Diagnosis
I am 45 years old woman who has suffered from some form of IBS my whole life. As a child it was very bad constipation, where I couldn't sit down for hrs after a bowel movement. In my early 20's it switched to occasional constipation and frequent diarrhea. Nothing I have ever eaten has changed it for better or worse and no over the counter meds or supplements have ever helped. Over the years it has gotten worse where i not only can have 5 or more bowel movements in a day (all varying degreesof diarrhea), but also it can take 10 to 15 min on the toilet till I'm done. A little over a month ago I had a really bad episode. It felt gravity was working overtime in my lower abdomen pulling everything down. It took wrapping my lower abdomen in a heating pad and curling up into the fetal position for over 3 hrs before I felt better. Since then i have been experiencing pain (sometimes sharp bursts, mostly steady & continuous), burning, and spasms inside of my rectum. At first thought it might be hemorrhoids (even though there was nothing wrong on the outside of the rectum) and used hemorrhoid suppositories and Aleve. That did nothing and it has only gotten worse. Finally went to Urgent care yesterday. The Doc there said it wasn't hemorrhoids and is referring me to a GI Doc. After doing my own online research I'm thinking my IBS has turned into something more severe. Looking for any advice on questions or testing I should talk to the GI Doc about when I see him/her. I have been through a lot of other non related medical issues in the past 5yrs and am in no mood to listen to any Doc shoot this down as nothing serious when I know it is. Any advice or info will definitely help. Thank you.
Sorry to hear you are struggling. If you have IBS then I do not think it can escalate to IBD but your doctor should be able to explain everything to you.
Your GI may mention getting fecal calprotectin or fecal occult blood testing but the best way to check is to have a colonoscopy.
I hope you get answers soon.
Let us know how you get on.
Vern - IBD Team Member
Hi
. Just to follow up on the excellent information provided by Vern, I want to share with you this article from our editorial team on the diagnostic process for IBD: https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/diagnosis. This should give you some idea of what to expect from your GI appointment. Hoping you get some answers and relief soon. Please feel free, if you like, to keep us posted on how you are doing. Best, Richard (Team Member) Hello, I am new in here. I am a 62 year old woman, diagnosed with ibs when I was 19. The doctor didn't do any tests to see if it was IBD of any form. I read this study on how IBS can be a prodome to IBD -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5083258/#:~:text=Berrill%20et%20al.,be%20the%20endpoint%20in%20therapy. With all the trips to the bathroom most of my life, having to deal with multiple food problems, and learning about flares, this is more than IBS.
Hi
, and welcome to the community! It can definitely be worth a second opinion (or look) if you don't feel your current diagnosis of IBS quite fits with your experiences and symptoms. Here's some information on getting a second opinion that might interest you, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living/crohns-second-opinion. Unfortunately, it does happen where there is a misdiagnosis of IBS before getting the diagnosis of an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I'm also linking an article with a little information on IBS vs IBD, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/what-is-crohns-disease/myths-and-misconceptions And then, not to overwhelm you with information, here is some information on how IBD is diagnosed, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/diagnosis. I hope that helps you gather some information and you can get some more satisfactory results from your doctor. Please know that our community is here for you! -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
I agree with Vern that the best way to find answers to your health problems is to ask for a colonoscopy. That's the only accurate way for a doctor to "see" what is going on internally. I wish you the best in finding answers. Please let us know what you find out. Best Wishes, Traci (UC-IBD Team Member)
