Hello anyone, I need to find out if there is anyone else out there who has experienced a bowel obstruction or mesenteric adenitis (visible inflammation of the intestines on CT Scan)with their IBS? I have and it just doesn't seem to jive with the diagnosis. I have been in so much pain for over 3 years. My whole life is destroyed and my career is about to come to an end. I am active duty military and I am about to be medically separated because I can no longer deploy, much less work in this condition. My co-workers hate me and I have become an outcast, I have been subject to cruel people who accuse me of faking my symptoms and claim that if there was really something wrong with me the doctors would not keep sending me back to work. My marriage is a mess, my husband is frustrated by my constant ailments. I contemplate suicide almost everyday, I am so damn tired and I hurt so bad. The only reason I'm still here is because I have three young daughters and I can't bring myself to leave them like that. I feel completely hopeless. Everyday is filled with pain. I have constipation too and most the time I can only go, once every 7 days or so. I'm only 27 but I feel 90. I hate me.
Somebody help please
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Sad,Have you had the necessary tests to rule out IBD [inflammatory bowel disease]? Like a colonoscopy, and small bowel follow-through? If inflammation of the bowel was seen on a CT scan, it would seem that they would check for causes. How did they manage your bowel obstruction and what did they say was the cause?My experience with military docs is that they are generally pretty thorough. Have you been seen by a gastroenterologist? And what diagnosis are they using to medically separate you?
Sad,Reading your post brought tears to my eyes. I remember feeling this way.you always need to remember that you are not alone. I am also 27 newly married and suffer with IBS D with inflammation.I can honestly say finding ibsgroup.org saved me. Knowing that I am not the only one going through this was comforting. Not that I would wish this upon anyone.I recently just lost my dream job due to my ibs. Turns out this dream job is what made me worse. Everything from subconscience stress and stress from the #####holes I worked with to the stress of just missing a day made things worse.You have to take things day by day. Trust me I know its easier said then done. I had to learn to say SCREW what everyone else thinks. Noone knows what you are feeling but you.Your health is more important then a job. I a mnot sure how things work in the military.. do they have paid sickleave or anything like that?God Bless
Your description is definitely more like Crohns Disease than IBS. I have had Crohns for 10 years. The last flare I had, I was given a CT scan which showed inflammation of the small bowel. My gastroenteroligist said the results of this test showed a very active Crohns flare. Also, Crohns (if in the small bowel, which is the most common place for it) is active, it can cause inflammation and swelling of the small bowel which can lead to partial or total obstructions. You really need to talk to your Dr. or go to a Gastroenteroligists with your test results. If not, you are likely to end up in emergency surgery getting a small bowel resection -- exactly like I did.Have you ever had an abscess near your anus?Have you ever had little white ulcers in your mouth?Do you get a very sharp and internal pain in your lower right abdomen? Sometimes trigger by eating.Do you run a low grade fever now and again? If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, you seem more likely to have the inflammatory bowel disease - Crohn's.
Thank you for answering so quickly, I had a small-bowel follow thru and a colonoscopy and they said they couldn't find anything else, but I wasn't having a "flare-up" at the time. I have had the little white sores in my mouth, and constant lower right abdominal pain, the occasional low-grade fever with this weird red rash that spreads all over my face and, yes it definetly gets worse no matter what I eat. I did have a small rectal tear but the doctor concluded it was from straining. The only thing though is I never have diarrhea, only constipation and I'm totally dependent on laxatives.
The military doctor I have is a nice guy and I think he has tried to be thorough and maybe I really do have a severe case that causes other unusual symptoms, he is going to try a trial of paxil and see if it helps me. I will probably be separated from the military by end of february early march though. In the long run it may be the best thing for me to leave all the stress behind me. I do have a supportive family. Thanks everyone who answered and I will keep in touch!!
I am not familiar with how things work in the military, but is there any way you could maybe see a psychiatrist to discuss your problems? Maybe talking about your stress, along with your paxil, could help you become a little more happy. You sound like you're really having a hard time. It does not sound like your environment is supportive at all. Maybe speaking to someone about it and how you feel like an outcast would help. Sometimes it helps to just have someone to rant to and have someone listen about how you feel. This might relieve you of some anxiety, and often anxiety can really aggravate IBS. It is good that you have a supportive family, too! If things don't get better, I'd say go in for another colonoscopy just in case they did in fact miss something more serious. I worry that you may have Crohn's and that they just missed it. I have heard of this happening. Crohn's is normally much more serious and there are different medications to treat it.Good luck! Keep posting.
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