could this be crohn's

[scbeauty]

I am 27 years old and a mother of 2. I have allways had loose bowels and diarrhea as long as i can remember. After every meal or sometimes when i haven't eaten anything i have to go to the bathroom on average at least 3-4 times a day and it is always a loose stool. This past friday i began to get mucus and blood mixed in my stool it lasted about 3 days. I went to the ER and they did a MRI and said it was colitis.She said it was not ulcerative colitis just colitis. I called my doctor to get a follow up and he called me back with a sense of urgancy that i needed to be seen right away for more tests and of course wouldn't you know that my car broke down and i wasn't able to make my appointment. There are no more appointments until Dec. My stomach pain has increased and the pain killers the er gave me aren't working. Should i be concerned that colitis and my past history is just a symptom of a bigger problem what else cold it be. I have been really fatigued , and nauseas , the pain kllers make me constipated and if i stop takng them the diarreha is right back. It has came to the point that i have decided to by adult diapers in order to be able to go to work. Im 27 and I cant hold my Bowls any suggestions my GI appointment isnt for another week

[lizziecee]

I have had Crohn's for some 37 yrs now... have eventually learned to live with it. But, since I have been taking methotrexate (6 yrs) I have only had one flare, when I had to stop it for FEC chemo for breast cancer.  My weight has stabilised at 120 lbs (I am only 5'2") and besides the early morning diarrhea I am doing good.

An American retired gastro I consulted on the internet through the USA Crohn's & Colitis forum (now defunct) told me some 6 years ago, that to keep Crohn's in remission you must take an immuno-suppressant, like methotrexate. It can be highly toxic to the liver, but I have monthly blood tests to monitor this, and my tests are fine for the liver, although I have a high MCV and high MCH due to bone marrow problems, but my gastro says we can live with this. I don't feel unwell,no bleeding just tired, but this could possibly be because of the mtx which is a chemo drug. My quality of life is so enhanced since I went onto mtx - beforehand, always flares with severe rectal haemorrhages and a month or so "under the duvet".  Whatever drug you take, even aspirin, there can always be side effects -

scbeauty - you really need a colonoscopy and/or upper intestinal endoscopy to  identify if there is an obstruction or inflammation in your intestines. Until this is done you are really working in the dark, as is your gastro.  I was much of your age (24 yrs) when I got Crohn's and this is born out by research, that young adults get this at that age.

Once you get a diagnosis you can get appropriate meds and get on to living a normal life. It is possible, as I can prove after 37 yrs of Crohn's. I have been there done that, with adult diapers and always having to take spare knickers and trousers if I went out. Since methotrexate, I am doing great.  

When you both talk about "bigger issues" are you talking about colon cancer? My father died of colon cancer some 30 yrs ago aged 59, but appropriate diagnostics, chemo and rads  were not available then. I am aware that I am at high risk of my Crohn's turning to cancer as I have Crohn's in my small and large intestines, but if we lived day by day worrying about the what if's, we would have a very poor quality of life. I have learned, since getting breast cancer, which had spread by the time it was diagnosed, that I have to live for today and enjoy every moment I have on this earth. I do not believe that being positive (how I hate that expression when friends say how positive I am) will cure me of either diseases, but it sure does making living with these dastardly diseases easier to cope.

All I can really advise is get a gastro you can trust, research endlessly as to what new meds are available and live a good life. I only found methotrexate by googling "Crohn's latest" on the internet 7 yrs ago when we first got a computer and came up with mtx. It is not licensed in England for Crohn's because the manufacturers felt there are so few people in England with Crohn's it was not worth their while. It is licensed for use with severe psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, my consultant gastro can prescribe if off license and he is happy to do so, as long as I have monthly blood for toxicity to the liver. I seem to have defied all the odds since I drink 2/3 glasses of wine each night with dinner, and you are not supposed to drink alcholol. I figure at 63 yrs old, having lived with all the consequences of Crohn's, I deserve to have the life I want. My gastro did say to me recently: "Liz, you have to choose between quality or quantity of life"...because of the problems with my bone marrow. Well, it was like being given a death sentence, but I am eternally optimistics and I replied: "I want both!", and he laughed and we didn't explore the subject further.

Hey, if I can be of further help you can contact me privately at tedark at aol.com. Use the ampersand instead of at as e-mail addresses can't get through on this site. I will be more than happy to help - I have never known anyone with Crohn's and have always felt so isolated and wished I could have found someone to discuss my problems with.

I wish you both well.
Hugs,
Liz.

[Tuffy4u]

Sorry, I forgot to mention what brought me here tonight for the first time. I have Crohns disease and am sick and tired of it...Period. I am at a loss as to what to do next with this old body of mine.

[Tuffy4u]

Hang in there and stay close to the bathroom. It wont last forever. Once you get a GI Dr. you wont have to wait so long when you need to see him or her. In the mean time, pay close attention (keep a journal) to everything you eat,everytime you go to the bathroom and exactly what it looked like. This will save time and help the Dr. to determine what course of treatment if any, you need. I learned eventually,that I could plan my future but not my timing. If you go to the bathroom after you eat, make sure that you will have some time, within the next half hour to spend in the bathroom. Try to rise above it and know that you are not alone. I have lived with bloody mucus loose stools or constipation , cramping and Pain Pain Pain off and on now for around 20 years. It could come and go with months or years in between bouts of these "colon" issues.But I spent so much of these years being so afraid that this was somthing  bigger. It is amazing what our bodies can go thru and still keep going. I hope your Dr. is a good one and I hope for you, that you find some relief soon.