Can Crohn's get worse without you knowing (feeling) it?

[bsyde82]

Hey everyone,

I was diagnosed in 2007, but am fortunate to have a relatively mild form of crohn's. I avoid only a few foods, but generally eat/drink whatever I want. I rarely have any flare-ups anymore (maybe once a year), and medical marijuana has been a savior for those times, and just a general stress reliever in that I know I have an at-home remedy for flareups, as opposed to before, where the ER was the only source of relief.

My question to others is, can crohn's get worse without you knowing it? I feel like mine has been steady since I was diagnosed. I had a colonoscopy 2 years ago, and my crohn's hadn't moved or increased. Most days, I feel perfectly fine. I noticed that I'm at a lower normal weight now, although I'm not sure exactly when that began happening. I also don't know if that's just me getting older and eating less, or a physiological change brought on my crohn's, or both? I have a very high-deductible insurance, and my salary barely allows me to pay bills, school loans, and live reasonably, so I try to avoid any medical visits as much as possible. I know I should probably get a colonoscopy once a year.

Is it possible crohn's is getting worse without me knowing me?

 

[PsychoJane]

Unfortunately yes...
I am one of those who gets each and every side effects of treatment so I avoid them like plague. That being said I would dare to say I remain at risk regarding my condition even though I do all in my possible to care for my lifestyle and listen to each and every early alarms. I now have good follow-up but at some point through the history of my disease, I was med-free without any follow up.

The only thing that changed after a while was that I was exhausted..., had frequent headache and lost weight...Everything else looked fine until I broke a fistula open without other warnings or blood test anomalies... Now I know I have to be suspicious of pretty much anything regarding my condition...

It might worth investing in the screening to avoid getting caught by the disease severity if your situation allows it...

 

[DJW]

As PsychoJane said, yes.

Inflammation can be present and cause damage to the intestine leading to serious complication without any symptoms.

 

[Catherine]

My dd developed a small bowel to small bowel fistula while appearing to be clinical remission.

 

[ronroush7]

In 2010, I had a resection. My surgeon told me it had been there a while. That was a surprise to me.

2