help !!!!! need some answers

by vicki
(dover kent)

hi there
im hoping someone will be able to answer me, as my husand dosnt seem to be getting anywhere with doctors,april 2010 he was taken into hopital with severe pains in his sides, he had blood tests, colonoscopy, endoscopy, ultrasound , scans etc, he has bad dioreah (sorry cant spell) hes sick sometimes, as soon as he eats he has to go toilet , weight loss, and the doctors cant say whats wrong with him, hes in pain everyday , just wondering if anyone else knows what this could be if it might be crohns , but tests come back negative

thanks

vicki

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Help and advice NEW
by: Annette Young

Hello there,

Thank you for your post. I can understand just how frustrating and frightening this must be for you.
It must be terrifying watching your husband become so ill and to not have a diagnosis at the end of it.

Sadly, many people have similar symptoms, they go and seek medical assistance only to find the tests are negative. Whilst this may sound a positive, the reality is that Crohn's disease is hard to diagnose. He really must go back to the doctor and ask for additional help and more tests if necessary.

In the meanwhile, he can start to keep a journal of his symptoms including how healthy he feels each day when he wakes up, how he feels after lunch and dinner, and what foods were eaten. If he experiences diarrhoea, abdominal pains, joint pains and nausea etc then he needs to log the symptoms too.

While it can be difficult to get a correct diagnoses the doctors are typically prepared to help that you can make their life a little bit easier by ensuring that a complete record of your husband's health is provided and this is where the Journal comes in.

Having written evidence can go a long way.

Quite simply Crohn's is a nasty disease, it can be very aggressive and there are numerous triggers that can make it difficult to cope. If your husband smokes for example he really should give up smoking permanently and if he drinks alcohol then this should be reduced and stopped. In addition, stress management can be extremely useful, because we all get stressed sometimes over the silliest of things but when things are difficult with your health as well, a new sense of frustration and anxiety can creep in.

When your husband has little to no pain, he needs to try to do a little bit of exercise each day. He needs to establish a good sleep pattern and learn to take an intuitive approach to lie. Having a nutritious diet is very important but as you can imagine if there are sores within the intestines, eating food can be very painful, so might be worth considering pureed foods and soups.

If he is losing a lot of weight, and if there is blood in his stools, he may not be getting the necessary nutrients from food and could be iron deficient.

These are just things you to consider.

I hope that he receives a correct diagnosis soon.
Annette Young
help !!!!! need some answers
by: Anonymous


Also check for coeliac disease, intestinal tumour, severe gut infection, adhesions causing intestinal blockage, etc. Adhesions occur as a result of long-term inflammation, previous surgery, physical trauma and old age(adhesions.org).

I suggest that he eliminates dairy for a couple of weeks to check for lactose intolerance or milk protein intolerance/allergy. He should not drink sodas or eat sweets to eliminate fructose malabsorption.

To alleviate his current symptoms he would be advised to change his diet to low fibre and low fat: avoid ALL fresh fruit, salads and vegetables except for bananas - chew well. Eat well-cooked low-fibre vegetables: carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, marrow, pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower flowers only. Steamed apples, pears, peaches, apricots might be tolerated. He might have to puree absolutely everything he eats.

If he is losing weight rapidly he should be on Ensure or an equivalent astronaut drink. He should not eat out or eat fast food until he has a diagnosis.

He should do some research on low-fibre foods, intestinal blockages, adhesions, etc. He should be able to alleviate his symptoms somewhat by implementing the above dietary changes unless the intestine is virtually closed due to inflammation, adhesions, etc.

It can take years to get a Crohn's diagnosis - my surgeon said that 40% of the medical images don't show up what is really going on inside the body.

He should consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements - not a multivitamin tablet. For the fat-soluble vitamins: a vitamin-B complex tablet/capsule (8 vitamin Bs) for pregnant ladies and vitamin C supplement. Oily fish, high quality olive oil for the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K).

As he is being sick so much, home-made ORS might possibly be necessary if he can't keep hydrated. http://rehydrate.org/zinc/index.html He can buy rehydration salt sachets at the pharmacists.

He should avoid anything that is acidic and everything that dehydrates, which includes coffee, tea, alcohol, etc. Tomato juice with additional salt, camomile and fennel teas, ORS, diluted pineapple juice (lower fructose), banana smoothie with yoghurt would be suggested drinks to help rehydrate and replenish mineral stores.

Lydia D.
Crohn's
by: Heidi

I also had the same problem. Excruciating pain, nausea, throwing up (which is unusual) and constantly to the bathroom. It took three doctors a year to diagnose me with Crohn's. Unfortunately, he's already had the tests I had. I agree with Niki get a second opinion from a specialist.
I can try and help
by: nikki

Hi im nikki. I was exactly like your husband in many ways i was rushed to hospital one day and for a week was told i must be pregnant even though i was negative to all the tests.

They then looked into Crohn's the blood test markers for Crohn's came back negative.

The Gastroenteroligist said i had food poisoning.

I went on antibiotics and was sick again in a couple of days.

I was back in hospital and having an conoloscopy they found three flare ups and diagnosed me with Crohn's that day.

I would say go ask for a second opinion. I did and im getting the help i need now.

Nikki

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