, 97 degrees as opposed to my normal 98.6. I feel bone-tired and speaking of bones, those ache. My back and belly are especially bad. I’ve been home sick from work today, but I need to go back tomorrow. Our service scores have been down and my boss is really onto me to get back… I guess that’s what I get for being too good at what I do. I’ve missed a lot of work the past couple weeks between feeling bad and going to the doctor. No more PTO this year.
I have an appointment with a GI on Monday of next week, and I’m hoping that I’ve gotten some of the basic steps out of the way with my GP. I’ve been keeping a food journal but so far all it says is that yes, pretty much everything can bother me. Ha. Ha. Ha.
So anyway, there you go, my story so far. I’ve not been officially diagnosed with anything but a lot of my symptoms seem a pretty close match for Crohn’s and I’ve got a family history, two of my Dad’s siblings have it. I’m not crazy at the prospect of all the tests I’m probably going to have to go through, but after reading some of the stories on this board I’m feeling pretty lucky. For now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my GI is a good one and hoping for the best.
I had my Gallbladder removed in 2006 because I'd developed gallstones and a very large one was blocking the duct. I know that's not really related but I mention it because this seems to be where I trace the origins of all my GI problems. I'd had my Appendix out when I was 14 due to acute appendicitis, but never suffered any long-term effects. After the gallbladder removal, however, I found there were a lot of foods I could no longer digest. Sesame seeds and lettuce were permanently off the menu. Sausage went out when I discovered that fennel seeds bothered me. As long as I stayed away from whole seeds and lettuce, however, I was fine.
Until six months ago.
I can't put my finger on what started it. I was having more and more diarrhea, a lot of times immediately after eating. Remembering my post-surgical experiences, I started eliminating foods from my diet. No more tomatoes, no fast foods, no whole grains. It seemed to improve a little bit, and then nosedived. It seemed like anything I ate put me instantly into the bathroom. The pain was astonishing: I've had serious stomach flu once or twice, and that was nothing compared to how bad this hurt. At the time I didn't have a GP, so I went looking for one. Finally found a DO who has turned out to be both helpful and sympathetic. (If you couldn't tell, I've had bad experiences with doctors long before this.) When I weighed in, I'd lost 15 lbs from my last weigh-in at a walk-in clinic for an eye infection 2 months prior. He gave me antibiotics, a weeks' run of 10 mg Prednisone, a months' Bentyl, and Mobic, prescribed a low-residue diet and told me to come back in 4 weeks.
I was diligent with my low-residue diet. I bought Soy Milk, biscuits, rice, bananas, applesauce, animal-crackers, rice cakes, etc. It didn't seem to make much of a difference. I paid the price for forgetting to take my Bentyl before eating as my GP suggested, and instead took it 4 times daily at set times. The Bentyl does seem to help quite a bit. I don’t have the spasm after eating anymore. The diarrhea continued accompanied by bloating, fatigue, heartburn and pain. Lots of pain.
Went back to my GP last week with continued symptoms. I’d lost ten more pounds. He drew blood, not sure what he was checking for but they only got 2 vials so I assume it was just very basic tests. He said he was thinking IBS at first but that he was very worried about Crohn’s disease. They did an abdominal x-ray and said it came back clear. He suggested that I flush with a saline laxative (which was most unpleasant) then try a gluten-free diet instead of the low-residue. I added a multi-vitamin on my own.
So I went back to the store and bought gluten-free things, but I still didn’t put veggies or beef back into my diet. Basically, over the past week I’ve been living off of gluten-free animal crackers, plain rice cakes, tea, water, juice, and meds. The past two days things have been getting worse. I get hungry every now and again, so I try to eat, but when I do the pain is instant and intense, usually accompanied by nausea. I’ve been feeling feverish but my temperature is very low, 97 degrees as opposed to my normal 98.6. I feel bone-tired and speaking of bones, those ache. My back and belly are especially bad. I’ve been home sick from work today, but I need to go back tomorrow. Our service scores have been down and my boss is really onto me to get back… I guess that’s what I get for being too good at what I do. I’ve missed a lot of work the past couple weeks between feeling bad and going to the doctor. No more PTO this year.
I have an appointment with a GI on Monday of next week, and I’m hoping that I’ve gotten some of the basic steps out of the way with my GP. I’ve been keeping a food journal but so far all it says is that yes, pretty much everything can bother me. Ha. Ha. Ha.
So anyway, there you go, my story so far. I’ve not been officially diagnosed with anything but a lot of my symptoms seem a pretty close match for Crohn’s and I’ve got a family history, two of my Dad’s siblings have it. I’m not crazy at the prospect of all the tests I’m probably going to have to go through, but after reading some of the stories on this board I’m feeling pretty lucky. For now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my GI is a good one and hoping for the best.
