Crohns Disease - Any idea on what medical problem I may have?
Expert: Odette Yuhas - 3/17/2005
Question Hi Odette,
Thank you so much for responding to my question. I do feel a little bit better. I am going to call
my primary doctor tomorrow and see if I can get a CT scan done before I see the gastro
specialist. The problem with HMO's is that they seem to put you through the ringer. I will
probably have to demand that a test gets done or else nothing will happen. My problem is that
they don't seem to think that having diarrhea for this long is a big deal. And I wouldn't either
except that I don't know what I have so I have nothing to base it on. I have never had this
problem before and the blood in my stools worries me too. And to answer your question, no my
blood is not a bright color at all. And it doesn't happen everytime I go either. I usually have
blood after I go a couple of times. And it is like a pinkish red. Very strange to me. My dad
seems to think that it might be a combination of stress and IBS combined.
Do you know if colitis, IBS or Crohn's Disease can be picked up by doing a CT scan? Or is a
colonoscopy the only way those can be diagnosed? I hear that because of my age they may not
want to do a colonoscopy. So if this is the case can they find out what might be wrong with me
just by the results from the CT scan? I would prefer the easy way out at this point. Another
answer to your question is no I am not doubled over in pain. Right now however I have a feeling
of fullness and my stomach is paining me a little but this is not the norm. All I feel is a lot of
inflammation in my intestines. Any idea on why this could be happening?
Again thank you for your timely response and I really appreciate all of the advice you gave me. I
will continue to eat only liquids and see how that goes. I tried to eat a little bit of roast beef
today just to see if I could hold it down and so far so good. However, I am sure my intestines are
not liking that too much because beef is a lot harder to digest. By the way, why is it that
everyone always ask if my blood is bright red? Is that a bad sign?
Thank you again.
Take care and I hope that I do have a good time on the cruise! The food is so great on cruises
that I don't want to miss out. I can't for the life of me see how I would still be like this 2 months
from now.
With colitis or Crohn's disease how long do these type of flare-ups last? Also is pepto bismol
okay to take? And it's funny that you mentioned not to take immodium. My primary care doctor
told me it was okay to take.
Kind Regards,
Jennifer
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hello,
I am a 28 year old female who for the past three and a half
weeks have had constant diarrhea. I will mainly get it in the
morning but it's not uncommon for me to get it also a couple of
times during the day. My first visit to the doctor did not go so
well. He thought it was a viral infection that I had of my
intenstines. He said that if I still had diarrhea next week to
follow back up with him. Well I still had it the following week so
I went back in and the doctor then had me do stool samples and
a blood test. After another week of the same pain in my
stomach (kind of like a hunger pain, but sometimes more
intense), diarrhea and blood in my stools, I finally received a call
from my doctor today telling me that the stool sample was
negative for parasites or any other bacteria but it was positive
for blood. They still don't have my blood results back. I still
cannot eat anything without it going right through me. Last
week I had a day or two where I thought that I was getting over
it but then it started again.
At this point I am being referred to a gastro doctor. I cannot get
in to see him until next Wednesday and that is only for a
consultation. I feel that I am going to be fighting really hard
with them to give me a colonoscopy. I know that at my age that
they may think I am too young, but I am scared at this point.
Some things to point out, I have had lower GI (bowel, diarrhea)
problems on and off again for about 7 years. Usually this goes
away though in about a day or two at the max. I don't have any
fatigue, no significant weight loss (except for the 8lbs I have lost
due to not being able to eat), no headaches, no vomiting, no
fever. Just a little bit of stomach cramping with lots of diarrhea
and blood in my stools. My grandfather(maternal), both paternal
grandparents, my father and my aunt have had problems. My
dad, my grandparents with IBS and my aunt had colitis. I don't
know what to do at this point. I don't want to wait another two
weeks before getting some tests and I eventually need to get
back to work. This is interrupting my life, work and my
marriage. I also have a Alaska cruise coming up in May.
Do you know how long you can have IBS? Can diarrhea last for
more than 3 weeks if you have IBS or colitis? Do you think by
me going to an ER I will get any results faster? I appreciate any
advice you can give me.
Thank you for your time.
Kindest Regards,
Jennifer
Answer -
Hi Jennifer,
First of all, I am so sorry you are feeling so poorly.
Well, I know little about IBS and Colitis other than having friends who have this. Yes, with Colitis
and IBS you can have diarrhea for long periods of time, but with my friends, it depends on what
they eat that causes their attacks. I am concerned about you having the blood in the stools
though. It is a sign of something that should not be going on. However; it could also be
because you are going to the bathroom so much. Maybe the blood is not in the stools and could
be from your anus being raw? Is there streaks of blood in the stools, bright red? Also, are you
hurting when you eat? Doubling over? Let me know if that is the case. Also, when you see your
doctor, ask him/her to give you a CT scan. Better that than a colonoscopy and should you have
Crohn's Disease, they will be able to diagnose that much easier. In the meantime, eat stuff that
will bind you. Rice, no fried foods, no foods with fiber in it. Stay away from Salads, Pork, any
fried foods. It is hard on the bowels and will make them work harder. For a day or so, just eat
clear liquids (popsicles, broths, jello). The reason for this is that your intestines will not have to
work as hard and may also give you some relief.
Also, please don't use any imodium! If you do have an infection inside, the imodium will cause
more problems than help.
IBS is a lifetime problem also Colitis. Both can be taken care of with medication. Also, if it is
Crohn's Disease, it can also be held under control using meds.
I sure hope this helps somewhat. Wish I could help more but since I am not a doctor, I can only
tell you what I know.
Please let me know what they tell you and if you have any and I mean any other questions, please
don't hesitate to contact me.
Best of luck and have a wonderful time in Alaska!
Odette
Answer Hi Jennifer,
Glad you are feeling better today. Roast beef was not what you should have tried though. Hard for the intestines to digest that, silly girl! Light red blood is a a better sign than dark red. Dark red means it is coming from the intestines, light may mean it is just an anal thing. It means it is "fresh" blood, not blood that has been sitting in the intestines. Good sign!
I am not sure whether they can diagnose IBS via a CT scan, but they can tell it with Crohn's. A colonoscopy could show whether you have polups which could also be the reason for the bleeding. The colonscopy will not hurt you. They normally knock you out to have it done. No biggie, I promise. Maybe all you have are polups and they can be removed when they do the colonoscopy. Please don't worry!
How long do flarups last, well, that depends on the person. Also depends on what kinds of foods you eat as well.
The bloating feeling in the intestines is because the intestines are working really hard and they can't get a break. If you give them a rest, they will settle down unless you have Crohn's Disease. Then meds will be able to control that. My friend who has IBS also takes meds when she is acting up and she is just fine most of the time unless she eats stuff she is not supposed to eat.
Pepto Bismol won't do a thing for you, sorry. All is will do is make you poop pink and that is about it. Just please be sure not to eat corn,fried foods, etc. for a couple of days to let them rest.
Please let me know what happens, okay?
Also if you try to contact me again, start another chain as this one is really hard to read, have to keep scrolling up to see what you said! If you want to email me directly rather than going through this site, here is my email address. oyuhas@cfl.rr.com
May I ask where you live? I am here in Florida and thought that if you need a good doctor here, I can give you names.
Get better and please don't worry, all will be okay!
