Enough already! difficult child 1 home sick again. Warning: too much information

[gcvmom]

This kid has had more bowel problems this year than he's had since his Crohn's diagnosis four years ago! He texted me 7 times this morning because he was stuck in the bathroom from 2nd through 4th period with diarrhea. This is new, because the past three months or so he's had constipation issues on and off (he's taking an iron supplement because he was anemic at his last blood draw in December) which we're supposed to treat with a daily Miralax dose. But some days he doesn't want to take it. And then he pays for it. And then other days he does take it and things get too loose. And he still ends up missing classes because he's stuck on the toilet with an urge to go, but still not able to. His colon is not behaving at all. Thank goodness he gets labs done soon and sees his GI after that.

I'm wondering if he picked up a bug this weekend when he went out to help my mom at a dog field trial...

Sorry if this is too much information, but I just am getting fed up with this. I suspect it's IBS-related, but geez, enough already! This all kind of coincides with us taking him off Elavil (rx'd for IBS) because it was making him really angry and out of control (no more norepinephrine products for him!) Don't know what other options are out there for treating IBS, but we need to find something. This is just plain ridiculous. He's either missed a class or been late to class more than two dozen times because of bowel problems since school started.

 

[flutterby]

There is a product called Align for treating IBS, but I'd talk to the doctor first given his Chron's diagnosis. You can get Align OTC.

Coming off an AD can cause those kinds of symptoms - especially in people who are already susceptible.

I'm sorry he's feeling so bad. It's miserable.

 

[flutterby]

Also peppermint oil - in capsule form. But, again, talk to the doctor first.

 

[gcvmom]

Thanks, I'll look into that, Heather.

Now I'm suspecting he's impacted (this happened once earlier this school year) and he's actually leaking stool, thus the diarrhea, because he says he still feels a little bloated and his abdomen is uncomfortable with some mild pain. I'm trying to convince him to use an enema before the sibs get home. It helped tremendously last time, so fingers crossed he takes care of this some time in the next 45 min.

 

[smallworld]

I'm sorry. Not fun for him -- or you!

I have to say that Elavil helps me immensely for IBS. It's too bad he can't take it.

I hope things improve soon. Hugs.

 

[flutterby]

When my IBS is flaring badly, my stomach will be bloated for days (like 3rd trimester pregnant bloated) with discomfort and pain. It feels like my intestines are inflamed. Even after the episode has subsided, it takes a few days for it calm down.

 

[TerryJ2]

Arg, I know what you mean. Between the surprise snow 3X, and my son being sick, I thought I'd lose my mind this winter.

So sorry about your son's Crohn's. Do you suppose some gluten got into his food somewhere? Maybe hotdogs or tortilla chips? Manufacturers hide it in everything.

If he's anemic, he's not digesting things properly, which is a part of the Crohn's. (And at one time, my son was anemic, b4 he was diagnosis'd with-a wheat gluten allergy and we were still feeding him bread.)

Best of luck. It's miserable.

 

[crazymama30]

Definately try the enema, especially if his stools are liquid. Impactions are scarey and nothing to fool with. hope things work out.

 

[gcvmom]

He's attempted two this afternoon (only used 1/2 a bottle, which probably is a little shy of how much he should have actually gotten in). He's not holding the liquid in nearly long enough. I'm going to urge him to try again after dinner. When he balks, I remind him that the alternative is to go the hospital and have a nurse do it FOR him. That changed his attitude pronto!

I think part of his problem (besides the whole IBS/Crohn's issue) is that he does not drink enough liquid and does not get enough fiber. I was giving him oatmeal every morning, but I think it was too much -- I need to cut back to 1/2 a serving because it was creating too large of a stool, if that makes sense. He was having pain, and it could be due to the scar tissue he has at the end of his small bowel.

What a dance we do here in the Chicken Coop! It's either the psychiatric medication tightrope or the GI tango. I envy families with boring lives and no issues. When I grow up, I'm gonna get me one of those!

 

[CrazyinVA]

Massive diarrhea and pain were always part of a Crohn's flare for Oldest. Sounds like he might have come out of remission Has he seen his GI lately? Might be time for a re-evaluation. I'm way out of the loop now for Crohn's medications, but I'm all too familiar with flares.

Also, Oldest had multiple things built into her IEP for her Crohn's, including liberal passes for bathroom breaks and extra time for make-up work when missing class for flares. Not sure your son has that in his IEP or not, but wanted to mention it.

Oh and for the record? I am not fazed in the least by bowel talk if you ever need to vent ... I can match you with stories of changing ostomy bags ;-) lol

 

[gcvmom]

Thanks, Crazy Thankfully, ostomy issues are something we've been able to avoid -- though we have a friend we met through CCFA whose daughter ended up with a temporary one at the age of 9 when she lost her colon due to UC. We learned a lot from them!

I'm pretty sure he's still in remission with the Crohn's. His last couple of labs were just fine -- no signs whatsoever of the disease starting up. SED rate normal, blood counts normal (except for the anemia, which I might be able to explain from all the nosebleeds he was having last summer and fall), liver enzymes normal -- you get the picture. He's been on Imuran for the past 3 1/2 years and that's what got him into remission. He does have an IHP (Individualized Health Plan) and it's pretty comprehensive. The school essentially took what I wrote and copied it verbatim. He IS allowed time to make up work he's missed from being in the bathroom at school, thankfully. His teachers have been pretty understanding, and so is the school admin. They all know he's got issues and so he doesn't get any flak about it.

He had another enema before bed last night, this time I think he held it longer and it was more effective. He said he was able to evacuate, but I don't think we got it all. So depending on how his day goes, I may have him try it again tonight. I gave him another talk about hydration and fiber and how controlling this problem is completely within his/our power. It's just a matter of being consistent.

He saw the psychiatrist today and we're given the o.k. to start Elavil again (that helped alot in the past for his IBS) because the psychiatrist thinks the Tegretol he's on now will buffer him sufficiently from any psychiatric effect the Elavil will have (and it made him pretty aggressive and out of control before). So we're going to start that up again tonight and hopefully we'll know if it's going to help or not by the time he goes back to see his GI on 4/5.

 

[CrazyinVA]

That all sounds good I know you're on top of it. Oldest had a "temporary" ilestomy at 14 (she was diagnosed at age 9), but it eventually became permanent because she refused to follow doctor's advice, take medications, etc. and her colon and 18 inches of small bowel were diseased beyond hope. She's had a total of 9 surgeries, all Crohn's related except for a hysterectomy, which was semi-related because adhesions from the other surgeries had totally messed up her "female parts." It is truly a miracle that her Crohn's hasn't flared in several years, she takes such horrible care of herself now, including her ostomy site (I will not gross you out with the details of that).

Anyway .. sorry for the tangent. I don't meet "Crohnies" very often ;-) Hope the Elavil does the job with few side effects... keeping fingers crossed for you and difficult child 1.

 

[Wiped Out]

Just sending hugs your way. I'm sorry difficult child is dealing with this and you too.