IBS, Chrons, UC ?? What's wrong with me?

[Mayfly00]

I have always had problems with my stomach, ever since I was a little girl....it just has never been quite right.   It really started getting bad when I was 17-18yrs old.  Everything I ate went right through me, accompanied with severe cramping and diarrhea.  After 10 pregnancy tests, I finally convinced the Dr.'s that I was not pregnant.  They then thought it was my appendix.  I finally went home and googled my symptoms, went back to the doctor and suggested that it might be my gallbladder.  After doing several tests, they told me that my gallbladder was "infected".  They took my gallbladder out when I was 19yrs old.  I am now 25 and still have all the same problems.  Over the last few years, I have really changed my diet.  I rarely eat meat, I eat fruits and veggies every day, probiotic yogurt everyday, enzymes, probiotics, you name it.  I eat very very low fat foods.  All those things do seem to help, but not fully.  I have several BMs a day, sometimes up to 10.  I have cramping and am nauseous most of the time and am very fatigued.  I sometimes have very narrow stools.  And always have runny, loose stools, and mostly diarrhea.  Probably about once a month or so I have bloody stools.  I regularly have mucous in my stools.   I have been living with this for several years, afraid to go back to the doctor.  I finally made an appointment with a different GI doctor and will be going on July 31st.  I am very nervous that they will once again tell me its IBS.  Does anyone have any suggestions??  What should I do??

[shlwood]

Hi,
  I'm not a doctor, but I do have Crohn's disease.  I was diagnosed 3 years ago, and I can tell you info that I've experineced or found.   Crohn's,  IBD, and UC are all very similar.  However, with UC your problems are localized in the colon only.  IBD and Crohn's are so similar that doctors sometimes can only base it on symtoms.  I experience abdomen pain, joint pain, nausea, occasional vomiting, mouth ulcers, fever, fatigue, and perianal fissures.  The involvement that includes the mouth ulcers and the perianal fisuures seem to make Crohn's more likely.  Apparently, Crohn's can affect you anywhere from mouth to the anus.  So, if you have symptoms other than the colon, Crohn's is pretty likely.  Also, doctors can do an anitbody test.  If you have the antibodies it helps them differentiate between IBD, UC and Crohn's.  There is presently no cure for Crohn's.  Doctors only treat my symptoms; it's frustrating.  Hang in there, and pray for a cure.  Also, check out the Crohn's Foundation online.  God bless you.

[shlwood]

I forgot to answer your question about what to do.  A big help for me has been watching my diet.  "Healthy" eating isn't always the best because fiber seems to cause me to have flares.  I have to cook all vegetables...no raw ones...too hard to digest.  Also, avoid milk or milk products except for yogurt and cheddar cheese...only cheddar...no soft cheese or processed cheese.  Other foods to watch out for are: sodas, espcially colas, meats, and any processed foods.

Good luck and God bless.

[Mayfly00]

Thank you so much for all your advice!!  I do have mouth sores  quite often.  I always thought it was just from grinding my teeth, or biting my cheeks....but I have them all the time.  So now I wonder if it is attributed to Crohn's.  That is good to know about raw vegetables.  I thought they were the best thing for me, but they do aggravate my stomach.   I will try steaming/grilling them from now on and see how that goes.  I do avoid all dairy products, except yogurt.  I try to eat at least one probiotic  yogurt a day.  I drink a lot of soy milk....I have heard this can aggravate your stomach too?  Any advice if that's true or not?  
I do avoid meats and TRY to avoid processed foods.  Although this is nearly impossible in Oklahoma!!  We do not have a whole foods store!!  UGH!!!  
My father just had his gallbladder removed last week, so now...No one has a gallbladder in my immediate family of 4.  And most of my extended family has their gallbladders out as well.....  can this be a factor of UC or Crohns??  I find it interesting that almost my entire family has had their gallbladders out!!  And I had my out soooo young, at 19!  Thanks again for your advice and support!!!  It can be pretty isolating having these problems, and its really nice to have a support group that understands!!  Thank you!!  =)

[utilaman]

You have IBD!
Note:  UC and Crohns are 2 forms of IBD!

Your colon tissue is full of blood so it is swollen or Inflammed which PREVENTS the nutrients from being absorbed from the Liquid food in your intestines!    The blood filled colon tissue is why you go 10 or more times............Unbelieveable that they would remov
e your gallbladder which is needed to neutralize acid from stomach!

BUY:
Papaya Enzymes or Bromelain from Walmart in vitamin section and take with food!
Consider adding Cayenne pepper since it is Antiinflammatory!
Eat some Minced Garlic found in bottle of water and phosphoric acid near potatoes and lettuce in Walmart grocery section!
Use Epson salt in tub for 10 minutes after taking bath-1/2 cup or so!

Make sure you are taking supplements like B vitamins and daily multivitamin since very little is getting into your blood stream..........YOU ARE MALNURISHED!

Good luck!

[Mayfly00]

Thank you for your advice!  I do take Papaya Enzymes, and Cayenne.  I also take Slippery Elm, and White Willow. I have read that all of these help ease inflammation as well.  I have never heard of Bromelain before, I will definitely check into it.  Suppose I am diagnosed with IBD, then what??  I'm sure they will try to start me on meds, but that terrifies me!!  I do not want to take anything that could have side effects. Do you think the symptoms can be kept in check with herbal supplements and a healthy diet?  Any experience with this?

[utilaman]

I Live in Ruston La.  I made an appointment with a Gastroenterologist last November to see if I had internal Hemorhoids.   I told the guy I thought I had proctitis which is a form of IBD and was having 5 or more BMs/day. And if the BM were solid, then the diameter was little which indicated the colon was INFLAMED-swollen.   colonoscopy confirmed proctitis and was given Hydrocortizone Acetate suppositories with a Refill of 3.   This Doctor is probably still expecting me back to make another refill for me.   I did get the first one filled but have never put one of those suppositories up my butt.

I got my BMs down to just one with eating garlic out of a bottle but still had mucus discharge and some swelling so I got everything under control with adding the Papaya Enzyme with all my meals.......I take about 6 papaya enzyme pills a day-maybe I should take a break who knows?  3 meals/day so I chew one pill before eating and drink some water and the other during the meal.

Do some interesting searches:   Google these
-Red Yeast Rice Mayo clinic
-Hot peppers cancer
-Coffee cancer
-Coffee colon cancer
-Percent heart attacks normal cholesterol levels

Note:  
The FDA is run by Doctors and government.   Doctors don't make money if they don't have patients so when the supplement companies found out that the Statin drugs were gotten from a molecule in red yeast rice-Specifically Lovastatin came directly from the yeast without genetic engineering.......Just imagine that?!   FDA came down hard and shut them down and passed a law that any red yeast supplement will have to contain trace amounts of Lovastatin which occurs naturally.   The other statins are just manipulations of the same molecule.
I WONDER what will happen to the Hot peppers and prostate cancer thing IF men in the future decide to eat the peppers instead of seeing their Doctor.

On controlling symptoms, I have and HOPE you are able to too.
Visit this site:  gastrointestinalatlas.com  to see Thousands of videos of different GI diseases.  I had my nephew-just graduated and received his MD licence-over my house a couple weeks ago.  He said,"I've never heard of this Salvadoran or his Site-WOW"!   My nephew then quickly jotted down the site name for future reference.   I found that site when I  was trying to find out my problem.

Maybe a Teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water that u use to take your papaya enzymes might also help INCREASE Stomach acid.    If you know of anything to Increase HCL in stomach naturally let me know since I am trying to make sure digestion is happening right, and the papaya enzyme result seem to indicate that the problem is near the beginning of digestion.

TAKE CARE!

[tmknell]

I was diagnosed with chrons disease about 3 years ago. I had gone through many different stomach issues over the years. Had my gallbladder removed at the age of 18 in emergency surgery due to a severe attack. I was unable to pass the stone and medicine failed to dissolve it. I was also treated for recurring ulcers in my stomach, esophagus, and throat. When the rectal bleeding started it was minor and I just assumed it was due to hemroids, but was actually due to developing ulcers in the intestines. At this point I was in almost constant pain, malnourished, and lethargic. I was told that I had IBS (no tests were performed, diagnosis was based on clinic exam) and  The dietary changes that my primary care doc recommended were pretty drastic and only provided minor help. I was told no dairy, no meats, no spices, nothing acidic, greasy, fatty, etc. At this point I was eating nothing but fruits and vegetables, a very restrictive diet that was hard to follow. At the time I worked as a waitress in a small diner run by a Lebonese man and his wife, and they gave me a name of a friend of theirs that was a gastroenterologist. That appointment was the end of my constant suffering. After ordering a colonoscopy, I was told it was crohns and this wonderful little man from India told me that crohns is a disease that does not exist in his country. Told me to get a mediteranean cook book and prepare my meals from it and the crohns would go away.Within six months of following this advice my crohns went into remission and I have had no further symptoms. The main dietary staples in the middle east are rice, fish, steamed vegetables, and beans. Use brown rice or barley instead of wheat or oatmeal, honey in place of sugar, use olive oil when cooking or frying not other vegetable oils, when cooking beans make sure to use beans in the lentil and legume families of beans, such as soybeans and chick peas. The other types of beans like kidney and pinto beans create too much gas and cause more stomach upset. The use of beans takes the place of the meats that you can't have. Pork and beef will agrivate crohns symptoms because of the fat content so stick with fish and chicken. If you must satisfy a craving for pork or beef get extra lean cuts and grill instead of fry. Dairy is also a big nono for crohns sufferers. However for those like me who can not give up the dairy use lowfat or skim versions. The other foods that are absolutely off limits and sorry I have found no substitutions as of yet are foods high in acidic content such as citrus fruits and sodas. These promote the formation of ulcers. Spicy hot foods should also be avoided as well. There are plenty of milder spices that will perk up a dish wonderfully. Making these changes has made me symptom free without the use of pharmaceuricals for almost four years now. Hope this helps and good luck.