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It's the most common place to find Crohn's. I had surgery shortly after being diagnosed but that was after 20 years, so what happens very much depends on how bad it is. There's a steroid called Budesonide or Entocort that targets exactly that area, so you may be given that plus something longer...

I hope they wash the cameras inbetween the colonoscopy and gastroscopy. :D It's not a bundle of laughs, but at least you've done it and hopefully never will need to again (I hope I don't either).

Welcome to the disease! ;-) They've been threatening me with Azathioprine ever since my resection, but haven't had any yet, though I'm starting to think I should have said yes last time. Unfortunately it tends to come back where you had the resection. So they may wait a while, maybe until you...

I was lucky with health insurance as my employer paid extra for an option that ignored medical history. I was already half way through the long diagnosis process when my insurance cover started, so I ignored at as I didn't think it would cover me. Then I found out when I needed surgery that it...

I mostly feel stiff and get a dull ache. Sometimes I get sharp pains, especially in my ankles and knees. I used to get a lot of pain in my wrists; I bought some wrist braces and used to leave them on for hours keeping my hands immobile which did give some relief. But then I found some...

It was mostly paid for by insurance, but I know the surgeon got £1100. The great thing was I had to pay £400 of it because he found and fixed a fistula; something the insurance company hadn't approved in advance. Apparently they're meant to wake you up in the middle of surgery so you can phone...

Must be run by the NHS.

We're at extra risk of blood clots, which is not something you want to ignore. I think that'd cause visible swelling. I often feel a vague sense of pressure in my joints and bones, which obviously is Crohns related.

I'd say "Good old NHS" but my surgery was done privately and to be honest it was kind of the same. As you said "urgent" means they won't tell you anything; I think I got the date about a week beforehand. Sounds pretty crap overall. You could try a different country. I hear France has much...

Yep. In fact I think it was my first symptom. I used to get mouth ulcers a lot as a teenager but it wasn't until my 20s that I had abdominal pain.

There was a recent thread here about US doctors preferring a "top down" approach: i.e. starting with the more powerful drugs and then reducing down, and UK doctors preferring a "bottom up" approach: starting with the lesser (cheaper) drugs and moving you onto more powerful things if necessary...

First time many years ago I said not to have the sedation and then chickened out at the last minute. Then a couple of years ago I did "man up" and did it without (and the colonoscopy too). It's not exactly fun, but I only panicked the once and it doesn't last all that long. You don't have to...

I get this sort of thing; have done for years and I've never been on Remicade or Imuran. I always think it's from tiredness, or maybe anxiety. Though possibly the tiredness and anxiety are caused by something else.

Is Pentasa/5-ASA not a long term treatment? I thought it was a step down from Aza. I put off starting Aza a few months ago after the consultant said it wasn't black and white whether I needed it or not; I need to decide whether I want to start it next time I see him. On the days where I do get...

Mine would visibly swell up on the lower right for 4 or 5 seconds, then go down with a sound like flushing the toilet. Quite entertaining really. Of course it would never do this in front of the doctors. It was about 15 years since my first symptoms that things got worse for me too. If it's a...

I can sympathize. Job interviews, meetings, visits to the dentist, all times I had to apologize for my gurgling stomach. Surgery to remove the stricture fixed it.

Wow. IBS doesn't cause weight loss, blood, or low iron and B12. Go back to your GP, or find a different GP, and tell them this is a significant change from how it was when you saw the gastroenterologist. I had 18 years of thinking I had IBS as that's what they told me. Then it got worse: lost...

I had a right hemicolectomy. Seems to mean any partial removal of intestine; on the right obviously. Maybe you're one of us common Terminal Ileum types. Glad it went well and hope the recovery is quick.

Seems you were a bit short changed and should have had the full colonoscopy to see all the large bowel. But that can only peek into the end of the small bowel, the Terminal Ileum which happens to be the most common place for Crohns and also where B12 is absorbed. So the fact you've had low B12...

I was in complete denial. When the doctor told me I'd need surgery and that it would be laparscopic I actually thought it would mean an overnight stay only.:o Then I saw the surgeon and he said 5 days. I told my boss that I'd need to miss a week; I don't think she believed me and told me to take...