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Does this sound like Chron’s or IBS

Posted , 5 users are following.

jacob69637
jacob69637

a little over a year ago shortly after moving i started having bowel issues. ive never had any issues before this. i would get very severe cramping and gas pain that would end either with passing the gas or a blowout of a bowel movement. often times these movements were just fibers abd no mass that would almost dissolve. this would happen once a month or every other week for about 10 months. My doctor took a stool sample and im clear of bacteria etc (no blood tested for in stool) i did mrntion sometimes my movements were dark but he said only truly pitch black and oily are worrysome for blood. So then he ran blood work. all my bloods were normal except for minorly low B12, which then caused him to test for the celiac gene which came back negative ruling that out almost certainly. He tested my liver function which was normal, he tested me for inflammation markers which were very low (in a good way) and everything came back normal. In the end he said it sounded like IBS. he said it doesnt warrant a colonoscopy unless it got worse or i started losing weight etc. to him the biggest reasons for this were that I feel almost entirely better after a blowout or passing alot of gas, according to him Chron's the cramps continue and the pain doesnt come and go with the movements themselves. He also said inflammatory bowel conditions typically always present with high inflammatory markers in bloodwork if causing symptoms and mine were very low in the healthy range. Also my guy eould make a rushing water sound which i guess is a sign of Ibs.

anyway ive recover some. now its been more once every two months or three months I will get a blowout although crampy pains are a bit more common. this all started during a very stressful period where we moved, got engaged and changed work etc so the stress factor was certainly there.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • albert_99155
    albert_99155 jacob69637

    Posted

    Have you had any issues with your galbladder?

    there is also something on the radio i heard regarding either liver enzymes or pancreas. Just some thoughts.

    • jacob69637
      jacob69637 albert_99155

      Posted

      he tested liver and pancreas function with bloodwork and all was normal. gallbladder usually cause bile issues he said which is readily apparent in the bloods

  • jaw90561
    jaw90561 jacob69637

    Posted

    hello Jacob. first of all I want to say I'm sorry to hear of what your going through. my journey with crohns disease sure hasnt been easy and when I first became ill I had the most terrible experience with it...so you're not alone!

    so what your doctor has said about the cramps etc is certainly true in my case. bowel movements may relieve the cramps ever so slightly for a couple of seconds but for me, it doesnt make it go away. often I end up having to stretch or just curl up in a ball until it stops! however I appreciate that everyones symptoms and stories are different so it my well be the case that bowel movement eases pains for you.

    on the blood test part though. for about 2months before anyone knew what was wrong with me, I was having blood tests done, stool tests, urine tests, the lot! and literally nothing was showing up. my inflammatory markers were pretty much normal apparently and therefore there was no real urgency from anyone. meanwhile I was in excruciating pain, vomiting and going downhill pretty fast!

    I finally got somewhere when one day a doctor in the ER decided to do an abdominal xray. and it showed that my large bowel was very inflamed. I was then admitted to hospital immediately, had a CT scan and then a colonoscopy the very next morning which confirmed crohns.

    so I could suggest that you request an abdo xray?? blood results arent always accurate especially if you arent in the middle of a flare up when you have them taken...

    and yeah stress has a massive impact on crohns and ibs etc so try and unwind and relieve that pressure...

    hopefully some of that will be helpful 😉

    • jacob69637
      jacob69637 jaw90561

      Posted

      thats terrible you had such a rough time with that! and see that kind of supports my doctors view about mine being IBS. As mine has never been as severe as youve described or caused vomiting etc. I have a very good friend who also has Chrohn's like you and he has had much more severe symptoms as well. Given mine is occasional and often has been directly correlated to poor eating habits (lack if fiber and letting myself starve only to pile on a huge meal all in one sitting) i suppose IBS must match up pretty well.

      i would imagine with you condition it doesnt really get better until treatment either rather than once every couple monhs etc?

  • jaw90561
    jaw90561 jacob69637

    Posted

    hello Jacob.

    thanks. yeah well my symptoms would have started out like you've been describing. I had the pains and random bowel movements on and off for about 3months. and the doctors said oh it's just IBS and then another said oh its piles...

    but it was almost like overnight it became really severe and from then on it gradually got worse and worse.

    yeah the symptoms I've had would just get really bad again if I was to stop taking my medication. I also have to really watch what I eat and exercise regularly to try and stop flare ups happening.

    it could just be ibs that you have but I would keep an eye on how your symptoms are, maybe keep a record of what you feel or what happens on what day and watch the frequency of it and whether one flare is more severe than the other etc.

    trust you will get some answers and relief soon 😃

  • sinead1993
    sinead1993 jacob69637

    Edited

    my chrons story is only beginning, i went into hospital for what the doctor thought was my appendix. Turned out i had bowel inflammation which was found in surgery, and i have a colonoscopy in a couple weeks to confirm if it definitely is. My stool sample returned (calprotectin) as 1800, which is also a high indications of a bowel disease such as chons. I never vomit, mostly acid throw up, my stool goes back and forth from normal to runny and the colour changes. I am not always in pain, it comes and goes. My inflammation markers are always borderline, usually CRP is 7-10, it was 35 last week which i have never seen it to high. My symptoms never matched Chrons nor did i ever think I may have it. So i would push for a colonoscopy to make sure.

    • jacob69637
      jacob69637 sinead1993

      Edited

      i really dont think i should push for colonoscopy, actually your symptoms very much do line up with IBD with the vomiting etc. I appreciate your input but my inflammation markets are very very much on the low end, not even borderline etc. and my stool sample was normal. so to me IBS fits the description better at least compared to your case.

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