Crohn's Disease

I have a 15yr.-old diagnosed as Crohn’s disease 5 years ago. Her bowels were impacted and she spent 5 days in hospital to clean her out for scoping. After 3 years of medicine she saw another Dr. who said she didn’t have Crohn’s because she suffers from constipation and not diarrhea. What do you think?

The 3 most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease are diarrhoea, abdominal (tummy) pain and weight loss. However, it is well known that diarrhoea may not occur. One quarter of Crohn’s sufferers have anal fissures(cracks) which make using the bowels painful. As a 10-year-old, your daughter may have been holding on and not using her bowels because of the pain. This would lead to constipation.

I would be most uncomfortable arguing with a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease made on scoping her bowel, especially if a biopsy of the bowel was taken.

Did she improve with her medication for Crohn’s? If so that is strong evidence that the diagnosis was correct. I gather that the medication was stopped 2 years ago. If she remains well since stopping that does not say the diagnosis was incorrect as Crohn’s has times when it is quiet with no symptoms only to flare again later.

I wish your daughter luck with this unpleasant disease. She needs regular medical review as the symptoms and signs of Crohn’s can be elsewhere than in the gut. Poor weight gain or actual loss may be the main sign in children.