Not IBS?

[aperryvt]

Hi I am a 21 year old female who has been experiencing abdominal pain that has been going on for almost seven years. The pain when it firsts starts is moderate to severe, it is normally in my lower right quadrant, but lately it has been coming in on my upper and lower right quadrants. With this last onset I had rectal bleeding that lasted for 13 days. I had a colonoscopy with mostly normal results. They did find a medium size hemorrhoid which was causing the bleeding, but no real explanation for the pain. The terminal ileum was bright red on the exam, but the GI doctor said it was normal. The pain is starting to settle down again, but it might be coming back in December or January because that is when it has always come back. With the pain come nausea/vomiting, diarrhea to constipation, night sweats and cold chills, an overall sensation that something is not right. My symptoms eventually get worse then start relieving over a month’s span sometimes longer. Thus far I have not found anything to help resolve the symptoms I have even been placed on antidepressants and relaxation medications to help increase my ability to handle stress and help in resolving the "stress related pain."  No method that my doctors have advised me to do has worked. I have taken extra fiber, gone on a lactose free diet, used hot packs, and taken a pain medication as well as Pepto-Bismol to relieve the symptoms. When I am treated for the diarrhea, I get constipated and the pain becomes severe. I am at the point now that there will be no real resolution of the problem and I just want to decrease my discomfort whenever the pain comes back after it goes away. I do not think that they will ever find a "real reason" for this issue. Any ideas that might help me get through my issues would be great.

[patient915]

A gastric emptying scan is to test to see how fast your stomach empties food.  You will probably eat some eggs, toast, jam, and juice that has a radioactive tracer in it.  Then you will sit under a machine that will see how quickly that food empties from your stomach. The time you will be under this machine varies.

I would recommend asking for a blood test for celiac disease.

[aperryvt]

I have had no major testing other than the CT scans, Colonoscopy, and a wide range of blood and urine test. Everything has come back fairly normal execpt for the occusional high WBC count and low RBC couunt. I am going to be under going a GI emptying study, but I am not sure what it does or how the tests works.

[patient915]

Have you been tested for celiac disease/gluten intolerance?

[aperryvt]

Blood test have gone from being high wbc count with a low rbc count to normal levels. I have had CT scans that have been thus far normal, I have had a positive blood stool test. Orther than that I have not have had anyother testing on this matter.

[patient915]

What other tests have you had?