My son is 14 and diagnosed over a year ago. He is currently on Remicade and methotrexate and is going every 7 weeks. He has not had the symptom of Diarrhea. But gets constipated. The past two days he has had diarrhea a few times a day, first thing in the morning and then later I. Day. In the morning it is a quick hit but he only goes a very little amount. He has stomach pain and gurgling sounds on and off on left side. Pain is bearable. Has missed school past two days and some of it is fear of an accident (understandable). He is also very tired. Wiped out just walking down stairs. My question is what is "normal" diarrhea during a flare? Most people I have read is it is constant or more than a few times a day. Also how do kids handle this with school? 14 is a hard age and an accident would be devastating. Just looking for support/suggestions.
Advice for child with Crohn's
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It can depend on where the location of his disease is at. My son doesn't experience a lot D even with a full out flare. But things can change quickly with CD and past symptoms may not be the same symptoms they experience with their next flare.
When my son was at a military prep school we had a 504 to excuse him from class at any time without asking as well as a number of other allowances. We eventually opted to move him to a school in our area that allowed a flex schedule so he did the majority of his work as an independent student except testing and project presentation and the like.
When my son was at a military prep school we had a 504 to excuse him from class at any time without asking as well as a number of other allowances. We eventually opted to move him to a school in our area that allowed a flex schedule so he did the majority of his work as an independent student except testing and project presentation and the like.
crohnsinct
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There is no normal. Since this is new and sounds like a bit of a flare, I would call the GI and see if you could get some labs done...blood and fecal calprotectin and take it from there. I guess it is possible that there is a little bug but better safe than sorry.
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My daughter will often have a day or two of diarrhea or cramping or nausea or just fatigue, and then just as we're about to call for advice, she'll be fine again. I never know if it's a little bug, or a little flare, so something else. Like you, we're relatively new to this, so it's hard to know what's normal. When we're unsure, we call our GI's advice nurse, or send an e-mail directly to the doctor. A couple of times the doctor has decided to test E's remicade levels because of her ongoing symptoms, which led to increasing her dose.
Like Clash's son, my daughter also has a 504 plan that allows her to leave the classroom any time, without needing to ask permission. It also says that she should have a seat by the door, so that she can leave unobtrusively.
Hope your son starts feeling better soon!
Like Clash's son, my daughter also has a 504 plan that allows her to leave the classroom any time, without needing to ask permission. It also says that she should have a seat by the door, so that she can leave unobtrusively.
Hope your son starts feeling better soon!
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Ds has unrestricted bathroom access
Meaning he never asks to leave the room he just does
He sets a card on his desk with his name on it's the teachers know he is in the bathroom
Extra clothes at the nurses off just in case
I call the nurse and alert the teachers if he is having a bad morning week etc...
Ds normally has constipation
Rarely D
If he has D it's a blip of two days I call the Gi and it stops
Meaning he never asks to leave the room he just does
He sets a card on his desk with his name on it's the teachers know he is in the bathroom
Extra clothes at the nurses off just in case
I call the nurse and alert the teachers if he is having a bad morning week etc...
Ds normally has constipation
Rarely D
If he has D it's a blip of two days I call the Gi and it stops
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I would also give a call to the GI doc if this is unusual for him. It sounds like it could be the start of a flare and he might need some medicine tweaking to get things stable again. Better to nip it in the bud if you can.
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Agree with the others that you should update his GI and maybe run some labs. When is his next Remicade infusion? Has he gained any weight lately and might need a bump in dosage? Symptoms do sound like a flare is in the works.
We've dealt more with constipation than diarrhea, but I totally understand his misgivings about going to school and having an accident at this age. I'd be in touch with the nurse/teachers and let them know he's struggling right now and he needs to leave class when he needs to leave class. He's not the only one who doesn't want him to have an accident!
Can he do half days? Is he worse in the AM? Maybe skip those classes and go in the PM for awhile?
We've dealt more with constipation than diarrhea, but I totally understand his misgivings about going to school and having an accident at this age. I'd be in touch with the nurse/teachers and let them know he's struggling right now and he needs to leave class when he needs to leave class. He's not the only one who doesn't want him to have an accident!
Can he do half days? Is he worse in the AM? Maybe skip those classes and go in the PM for awhile?
My son normally has constipation too. But during a flare this spring and early summer he was having a lot of cramping and diarrhea several times a day. He was switched to Remicade and his symptoms have quieted now that school is on, but it was indicative of a flare with him. I think would have your son checked out by the GI.
My son is back to school today. No more D, but he did tell me this morning his BM is less than normal(but he also hasn't been eating as much). His next infusion is a week from tomorrow (Oct 6). He will also see his doctor the same day. His left side stomach has been bothering him more as well he said. That is always the side that botters him. I am going to outreach to the Dr. today to give a heads up what is going on. His infusion is at 7 weeks now and they did increase the dose a little afterthe induction and he has grown 4 inches this summer and gained weight. maybe they will need to adjust the dosage. His labs 6 weeks ago where good.
