Successful Doctor's trip

I had my appointment with my GP yesterday.  I think I can safely say that it was successful, which is good!

I went in and told hin that the problems I had been experiencing with my gut hadn't really settled down, and that I am more or less ok, as long as I only eat white things!  That's white fish, white bread, white rice, e.t.c.

I told him, I was ok, but that this was hardly a balanced diet.

As I have recently moved back to Cornwall having spent 8 years in a different county, he only had my notes from my original diagnosis, and not the years in between, so I had to fill him in on these details.  It was a fairly comprehensive consultation really.

He has asked me to arrange blood tests for inflammatory markers, which would help to confirm that I am experiencing a flare up, and he dictated a letter to the consultant onto his dictophone, checking with me that he had my details and symptoms correct.

He also decided that it was best for me to have an appointment with the consultant once the blood test results had been received.

Now it may seem odd, but I'm a little worried that the inflammatory markers in the blood tests wont show up as high!  I am sure that I am experiencing a flare up, however, I have been managing the disease through eating only low residue foods.  This seems to be working very well, and all the time I stick to a low residue diet, then I am pain free, and my bowel movements are just once a day.  I no longer have any distention to speak of either.  Whilst this is all brilliant, I don't believe it can be good for my health long term.  I can't believe that I am receiving enough vitamins and minerals on such a diet, and am concerned that I may end up with deficiences.  This is why I would like to see a consultant; so that I can discuss whether diet is the best form or treatment, and maybe get referred to a dietician, so that I can properly work out trigger foods and hopefully end up with a relatively varied diet that will keep the crohn's under control until, with any luck, it burns itself out.

So, as I my blood test was booked for 48 hours time, I was faced with the decision as to whether I continued eating my "white diet" or I tried to invoke my flare up in order to prove that it is indeed a flare up through the blood tests by eating normally.  My concern is that if my blood tests are normal, then either I will not even get a consultants appointment, or that I do, but the consultant looks at the tests and simply decided that the current treatment I am on is satisfactory and nothing further needs to be done.

I decided to take the opportunity to eat a more varied diet for a couple of days!  It has been nice to finally have some variety, but I am feeling a little uncomfortable today.  Just 24 hours and my bowels are already a little more loose, I have an uncomfortable feelings in my adomen of a cross between stitch, the need to pass wind or open my bowel, and a bit of a bloating feeling. Thankfully I am not in a load of pain.  As soon as my blood tests have been taken, I think I will go back to a low residue diet until I have seen the consultant!