SMALL BOWEL CT SHOWs 7mm dialation

[4michellesv]

My daughter has no appetite, nausea, and weight loss. She had a ct that showed wall thickening in her jujunum (small intestine) up to 7mm. I am very concerned about cancer though the Dr, thought possibly Crohns. I thought nausea was more from the higher areas of the bowel, and the lower bowel and small intestines more responsible for diareah... Does anyone know? She is 21 years old. Thank  you for answers.  

[CrohnieToo]

Altho Crohn's disease is known to most likely first strike at the terminal ileum that is no hard and fast rule. Mine first struck in the mid-ileum. It took the Crohn's disease 20 years to finally strike my terminal ileum. Crohn's "usually" tends to skip upstream - mine didn't follow that "trend" either! Crohn's is much more likely to produce diarrhea - mine is prone to constipating me. There are no hard and fast rules w/Crohn's disease. None.

[CrohnieToo]

Nope, inflammation anywhere in the small intestine can cause nausea, no appetite and weight loss.

The large bowel is where most of the "water" is extracted from the stool as it passes thru. Stool enters the colon (large bowel) as a "slime" called chyme. The last 3 feet of the small intestine, referred to as the terminal ileum, is where most of the bile from the gall bladder used to digest food thru the small intestine is removed. The colon's interior is much more sensitve to bile than the small intestine (ileum). The bile irritates the colon and interferes w/its ability to absorb the "water" from the stool - and voila - diarrhea.

That wall thickening does sound very suggestive of Crohn's disease. Moreso than cancer. And small intestine cancer is VERY RARE.