silent reflux linked to crohns??

[moftwo]

Just wondering if anyone can help me out?? My son has silent reflux and just recently i have heard that there may be a link between this and crohn's. Crohns runs in my husbands side of the family - both his mothers and fathers..... should i start to think that way - should my paed be concerned??

[lizziecee]

P.S...sorry to hijack this thread...quickest way to contact Cheryl. Muchas gracias.
Liz.

[lizziecee]

Hi Cheryl - can you send me details (again!) on how to post a PM?  Been pretty frantic here with GP, hospital appts for hubby, dentists and trying to cope with our holiday apt guests. I am going to open a hard copy printed file for Medhelp! Did you ever look at our Fort? Just hope I can keep well enough to get me thru until mid Nov as the apt is fully booked. Say a prayer for me that the consult with my gastro 23rd July throws some light on my current problems, and some action!

Many thanks,
Liz.

[lizziecee]

Hi - has your paed thought about coeliac disease? I have a friend whose 1 yr old daughter was failing to thrive and wouldn't eat - she turned out to have coeliac and was put on a wheat free diet - she is now a national t.v. presenter!
Just a thought......

Kind regards,
Liz.

[ChitChatNine]

A hida scan injects a tracer (nuclear) along with a hormone that makes the gallbladder think it is digesting food and then they watch how it contracts, etc.  It takes 1.5+ hrs but clinched the diagnosis when all the other common tests came back normal.

Cheryl

[moftwo]

thankyou for the words of knowledge. My son is only 1 year old and he doesnt really suffer from the crohns symptoms you described. He very rarely has diarrhea and has never had blood in his stool, he isn't losing weight, but gaining only very slowly as he eats so little and only potato, pumpkin and rice basically. He has a dairy intolerance that we are just working through. So maybe i have nothing really to worry about. I will make sure to get the new paed to understand that is a concern to me.

Also, the jewish history is interesting as my husbands mother side of the family have no jewish history and they have gone back a few hundred years in the family tree and it is most prevelant in that side......

[radar77]

Thanks for your feedback.  I really appreciate any info I can get since I've been so worried.  I have to keep telling myself that if it was anything life threatening he wouldn't be able to go about his daily activities and would be getting worse instead of having occasional episodes.  I really have started to wonder if the jaundice is actually Gilbert's or a result of his gallbladder not working properly.  I will definitely ask the Dr. about the HIDA scan - what does it involve?  Thanks again!

[ChitChatNine]

My daughter had gallbladder issues that mimiced GERD ...... it is really tough to diagnose.  Severe nausea and the other symtpoms you mention.

Have they done what is called a HIDA Scan to r/o gallbladder at all?  Even if ultrasounds are normal and no stones my dd's gallbladder was severely dysfunctional at 4% working.

Today she is doing great!!!!  That was in January of this year.  She was on 60mgs of Prevacid daily with no relief.

Cheryl

[radar77]

I have concerns about my 16 year old son who seems to always be burping when he's eating.  He has lost weight in the past 6 months and is considered to be at the bottom of the healthy weight range.  We have consulted with a dietitian and he eats healthy and is trying to gain weight but now I wonder if the excess gas and lack of interest in food are related.  In the past year he has had 3 episodes at intervals of every 4 months of being violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea after eating dinner.  This lasts for about 1 hour and then he is fine.  He was diagnosed with Gilbert's Syndrome (a benign liver condition) 1 year ago and as a result often appears jaundiced in his eyes. He seems to function normally on a day to day basis and has never had to miss school.  I am puzzled since he doesn't seem to fit the profile of any one specific condition.  We are going back to the Dr. in another 3 weeks but in the meantime I worry.  I have GERD and irritable bowel but neither have ever made me nauseous.

[ChitChatNine]

Thank you Liz for your advice ...

We appreciate it!

Cheryl

[lizziecee]

Hi -  welcome to this wonderful forum and sorry to hear of your son's symptoms. Cheryl has asked me to respond to your post re possible Crohn's as I am the new Community Leader, indeed having had Crohn's since I was 24, now a young 63 yrs!

As far as I understand Crohn's, it does tend to run in families, particularly those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent - I have been asked if I have any Jewish blood by every gastro I have seen, and having moved around England and Spain quite a lot, have seen quite a few. There is a suspicion my maternal grandfather was Jewish, but the synagogue in the town where he was born, was bombed in WW11 and my sister and I have been unable to confirm this. My late mother never mentioned any Jewish blood, and my siblings and I were brought up Methodists.

However, there does not seem to be any Crohn's in my immediate family - my late parents and twin brother, surviving elder sister did/do not have it, and as far as I am aware, none of my father's 7 siblings or my grandparents.

You don't say how old your son is, but as he is being treated by a paediatrician, surmise he is young. I know from my local chapter of Crohn's and Colitis, we are now finding children as young as 6 yrs old being dx with Crohn's.

Reflux is not, in my experience at least, one of the early symptoms of Crohn's - they are usually severe weight loss, diarrhea, floating greasy looking stools, lower abdominal pain, and in children, failure to thrive because of malabsorption, particularly in the small intestine, where it usually, but not always, appears first. Crohn's can appear anywhere in the GI tract, from mouth to anus, and atypically, the eyes.  I was dx with a hiatal hernia in my stomach some 10 yrs ago, but this was not causing any symptoms until quite recently. I am having a CT scan next week, an upper endoscopy under sedation early July, which may throw light on my current problems of nausea,significant weight loss, loss of appetite, dyspepsia and steatorrhea.

I am not sure how I can help you further as I know very little about GERD, but am more than willing to help with Crohn's. I would agree that your son's Paed should be aware of the familial connection with Crohn's.

Best regards,
Liz in Cornwall, England.

[ChitChatNine]

WELCOME to the Community.

What a great ?

I do not know from a medical research viewpoint, but one thing I do know from a mom of 4 children who all have had different degrees of reflux is that when one thing in the body is askew, reflux can readily be active.  When it is settled down and under control, the reflux abates to some degree!

My 17yr old had her gallbladder removed in January and since then has a very ltd. need for Prevacid but while they couldn't figure out for 3 yrs what was wrong with her, the reflux spindled out of control even on 60mgs of Prevacid!!!!!

There is a Crohn's community here at MedHelp.  The Community Ldr has suffered with Crohn's for 38yrs I think.  Actually, she may not be on the community right now due to some health concerns, but certainly post there, too and see what the members have to offer you in addition to here.

WELCOME!!!!

Cheryl