Hi there,
Thanks for sharing. I'm a writer for msnbc.com, and I'm actually working on a story about
how some people wish their doctors were like House, and whether real doctors can learn anything from House.
I would love to talk to you for my story. Please get in touch - you can reach me at jasminaline@gmail.com.
All the best,
Jasmin Aline Persch
medicalmystery said...
I apologize in advance for the length of this....
I have been through the ringer a bit with tests lately and no one can figure it out. I will give you a brief history...if possible, I'm a detailed story teller...
I'm looking for answers...I know you might not be a doctor, but they can't seem to figure it out either.
Review of History and Symptoms:
-chronic painful diarrhea since 1995
-nocturnal diarrhea
-anal fissures
-unexplained bouts of weight loss
-history of anemia
-Chronic Fatigue
-mild to moderate lactose intolerance
-symptomatic low B12 level
-some random joint pain
-occasional vomitting
-as of late constipation a few times
TIMELINE...sort of:
-Diagnosed with IBS in ninth grade...exacerbated by stress....presented with lots of painful diarrhea...and somewhat frequent nocturnal diarrhea....doc's suggestion was to relieve stress....that was it....that was 13 years ago.
-For years after that I suffered diarrhea that made me late for things...I passed out from the pain a couple times...threw up from the pain a couple times...still had random bouts of nocturnal diarrhea...and rectal bleeding
-I had several periods...about every 2 or 3 years where I would lose 10-15 pounds without trying...no diet change...pretty unexplained
-I tried keeping bowel journals...I never could pinpoint any specific foods...except for most of the time Dairy made it worse, but not always...sometimes I could barely finish a meal before I was in the bathroom...Thank the Lord I'm not a germaphobe...I've experienced my fair share of public potties...It got worse with stress sometimes....but not always....
-Sometimes it seems to be better for extended periods...regardless of stress level or diet.
Recent History...
-I presented to the ER 2 days before Christmas with acute right lower quadrant pain and very slight fever
-I hadn't had much of an appetite and had thrown up a couple times and felt a little dehydrated
-It looked like a textbook case of appendicitis....they almost cut me right then...but my lab, not sure what all they drew, were normal and my CT with contrast was normal except for right and left ovarian cysts and a left sided enlarged lymph node...They gave me IV pain meds...which did NOTHING...a script and sent me home.
-I previously went to the ER in 12th grade with suspected appendicitis, but that did turn out to be ovarian cysts and one ruptured....this felt higher and much different. I have had cysts on and off for years..
-Christmas day it was worse...I went back in...They were positive at this point it was appendicitis....but last minute decided to scan me again...This time their primary diagnosis was constipation...never remember that as being a problem...but I was dehydrated and had been on narcotics for days...so who knows
-I did their prescribed colon clean out....no relief...just lots of hours on the pot with even more pain now
-Went to the GYN...ultrasound revealed cysts...considered endometriosis...scheduled surgery.
-Had the surgery...they found LEFT sided endometriosis...removed a cyst and drained 3 more...(they were embedded in fallopian tubes and would have required removing fallopian tube and ovary)
-This whole time none of the narcotics are working....I'm talking Lortab, Demerol, Dilaudid, Percocet, Vicadin...I can't sleep because of the pain...Two percocets and an ambien and I was wide awake all night.
-4 days after surgery I have no relief still
-Pain meds still not working...the only time I got any relief was when I took 4 advil adn a pain med...inflammatory, right?
-Went to GI...scheduled colonoscopy...we didn't really discuss history...more acute stuff...constipation...pain...nausea...vomitting...anorexia...
-Colonoscopy showed a polyp and some diverticula...I'm 28 and pretty young for that so weird, but...my terminal ilieum looked okay...At this point I discussed more bowel history with him...the polyp was precancerous...but other than that the colonoscopy was a bust
-Scheduled smalll bowel series....showed nothing
-he tried me on Librix, an antispasmodic for the IBS...no help, nothing
-I am chronically fatigued and having a hard time concentrating...etc...I have been non-stop googling symptoms....and I decided to ask for a B12 level
-I got a B12 and a celiac screen
-B12 very low...celiac negative
-At this point I am back to my regular diarrhea...with periodic anal fissures
-I did a camera study...pill cam...pending results
-next step figuring out why I am B12 deficient...Intrinsic fator?...Whipple's....small bowel bacterial overgrowth?
-My mom said she has been trying to get them to test me for Crohn's for 10 years.
Anybody have any ideas??? I just want to figure it out and treat it.
Everyone is still saying IBS...sounds like Crohn's to me minus the negative test results so far..
If anyone read this whole thing God bless you and thank you!!!