Flares - what is one and do they ever end on their own

[killerzoey]

Hello

I am trying to get a picture of the way the disease acts.

How do you know what is a flare and what is just Crohn's pain? Or is Crohn's pain only associated with flares?

Do flares ever end on their own?

Thanks.

 

[Cara Fusinato]

Not nec. is pain a flare. I have strictures and a pain can be something hard to digest having trouble getting through (aka partial obstruction). That twinges just a bit. Or if I get super stressed out, it twinges.

A flare is more full-flown symptoms -- out of control diarrhea, pain, fatigue, however your particular body acts.

Can they end on their own? Yes, sort of. Usually the meds are more for maintenance and a flare might bring an upped dose or an additional med. But ultimately, meds or not, your body has to sort of decide to settle down.

 

[old hat]

A flare-up is a period when the disease becomes more active and symptoms, whichever ones you have, worsen. Duration, severity and duration of flare-ups are extremely variable. Almost all Crohn's patients have flare-ups at irregular intervals thoughout their lives. What triggers flare-ups and determines their severity is not really known.

Crohn's pain is just pain associated with Crohn's Diease. Mostly it is abdominal pain around the inflammed area. In most cases, this is around the lower right abdominal area but Crohn's can hit anywhere in the GI tract. Pain in the lower left abdominal area is also quite common and mostly associated with Crohn's colitis. Sometimes there is pain associated with a flare-up and sometimes not.

Flares often end on their own sooner or later. However, considerable damage can be done in the meantime. The main goal of treatment during the acute phase of the disease (when it is active and flaring up) is to reduce the length and severity of the flare-up and get the patient back into remission. This is when things like Prednisone are typically used because the risks of allowing the flare to continue outweigh the risks associated with the medications*. Once that is accomplished the acute phase medications are discontinued gradually.

*This is an involved weighing of risks and benefits including many factors like standard treatment guidelines, the individual patient's history, the patient's current condition and the doctor's judgement and experience.