Hello Everyone,
I've been lurking this forum for a week or so now, and decided to make an account. I have not been diagnosed yet, and would like a place to share my fears and worries - I hope you don't mind.
Weird things first started happening in early November of last year. I began having abdominal pain, and was burping more than usual. These were my only symptoms. Went to the my GP and she thought it was a stomach bug. I was prescribed omeprazole and on my way. After taking it for about a week I felt better. However, my symptoms returned shortly thereafter, and I began to experience diarrhea along with my previous symptoms.
I returned to my GP, a different one this time, because my previous GP was on maternity leave. She asked me a bunch of questions, did a brief check, and suggested I had gastritis based on my symptoms. I was instructed to continue taking omeprazole along with an additional medication, to treat my symptoms. I also had some bloodwork done and a stool test to check for h pylori. My complete metabolic panel showed my bloodwork was completely normal and my stool tested negative for h pylori. Additionally, my bloodwork showed that my liver, pancreas, kidney enzymes etc. were normal. Because my symptoms did not improve, I asked for a referral to a GI specialist, which I was given.
Around early December I saw my GI specialist. He asked me about my symptoms, and also performed a check. He suggested based on my symptoms, I do bloodwork to check for Celiacs as well as an up upper barium swallow test. I went that day to do my bloodwork, and also scheduled an appointment for the swallow test a week and a half later. About two days later, I was informed by my GI that my T-TRANSGLUTAMINASE (TTG) IGA level was elevated above the normal range. I was instructed to cancel my swallow test and set up an upper endoscopy, which I wasn't able to have until after Christmas.
In late December (the 28th), I had my endoscopy done. Everything looked okay, however my upper intestine did show some visible signs of villous atrophy. My GI informed me in the recovery area that he took multiple biopsies, and would have my results in a week or so. My results came back as positive for Celiacs. From here, I pushed forward eating gluten-free as best I could. My GI scheduled a follow up with me in 4 weeks (which would in early February) to see how I was doing, and also scheduled an appointment with me at the same time to see a dietician for guidance.
My concerns have grown since having my upper endoscopy done, however, as between late December up until now, my symptoms do not seem to be improving. I continue to have an achey, burning abdominal pain in my mid/lower abdomen on a daily basis, and along with that, I have developed new symptoms. I started switching on and off between constipation and diarrhea, and was losing quite a bit of weight pretty quickly (have lost 20+ pounds in 3 months time). I should also note that because of my abdominal pain, I stopped eating regularly everyday. I went from eating 3 full meals a day with snacks in between, to one meal a day, rarely two - and very small amounts of food. At this point, I'm consuming nothing but liquids. I've also become very fatigued, irritable, and my body aches.
Since my endoscopy, I have been to the ER twice. The first time all they did was bloodwork and a uranalysis. Bloodwork was normal, but uranalysis showed I had a pretty nasty UTI. I was put on a cycle of Cipro for 7 days. Later that same week, on Saturday, I went to the ER because there was blood in my stool the previous night, which scared me a lot. They refused to do scans of any kind, only bloodwork and uranalysis. Bloodwork was normal yet again, and the uranalysis showed my UTI had cleared up. I wasn't sure if the antibiotics upset my digestive system even more and caused the bleeding, or if my symptoms were getting worse.
Over this past week alone, I've started feeling more constipated, and when I do poop, it's always a light yellow/brown color, and the poops are skinny. Yesterday I broke down at work crying, because I've been so frustrated and tired of all this, at which point my GI called me. I had left him a message couple of days prior stating my concerns I'd been having with my health. I asked him if there was anything more I could do, and he said he could have nurse set up a colonoscopy for me (which is exactly what I was hoping for). I'm really thankful I didn't have to push so hard or fight, as my GI obviously understood my concern/was empathetic.
I am now waiting to have my first colonoscopy on Feb. 1st. After browsing this forum, as well as reading the instructions for my prep, I'm so nervous. But I'm also relieved that I was able to get one so easily and fast. Until November of last year, I had no prior digestive issues at all. And it seems as though what seemed so very minor became much worse within the span of a few months. I'm not looking for medical advice or anything like that, I know the colonoscopy will provide me with the definitive answers I seek, I just needed to get this off my chest.
Crossing my fingers that everything goes well. And if not, at least I'll be better prepared.