Sudden symptoms lasting 2 months?

[bandit444]

Hi,
About 2 months ago I started getting a dull and achy stomach along with nausea and loss of appetite. This came on sudden, like in a few hours sudden. Ever since I have noticed slowly I am losing the achy stomach and nausea but I am getting cramps in my stomach and abdomen. At first I was constipated and now I am having diarrhea and weight loss (About 17 pounds in a 2month period) from not eating (I have like NO appetite) My Dr diagnosed it as gastritis but the cramps, diarrhea/constipation and loss of appetite never went away. I had blood work done and everything came back normal, no anemia or high white blood cell count. I also had a scope down the throat which came back normal too. Strange enough even though I am having cramps I have no pain when I press on my stomach or abdomen. I explained to my Dr I have real bad anxiety and I am pretty sure I have depression too but didnt mention that. He didnt want to prescribe anything for anxiety but suggested trying something natural which I will look into once the stores open again. My family history isnt perfect, my mom has ulceritive colites (Sorry about spelling) Crohns disease, depression and anxiety issues too but she takes medication for all that. So my question is whats my chances of inheriting Crohns or UC? Does this sound like typical symptoms or what does this sound like and what should I do?  

[Caryopteris]

Please don't ignore this.  Find out what it is now, before your health goes downhill from lack of nutrition.  Start taking gluten-free vitamins with minerals (just in case it turns out to be celiac disease so you don't have to throw out the vitamins).  Don't stop eating gluten until you get tested because it will ruin the test results.  If you are positive for Celiac or even for Crohn's, change your diet.  Even with Crohn's, dietary changes are very helpful in at least some people, and are so much better than starting on prednisone right away.  Good luck.  

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Since you have a family history of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's, these should be ruled out first. A number of times a gastroenterologist is able to diagnose these conditions by clinical examination and detailed medical history. At other times a few tests are conducted. Blood tests to rule out anemia, stool test to look for white blood cells, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy etc are used to diagnose ulcerative colitis. Braium meal and follow through, endoscopy etc are done to rule out GERD, Crohn’s disease etc. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed by elimination of other causes. Gluten is a complex protein present in four main grains---wheat, rye, barley and oats. If you have gluten intolerance, then you probably have celiac disease or Non Celiac gluten sensitivity. There are blood tests called celiac test to detect gluten intolerance. Crohn’s disease is a difficult entity to diagnose. Along with gut symptoms skin disorders and arthritis too are commonly seen with Crohn’s. An upper GI series using barium dye is done to see the condition of small intestines. The degree of involvement of the large and small intestine may vary from person to person.  A biopsy is the most confirmatory. An elevated ESR, low protein, minerals and iron in blood are the other findings in Crohn’s which may or may not be present. A recent advancement in Crohn’s diagnosis is video capsule endoscopy.
Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself referred to a gastroenterologist. Take care!

[Family2011]

I would ask to be referred to a GI dr for a colonoscopy or the camera pill. (I forget the name of it.) Those will rule out colitis and crohns. I know that crohns disease it genetic and I believe colitis is too. As far as depression and anxiety, both of those can in fact cause irregular bowels; therefore causing cramping and such. If the colonoscopy comes back normal then I would find a physician that would be willing to treat your anxiety and depression.

As far as your symptoms: colitis is very painful and crohns is too. Both are very diet sensitive. Crohns is known to cause bloody stools. You may also want to check into irritable bowel syndrome as that is generally associated with constipation and diarreah on an intermittent basis. Medication can help regulate the bowels, as well as changing your diet.

Best of luck to you.