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Hello

Hi everyone, my name is Frances and i'm 37. I have 4 kids 17,15,4 and almost 3 year old, i have a history of constipation, stomach bloating for as long as i can remember, when i was 19 i was so constipated i ended up with bleeding hemeroids. I feel like i have lost muscle tone when going to the toilet from being constantly constipated. I have always had bouts of fatigue and joint pains that seem to come and go, with times inbetween where i feel great! 6 years ago i had a really bad bout of illness where my muscles ached all over, i had mri's to rule out ms, they eventually said i had chronic fatigue, blood showed folic acid was low as was b12 and iron, i also seem to have a arrithmia when i get these symptoms and not that i am stressed at all. I gave up smoking at this point as the dr said this could be causing the heart arrithmia, again in time i found i gradually improved until i was pregnant, i kept having sharp pain in my lower left sideand my uterus kept contracting, they said my bowels were irrratating my uterus! Anyways long story short still having pain in my stomach after giving birth they said i had helicobacter and i was treated for that, not feeling any better and i ahve had every medication possible for ibs and omeprazole ect buscopan and 13 weeks ago they even took out my gallbladder as the pain under my ribs on the right side got so bad the done emergancy surgery i am still in agony

I have constant pain under my ribs that gets worse when i eat a meal, i can manage soup and toast without making the pain unbearable. I have painful flatulance and go between constipation to soft stools, i often have mucus in stool too, sorry way too much info, Pian killers dont take the pain away, it if anything dulls it a little.
I seen my surgeon who said i need a colonoscapy, another ultrasound and a mri. They said before they took my gallbladder out that it could be my bowels. I dont know if i have any disease, if anyone has had similar experiance and can offer advice i would be delighted to hear if there is anything i can do to help not be in so much pain!
Ps ultrasound 28/1 colonoscapy 29/1 still waiting on app for mri as far as i know bloods are fine!
I never write in forums but feel i need some support as i am so scared right now!
 
Hi Frances and welcome to this forum,
I am sorry to hear that you are feeling so crappy. Don't worry about sharing too much information here-This is place filled will poop, gas and all things related to the tush!

It sounds like your doctor is on the right track asking for the tests. Between the colonoscopy and MRI your doctor should get a better picture of exactly what is going on in your gut. In the meantime, stick with the foods that cause you the least amount of pain. Like you, mild soups and breads seemed to be the best option. I also found that I could drink hot chocolate ( Swiss Miss I what I used) mixed with hot water rather than milk. I am a coffee drinker and the hot chocolate gave the a similar feeling holding the warm mug. It wasn't coffee, but a close second, and I have found that i still drink it, instead of coffee, sometimes despite feeling ,much better these days.

Please keep us informed of how you are doing. I know you are scared, and it is normal to be worried about the tests and potential diagnoses. Try not to get ahead of yourself. You will find a lot of good information on this forum about all of the tests.

Also, take good care of yourself. I have three kids ( 14,11 and 4) and I know just how tiring that can be. try to get to bed as early as possible so that your body gets as much rest as possible. Good luck!!
-Lisa
 
Hi Frances,

Yes, you came to the right place for lots of support and information.
I hope they are able to give you a diagnosis after your tests. It sounds like you have been through a lot.

My daughter was diagnosed with Crohns and did have a lot of gas and was constipated prior to more symptoms developing. I hope you get feeling better and can relieve some of the pain and gas.

No gum, pop, brocolli, lactose, seeds, spicey foods ets... might help too.
(those were suggestions from our GI doctor)

let us know how you are doing.
take care
 
Hi Frances and :welcome:

Lisa is right, there is no such thing as too much information on here. Here you can talk about all those things that you can't talk to anyone else about.

The BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) is often suggested when inflamation is causing gut pain (white bread, of course). Chicken is often added to that. You might like to start a food diary even now, before a diagnosis, to keep track of those things that cause you trouble and those you can tolerate.
 
Thankyou for the welcome folks, it helps a lot to just get stuff off my chest, thanks for the diet advice, i have avoided banana coz i get more constipated, funny you mention eat white bread, brown bread does cause me pain, chocolate is a killer for me too, i have been advised to do a food diary, i will go buy a diary today, has anyone had any heart problems here? I have troublesome ectopic beats, i take propanalol for it which helps a lot, I'm hoping its all connected so if the dr treats my gut it will help the heart! Oh i aslo wanted to ask i often have stools that are flat on one side, could this be caused by inflammation? Has anyone else had this?
 
Hey Frances,

I hear you on the problems with constipation, Miralax works! I have to take a large dose everyday for the rest of my life. I have found that coffee really helps you go, I literally live off of starbucks coffee when I am at college. Running, joggin, or alot of quickly paced walking, and biking. I recently heard that biking will actually help the process of moving your bowels, I haven't tried it yet though. For your colonoscopy appointment, sometimes getting endoscopies also help to see what's going on. I really hope you feel better, and get some answers :) hang in there
 
hi acoop, thanks for your support, i really do need to try and exercise more. i know everyone always says it but 4 kids work and college doesnt leave much time lol i Must get fitter! :)
I had a endoscopy done in oct at the time they took the gallbladder out and it was normal! i was pleased about that! i said to my husband today i am scared they find something when they do the colonoscopy but also scared they dont ifthat doesnt sound weird! i just want this pain to go away, i am only managing because i know these tests are only a week away!
hope you have a good weekend!
 
Hey Frances,
Yeah exercise is really not fun for me anymore, but I'll tell ya, my body just shuts down if I dont run. IT completely makes sense!! I just had an MRI done recently and I just knew it wouldn't show the prooblem, and it's so obvious there is one. I am nervous that I'm going back to college and for all I know I have a stricture or another fistula forming :(. I really hope they figure out what's going on when you get your colonoscopy. I will be prayin for you.
Hoper your weekend is good too!! :)
 
A little update, still having this heavy pressing feeling at my right hand side of ribs, ps this was the pain i was addmited to the hospital for in october and they took out my gallbladder.. and guess what the pain has got worse, i was bending over on sat night and i felt a pop and now i have a lump at my ribs, actually feels like one of my ribs is sticking out more than the rest, i called the surgeons office to let them know, but she said to have my colonoscapy and scan and they will see me as soon as possible once they have the results or if the pain gets so bad go to my gp or a&e, sooo anoyed, hope its nothing serious.. anyone any ideas? and sorry for the rant!! Hope everyone is having a better day than me! x
 
If you have a lump, I don't think that you should have a test where something is being put in your body, I think that's weird your doc suggested that. I dont know how helpful it would be but maybe get diff types of x rays, that can show more than just bones, im sorry I cant think of the names. I think you should definitely really push to be seen quick, there's nothing worse than when your in pain and the hospital visit gets delayed. I wish you weren't in so much pain :( . Let me know how its goin.
 
I have a ultrasound on Monday and the colonoscapy on Tuesday, i will mention it to them, especially when getting the ultrasound coz i am in agony and they are quite rough when doing ultrasounds! :( If i get any worse i am going to take myself to casualty. Thanks for posting! x
 
I hope you can find some relief, until then. yeah they can be pretty rough with those type of tests, you'd think they wouldn't . good luck :)
 
hey all, i have messed up my posts a little and updated where i was venting rather than in here! So here is a update!
i was back in hospital with really bad pains and unable to go to the toilet for a bm at all, couldn't even pass wind! I had a xray and it showed i was really backed up so they gave me new meds and laxitives, so now im taking...
buscopan x8
domperidone x3
omeprazol 40mg
paracetamol x8
laxido x2

it took a further 4 days to go to the toilet and again when i go they are long and thin!
I still always have the original pain on the right hand side, that never moves, the intensity comes in waves ranging from a pain score of 2 first thing to a 7-8 at night or after a normal meal, not had a normal meal in a long time, i told the dr i was scared of food because it hurts and he put on my notes i was anorexic which made me laugh as i even tho i can hardly eat i find it soo hard to loose weight, i dont know if it is because what goes in never seems to come back out.
They done a ultrasound and a mrcp to see if my problems were comming fron the recent gallbladder surgery, so everything was fine so its not pain from surgery.

He looked aty recent colonoscopy and said ok we need to rule out crohns of the small bowel so i dont know what he read from the reaults but i do remember me screaming and they cut the colonoscopy short coz i was in so much pain, i dont think the sedation worked during the procedure, i didnt feel relaxed or sedated at all!
So still no dx at the mo but i have to go for a mri of the small bowel with the dye they inject into you, scared about that! And i have to go for colon transit studies coz he wonders if thats causing the problems too.
I have been home from hospital over a week and not heard anything about these tests, hope i hear soon, I have been going to the toilet more often which is good because i would rather go than not but the cramps are reaaly painful, its like after pains after having a kid! does anyone else get really bad cramps after a bm? you would think you would be relieved, my pain is worse after i go to loo! thank goodnessy hot water bottle helps!
gosh i have ranted again! but it really helps having this forum, my husband said you seem to be coping better these days, i said thats because i have support from people who understand! i cant thank everyone enough especially Julie who has been really supportive, you are a angel! :))
 
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i had the worst time today, i have been rnning to the toilet for the last 3 days and had really painfull cramps thats are only relieve by going to the toilet, i was so ill in college today i just made it in time to the main toilet, and a bunch of girls came in shouting about how awfull the smell was and whoever done the toilet should go clean their arse out! well i was bubbling, couldn't even face leaving till everyone was out!
My but is red raw from going and dont know what to do! 2 weeks ago i was sooo backed up and couldnt go and now i cant stop! :((
 
Ohh frances I am sorry to hear that today was so horrible for you :(. I think maybe you should go to your doctor again and see if there is anything that you can do to maintain somewhere in the middle, where you don't have to go all the time but don't get backed up . I really wish you the best, you're in my prayers. :hug: It can be very difficult to find that middle point.

You are not alone, I just started narcotics when i got out of the hospital two weeks ago so they had to add a laxative on to my normal dose so I gotta skiddadle to the br real quick, but if I dont take either I wont go. it's rough, HANG IN THERE :)
 
I'm really really sorry you had that experience today.

I don't know if Imodium would be a good idea to slow things down...but it may be helpful to move to a more liquid diet; gives your intestines less to deal with, and reduces the output. And of course, baby wipes!
 
France's

Your story is just like mine. I've had the upper right side pain for 5 years and constipation with bouts if diarrhea. It's exhausting.

It's taken this long for them to suspect crohns. I have a colonoscopy sched in a few weeks. Very nervous as I awakened during it before and it's right up there with delivering a 9# baby.

Your in my thoughts.
 
Hey Cassie, hope you get on ok, i was awake the entire colonoscopy, it did hurt but they stopped when i asked them to, so just remember your always in control! I have to go for another endoscopy, the other way again, i had one in oct and it was normal so i dont know why they wanna do another one! Hey ho! If you need to talk about anything at all send a wee message, i know how frustration it can be, folk get fed up listening to me saying i feel ill all the time, i have felt better just knowing i can say it on here without being cringed at or brushed off! Take it easy xx
 
Frances
Ty for your offer to listen. It helps as I hate telling anyone how I'm feeling. I'm tired of it, so no doubt they get tired of hearing my woes, lol. Take care

C
 
well here is a update, had a endoscopy today which was normal so i jave been told i need to just live with the pain that they have done all the tests and im just a mystery! what a joke i am raging! they cancelled the colon transit studies and the mri of the small bowel. so i just have to learn to cope with the pain. :(((
 
hey i am still in the in diagnosed club, had 2 hospital admitions in the last 3 months, was in last week with severe pain in the right side again under my ribs, had been vimiting and running to the toilet for 5 days, i was told i had bad constipation!!!! after having d for 5 days i was very shocked to hear that, they gave me a liter of clean prep to clear me out and it did help the pain, i was able to eat for a fre days with barley any pain or bloating, 8 days later and the pain is comming back! so is it chronic constipation?? but im having overflow of d inbetween and if so what can be done? i take a laxitive every day and its not solving te problems... wish i knew what was going on in my body,.
just typing it helps get it off my chest, thanks to anyone who reads this and thanks if you take the time to reply! xx
 
not really posted in a wee while, i was admitted to hospital last week with fecal impactation again and was treated with clean prep to clear it, felt good for a few days and was even able to eat with little pain, got a emergancy appointmet to see the medical gi rather than the surgical gi, this is how it works in uk, so i am getting a new treatment on a trial for 4-6 weeks i think its called propusill, my gi has a accent so not sure if thats right, its to wake up my bowels, if anyone has heard of this i'd be interested in how it has gone for them, i have to take vsl#3 as well and i bought alo vera juice in the mean time. he says if this doesnt work he'll think about whats next.. fingers crossed, xhope everyone is well x
 
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