OT: crohn's question

[Ufrustrated2]

i asked this over at the crohn's website but no answer yet.

can MRI or CT show crohn's in small intestine or do you have to swallow that camera thingy?

[Ufrustrated2]

thanks Mary. nope, that is the last thing i need. thanks for the input too.

i can say for sure the abdominal pain, bloating, and fissure bleeding i do have and have had for years (on and off) along with mouth sores when these flares come and a weird lil inflame place on my eye.

just always thought it IBS and the MS.

i prefer to think usually its nothing yet symptoms don't go away.

thanks again for the input.

[twopack]

Those "shotty lymph nodes" mentioned on your report are probably left over from an infection somewhere along the way.  Sometimes lymph nodes in the groin and/ or arm pit remain enlarged long after an infection is gone (sometimes forever).  The noted lack of enlarged nodes outside the inguinal area on your MRI indicates there isn't likely any current infection to worry about.

I don't think there is necessarily any inflammation present either.  Mild colonic diverticulosis doesn't indicate inflammation or infection, at least not right now.  It means balloon like pockets have formed within your intestional wall and are bulging outward.  This happens when the mucosal wall (especially of the signoid colon) weakens.  Sorry to say --- it's age related.  Many times the pockets don't cause any problems so you don't know they are there unless they show up on a scan for something else.

HOWEVER, if diverticulosis pockets become inflammed or infected the doc will have a new name for them and the symptoms they produce -- diverticulitis.  The ending -itis always indicates inflammation and in this case usually means abdominal pain, bloating, and bleeding.  You can't get rid of the pockets but you can treat inflammation and infection.  Balanced dietary fiber intake can help immensly for prevention and treatment.

Chron's disease causes a much more serious inflammatory process in the bowel.  In fact, it is an autoimmune disease and can have effects on organs outside the gut.  Like Lulu, I hope you do not have to deal with Chron's as well as MS.

Mary

[Ufrustrated2]

>>duh - I gave you the entirely wrong link.  It was supposed to be from Mayo..........here's that link.  Sorry to make you read aobut MRI's - I hope it wasn't a complete waste of time.

no problem. i'm learning more about MRIs today! ;-)

[Ufrustrated2]

hey Bob,

good to hear from you. thanks for the reply. i guess the radiologist saw something. coloscopy was ok last year, though symptoms persist over the years & my point of view for what its worth is it isn't MS related. endoscopy only goes just a short way to small intestines.

i only mention that due to a few folks i know had issues that were only found when investigating the small intestines. i'm glad to hear there are MR things to look there.

non-VA neuro saw the report and commented on it and mentioned i should fight to get the exam due to what the hip MRI returned. if i had insurance he would have ordered it.

hope all goes well with your colon tests. as you know, the washout is the hardest part these days.

[Ufrustrated2]

hi ren,

i believe that is true for the colon and large intestine.

though what of small intestine?

sorry to hear of your son, hope that is under control. i know a few folks with that and like MS, it turned their world upside down.

thansk

[rendean]

Since my son has ulcerative colitis I was told colonoscopy is the gold standard of care for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease , according to my son's GI doctor who heads the local childrens' hospital GI department.

Ren

[COBOB]

Mild colonic diverticulosis is the medical sign the radiologist can see.  Inflammation of the intestines is one of the diagnostic criteria for Crohn's.  Diverticulosis is an inflammation of the intestines.  It satisfies part of the diagnostic criteria.  Some hospitals and imaging centers use a special MR study called MR enterography to image the intestinal tract.  Other centers require and endoscopy (colonoscopy) as part of the diagnosis.

I get to go for my age 50 scope next year.

Bob

[Lulu54]

duh - I gave you the entirely wrong link.  It was supposed to be from Mayo..........here's that link.  Sorry to make you read aobut MRI's - I hope it wasn't a complete waste of time.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis

[Ufrustrated2]

i didn't see crohn's mentioned in that MRI article. did my eyes/brain cheat me again?

[Ufrustrated2]

a recent hip MRI series showed under [other soft tissue]: "shotty bilateral inguinal region lymph nodes appear present without gross lymphadenopathy. Mild colonic diverticulosis may be present"

trying to get this further investigated.

seems once you get dx with ms, then everyhing is of MS origin so docs just brush it off.

[Ufrustrated2]

thanks, we'll know sometime this year i hope.

[Lulu54]

Mayo is good for somethings besides a BLT Sandwich.  Here's there thorough explanation on the tests used to dx Crohn's.  

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/How-MRIs-Show-Lesions-in-MS/show/23?cid=36

I hope you don't have this on top of your MS.  That would be so unfair.  

later, L