flare up
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi Everybody, As I have mentioned several times on this forum I have suffered from crohns for 53yrs and have undergone a number of operations and procedures. At the moment I am feeling really unwell which has been developing steadily for around six months but I am not sure what constitutes a flare up. so I would be grateful for some feedback on this. My symptoms are : - Very bad fatigue and feeling really drained, some diarrhea. I have also been having discomfort in my lower back just beneath my rib cage. This I have had for a number of years but over this last few months this has got steadily worse and is now radiating up my back.. and finally all of my joints have suddenly stated hurting. I think that I will have to contact my IBD clinic
0 likes, 5 replies
patricia04797 decndor
Posted
It certainly sounds like a Crohn's flare. As you will probably know after 53 years, it can affect people in different ways. I'm in a flare and have just settled the bleeding and the lower back pain after putting my steroid dose up to 30mg but still have diarrhoea and fatigue.
Do you take medication? Because steroids can have side effects like sore joints, but then Crohn's can do that too. Check with your doctor and see if he/she can give you something for it. Not eating properly will obviously make you very tired as well.
At the moment I am just eating smoothies (banana and spinach for iron and potassium) and blended veg soups for whatever minerals etc I can get. I guess you will also know that the low residue diet is usually recommended but grains in general disagree with me, I have to stick to blended/soft cooked fruit and veg. I also put some fresh lemon juice in my smoothies and water because it fights infection (just in case!).
Remember to keep drinking water.
Best of luck
Pat
decndor patricia04797
Posted
Jokuar decndor
Posted
As you know the signs and symptoms of a flare up can be varied from person to person and also the same person. I would not like to say that your symptoms are definitely a flare as they could be other things. You would be wise to run this past your ibd specialist or GP. I find one of the infuriating things about Crohn's is the variety of day to day symptoms that we all live with (tiredness, lack of stamina, inability to concentrate, aches and pains) but additionally there are the more acute symptoms which we come to recognise as a flare up. However added to all this are the symptoms we experience from taking the medications in particular the immunosuppressives. I have found that my GP is loathe to express an opinion when I present with certain symptoms and is quick to refer (defer) me to the ibd specialist. I'm sorry this isn't very helpful to you but I just wanted to articulate the common dilemma that we face. I hope you get some decent advice and treatment.
decndor Jokuar
Posted
Janeway69 decndor
Posted
decndor, I'm afraid I don't have anything useful to add, but I have to ask, after 53 years of dealing with this, what medications are working for you? I had some sort of flare that I fear may be more than just the "infectious colitis" my first GI doc thought of. I certainly hope I'm wrong, but I read a lot of comments to articles on Crohn's on Facebook, and they are all pretty terrorizing. It sucks that all these immunosupressants carry such horrid risks of their own.
I wish no one had to suffer with this disease.