Acid reflux or Crohns pains

[Amanda89]

This might sound like a silly question, but how do you tell the difference between inflammation and acid reflux pains? I've been suffering really bad stomach pains the past few days, that seem to be much worse when sitting up for long periods of time (I work in an office) or lying on my side. I don't know if this is excessive acid in my stomach causing the pain or from the Crohns as I am in the middle of a flare up, and pain relief isn't helping and neither is Rennies.

Any suggestions?

 

[rollinstone]

wow, you sound like me haha, i'm trying to work out the same thing, we're on the same crohns cocktail of meds! just started pred again aswell but to answer your question, it depends where you crohns is located, for instance mine is in the large intestine so its a lower pain, and my stomach (upper) has been hurting, which I think is from the reflux, prednisone also generally causes reflux symptoms to worsen.

 

[Amanda89]

prednisone also generally causes reflux symptoms to worsen.

Thats interesting, I never knew that. I was put on 40mg of Prednisolone 10 weeks ago after spending a week in hospital which wasn't really helping so they changed it to Budesonide in December as at this point the Crohns was only showing up in my Terminal Ileum. About 2/3 weeks ago I became very ill and was readmitted into hospital where they found the Crohns had spread to my large intestine as well and I was taken off the Budesonide and put back on 40mg of Prednisolone. The pain at the moment feels like it's right in the middle of my stomach, but I have been having the odd sharp pains on my right side and also lower back. Although usually my main symptom for Crohns is Abdominal pain, I haven't really felt constantly uncomfertable like this before when I've been on Pred.

 

[rollinstone]

Hmm could very well be the pred causing more gastritis, maybe ask your GI for some nexium and see how that goes for a few days? Hope you feel better soon'

 

[Chuck78]

My GI gave a scrip for nexium. She also suggested taking any steroid in the morning with food. I was taking mine before bed, and I had terrible burning. You may need an upper GI scope to check for a hiatal hernia. Both were the cause of my burning throat/stomach. Good luck.

 

[Amanda89]

I popped out on my lunch break at work and asked the local pharmacy what they recommended to keep me going at the moment and they gave me Ranitdine and told me to keep taking rennies as well and I've been drinking water as well (Do you find drinking a lot of water helps?). I take my steroids in the morning anyway to try and help with the insomnia. I don't have a GI appointment for a couple of months, but I do have my Infliximab infusion on Tuesday with my IBD nurses, would it be worth mentioning it to them?