Can it be Crohn's even though not experiencing diarrhea??

hi,

Im new to all this and still un diagnosed. Im a young guy, 22 yrs old, fairly slim and i've been having some problems lately. the doctors keep doing routine blood works and saying everything is fine but im not feeling fine! I have been in pain for about five weeks now. i have a gasterologist appoinment next monday and just waiting now. a couple doctors have guessed and said i could be experiencing crohns. Some of my symptoms match but some key ones dont.

The most specific symptoms that does not match crohns is that i have not been experiencing diarrhea.

Is it possible that this is crohns without diarrhea. or did anyone else not have diarrhea.

Thanks guys

Yes its possible. Usually if you don't have diarrhea then you experience constipation. Have you had any significant weight loss, fatigue, blood in your stool, appetite changes?

hmm. ive lost about 8 pounds, I have a little bit of fatigue and I find that i don't really feel hungry. usually I can go once or twice a day and the stools are either hard tarry and small pellit like or normal size, formed and soft or combination of both.

I'm just confused of what I'm experiencing, my body is having roaming pains, sometimes left side, sometimes right. pain in my joints, testicular pain and the doctors look at me like im crazy and just dont know

Welcome Rich,

I hope you get some answers soon.

Hi,

I was diagnosed with crohn's about 4 years ago but have rarely ever had diarrhoea or pain. I've only had symptoms of anaemia....so it is possible. I've never been on any medication for it, but recently developed a crohn's mass which was resected. So if your biopsy results confirm crohn's disease or even indeterminate colitis, I'd take medication for prophylactic reasons. Well obviously thats my opinion based on my experiences....see what your doctor says. But back to your question, it's definitely possible to have no luminal symptoms, which are normally so common in crohn's.

Hope that helps

the doctors think i might have crohns because of my age and body type and the other tests they've done such as routine blood work, ultrasound, xray and upper gi showed nothing. they said that the symptoms that match crohns are:
wieght loss
abdominal cramping
pain is generally in intestinal area
light bit of fatigue
joint pain

symptoms that may not match or that have me really confused is:
sometimes floating stools
multiple dark tarry stools usually small formed (size of a water bottle cap) and/or stool is soft but formed
no blood in toliet
no diarrhea
dark urine
pain in sides and back
increased gas
pain in groin

what do you guys think? i know your not doctors but your experts in crohns to me cause you all know first hand experience

rich_87_03 said:

Is it possible that this is crohns without diarrhea. or did anyone else not have diarrhea.

Thanks guys

Click to expand...

i have a pretty bad case of crohn's yet i have not ever had a problem with diarrhea... most of the time, i have regular formed stools, once daily. but every so often, i'd experience a bit of constipation.

then when my stricture became very severe, i would get constipation for a 2-3 days.

everyone is different.


welcome and good luck!

Like Cheeky, I don't really have D either, except on the odd occasion. When I flared badly I was completely blocked up (ileum stricture). Don't like to worry you, but D is not compulsory with Crohns, however if you don;t have it then it is kinda lucky as it sounds like a pretty unpleasant problem for some people!

oh and i should add, though i have formed stools, i did sometimes have quite a bit of bright red blood... but when i reported it to my doctor, she thought it was hemorrhoids... but i guess she was wrong, because ever since i've been on medication for crohn's, the bleeding has stopped.

so there, my BM thing is blood and occasional constipation. no D.

Over the years I have experianced both D and constipation. I have had times where I've went 9-10 days without a BM and other times I can't get more than 10 ft from the bathroom. I have varied from little round hard stool to water. Lately I have been experiancing formed stool the thickness of a pencil but it rushes out like D. This usually tells me that there is mild restriction going on.
I have had dark, tarry, stinky BM and also have had bright red bloody stool. I have bled so much at one time that I was passing out and had to have 4 units of blood pushed into me to avoid cardiac failure. My hemoglobin cts were down to 6.
I've had to have iron infusions to try and build me back up.

Crohn's is inflammatory bowel disease, so at any range of severity such as the mildest, you could just experiance minor inflammation or bloating, while the most severe form would be diarrhea,maldigestion, mucous, bleeding and then bowel obstruction.

So yes there are many ranges of severity, under what is defined as "crohn's".

my advice to you is do not consume any lactose or other disacharrides and you may steer clear of the most severe symptoms, this in accordance with the theory of the Specific carbohydrate diet, and is absolutely true for me.

It is a mysterious disease. Some have even speculated that it is a cluster of different diseases that are similar, but each their own since the symptoms vary so widely. Push your doctors to get tests to get more answers. If a doctor doesn't listen to you, get another doctor. Some are just not experienced enough to see signs that point to the disease. Personally I do not think my GI is very familiar with the disease, but he has the passion to learn with me. He knew the basics at first, as I see him more and more he talks more about it. I think I have forced him to venture out! Good or bad as that may sound I feel comfortable with him. At times when he didn't seem to listen I had sought out a second opinion. He was fine with that.