Could this be Crohn's?

I was diagnosed a few years ago with IBS-D. I cannot remember the last time that I had a normal BM. Frequency is 3 to 5 times a day, with these being anything from water to soft at best. I have tried Colestid, Lomotil, and others with little or no luck. I recently developed an odd rash on my feet and ankles, with a few areas on my inner thighs and arms. I went to a dermatologist and was told that this was something called capillaritis (sp?). Somehow, I had some capillaries that were leaking near the surface of my skin causing the red spots that are about the size of a pencil eraser. I decided to do some looking around on the web and found some info on Crohn's. I don't have the pain and bleeding typically associated with Crohn's. However, I have had bouts of iritis. I have also been told that I have mild arthritis in one of my hips. I have had two cortisone shots to help with the discomfort but they have not done much. Apparently the IBS-D, iritis, arthritis, and the lovely new rash that I have can all point to Crohn's. Could my docs have missed something here??? Thoughts, ideas, or suggestions????

Thanks for any and all help that you folks can give me.....

Welcome to the community Sherm,

Crohn's Disease has some symptoms that are similar to IBS, however there are some symptoms of it that you do seem to be missing. The cramping and bloating that you do not suffer from are typical Crohn's symptoms. IBS and IBD can have similar symptoms, but the main difference between the two is that IBD is causes damage to the digestive tract (usually inflammation of the intestines) while IBS does not have any symptoms appear within the body. Therefore your doctor would be able to do a test (like a colonoscopy) to confirm whether or not you have IBD.

Even though this does not definately answer your question, I hope this helps. Speak with your doctor if you think such a test is something that should be considered.

Welcome to the forum.

The thing with these diseases is that everyone's different. The only way for them to know is through blood tests, colonoscopies, endoscopies, and many other tests. If you have been tested for all of this and you don't show signs of Crohn's then you probably don't have it. But you still have something wrong with your intestines so that needs to get in check.

Ask your doc about different meds that you can take and ask if you can take the one with the least risk of side effects first and see how that goes.

Also you may want to lay off dairy and fried foods for a while. Slowly incorporate them back into your diet and see how your body reacts to it. Keep a journal of everything you eat and how it effects the frequency and type of stool(watery, solid, etc.)

Best of luck and keep us posted

WOW! Those were some quick replies. Here's a link I found on the web that kinda pointed me to the connection between all of my issues and Crohn's.

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/crohnsdisease/cd_symptoms.html

I don't eat dairy or fried junk. I know that there can be triggers for IBS but my digestive issues are consistent, and not triggered by any intake. Here's my average daily menu:

Breakfast - 2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch - Salad w/viniagrette dressing
Supper - small piece of meat with a veggie side

I can vary this a bit but my bowel habits are pretty much the same as stated in my original post.

I'm not a snacker either.

Thanks again for all of the help.

Some people can't tolerate veggies very well. This disease can be a bit of a pill at times and when you think something is healthy you eat it and it makes you feel like crap...you just have to rethink eating that next time.

Try to get off the salads and for lunch today have something else. Try to get something high in protein. Try something like grilled or bakes chicken. Or you could cook it in a little extra virgin olive oil. Try not to eat whole grain foods. Try to eat starchy things that will bind stuff up right now. It seems like at least to me that you aren't getting many calories, how are you doing on weight right now. Try to eat four or five small meals through out the day. Get a few more calories and try to bind things up with some potatoes and white bread. Also drink plenty of water, about half your body weight in ounces is what you will need a day. Keep us updated

My weight has been somewhat steady. I'm 50 y/o, 6' tall at about 200 lbs. I workout on an elliptical trainer at least 3 times a week. I have found that I need to stay away from the starchy stuff (potatos, rice, pasta, etc) as those go directly to my waistline. I am unable to cook anything for lunch as I commute to the office daily.

Maybe try to go to a dietician, but make sure they specialize in intestinal diseases. See if they can help you out. Good luck

Hi Sherm,

Welcome!

You are definately not alone on the guts front as you can see. For my tuppence worth it is possible to have both IBS and IBD. I have been diagnosed with both and when I checked with the gastro dietitian she said they are very similar diets in many respects.

My allergy consultant wrote to my GP and said I complained of "IBS type symptoms" and thought I had IBS plain and simple, but was diagnosed later with crohns and IBS 6mths later on top. As the others have said both have very similar symptoms in many ways and as they have suggested the best thing to do is talk to your doctor and ask about further tests. Although embarrassing the gold standard is colonoscopy and gastroscopy but it can provide valuable answers.

As for the capillaries aspects I had tiny blood spots (like someone had drawn little red spots with a biro) all down my lower legs and over the tops of my feet (occasionally on my upper arms) and they disappeared once treated on the crohns front. One for you to ponder in that you are right it MAY be connected as you say. Mine was connected to low vit K because of where my crohns is and absorption problems.

Keep us posted on how you get on as it sounds like you are doing everything possible.

One thought - I noticed you are having eggs - do you think it possible it may be contributing to the diahorrea? I know eggs at times have an effect on me but not always which is weird and tends to be how they are cooked also.

You also dont mention if you get pain at any time. Perhaps one for you to think about (unless I missed it, have just come home from work).

Welcome again! Hope my ramblings help and you get some answers soon.

hi Sherm, and welcome

a few things occurred to me whilst reading your posts - you dont mention fibre in your diet at all? is this deliberately avoided for any reason? i know many Crohns sufferers avoid high fibre like the plague because it just hurts too much - but you seem to be pain-free regarding your bowels. coupled with your avoidance of starchy foods, i'm wondering if the lack of stodge/fibre in your diet is contributing to the way your digestion is working, and the lack of substance to the stools.

i know its a nuisance to put your figure second, but my suggestion would be to try & introduce a bit of bread/mashed potato/rice into your daily diet for say, a week, and see if the diarrhea lessens at all. you can always work those inches off lol

also, maybe avoid the salad - as mentioned earlier, salad can really upset people with intestinal issues, plus if i had viniagrette i know i would be in trouble - too acidic for my tum. i would swap to pasta/tuna in mayo kind of lunch, see if that helps too.

Yeah what Dingbat says is true. You really have to put your weight behind your illness. Try some starches like potatoes, white rice, and some white bread.

Try to get the acids out. You need to eat neutral things right now. Try some of those and see how it goes. I would believe that you are not able to go to the bathroom in a normal fashion. You have to eat and you have to bind things up. If you don't then it will just stay runny. Best of luck

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. As far as pain goes, I really don't have any. I have tried adding starchy, fibreous, things to my diet to no avail. I have also tried supplementing my intake with chewable fiber tabs. I should add that my doc also told me that I had some type of maladsorption symdrome in which my intestines we not soaking up fat from food properly, along with a bit of dumping syndrome. I did a barium swallow test that tracked the radioactive sample after I swallowed it. The sample traveled 18 feet in 30 minutes. Even the radiologist said "Wow". There are days when I can expell lunch in under two hours after eating. It's a bit gross, but I mean undigested pieces of food. I have been on pancreatic enzymes to try to predigest the food. No luck. I have tried styrene powder additives to try and thicken the extra unabsorbed fat. Failed at that. I have at this for years trying to get some consistent relief. It's getting old.

Fibre will make you go more, not less. And it is pretty rough on inflammed patches
low fibre will slow you somewhat, low residue will reduce waste amount, and they say that hi protein means you can eat less bulk, satisfy hunger yet get correct amt of nutrition... oh, and too much fat, esp the wrong kind of fat, will make you go..

Hmm. I was under the impression that fiber was used in the diet to bulk up the stool.

Well, what I was told was that it helps to break down food AND clean out colon..
So a higher fibre diet will keep you regular.. that is, going, not constipated. In fact if things slow down, some docs will put you on a fibre supplement to speed you up

that's why hi fibre is good for healthy people.. keeps their colon pristine, keeps em going.. it is a slow digestive system thats bad for them; just the opposite of what we want... we usually WANT the bathroom trips to slow down a little

Well to an extent, my GI wanted things to go as usual as far as speed when I was doing quite horribly in the winter, so he forbid the use of any Loperamide (Imodium) for a bit, saying that he didn't want food lingering around the inflammed tissues, as it's like a sunburn as Kev says, and the longer you come in contact with that tissue, the more irritated it'll get. He wanted things to "flow" steadily so the tissue got the rest it needed....if that makes sense.

Low residue is analagous and similar to low fiber, meaning that there's very little "residue" from digestion, ie: popcorn hulls, seeds, nuts, fiberous leafy items, etc...something like white rice will digest nicely in most cases and not have any "leftovers" to irritate the walls of the bowels down the line.

Yeah, not much different than low fiber.....residue in a gross sense, can be thought of also as anything that you've seen in the toilet after standing up and looking at your "creation"....usually it's natural/higher fiber foods