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Crohns flare?? Help

I am fairly new to crohns. I just got diagnosed in late January and had a small bowel resection in early feb. I've been on Remicade for a little bit now. Last Saturday I went to the hospital due to severe pain in my lower right abdomen. They said a small part in my intestines was swollen and irritated. My white blood count was around 13000 not high but still a little bit elevated. But tonight, I've literally have had diarrhea 3x within the last 2 hours. And it hurts so bad when it comes out and also it burns. Like extremely bad. When I relax my anus muscles it feels like someone is stabbing me with several needles. It just extremely burns. I just took my temp and its 99.7. I have no idea what's going on. I haven't eaten anything spicy, or bad for me.


Also, this is sorta off topic. But has anyone had weight gain when they get on Remicade? After my surgery I've gained weight mainly after I stopped taking the steroids. I've gained like 13 lbs ... It's just making me feel real uncomfortable with my body. Please help!!!
 

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
It could be the start of a flare. If these symptoms continue please get in touch with your gastroenterologist to see how you can manage.
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
Hi shelby_bowman10. I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Although some time has passed, sorry for the late reply. How are you feeling now? Have you talked to your GI about your symptoms?

Sounds like you have some inflammation already, more than likely at the resection site. Its common for it to come back at the resection site yet we hope that people can go a lot longer than a few months. It could be the nature of the disease itself or its also possible that they didn't take out all of the affected areas.

As for the pain during a bowel movement your GI can do a rectal exam to see if you're dealing with hemorrhoids or something else. Chronic diarrhea itself can be painful along with passing bile acid which may not be absorbed properly due to inflammation etc. Either way its a good idea to contact your GI so you don't have to suffer through any of these symptoms.

For now you could try Calmoseptine or diaper rash creams to reduce the pain during a bowel movement and eat a softer diet like soups and stews and drink plenty of fluids. You could also try the BRAT diet to help reduce diarrhea (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast, not just those four items but starchy and bland items).

During flares in the past I did get a fever from time to time and other members have mentioned it as well. It may be a sign of an infection so keep an eye on it but hopefully its gone by now.

As for the weight gain I have seen some members mention it but it doesn't come up often on the forum. Some sites say its possible while others mention that you're likely noticing weight gain because of the gradual weight loss you had while you were ill. Even going through surgery will cause you to lose weight. Its also important to note that steroids cause people to retain water and these effects can take months to go away even after stopping the medication (such as Prednisone). If you do feel its the Remicade that's causing it then you should inform your GI in case its a symptom of something more serious.
 
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