How do i know if I'm flaring again?

[kateel]

Hi all,
I was diagnosed with Crohn's in May of this year. I went on pred and asacol and I was feeling pretty well and gained most of the weight back that I had lost. Lately though, I'm starting to feel a bit off again, and I think I've lost about 5-10lbs (although some of that may be b/c I'm off the pred and getting back to eating like normal again). I have had some stomach pains and some joint pain. Not much diarrhea, but I'm on THREE iron pills a day, so I don't know if I would get diarrhea back again or not.

This is my first flare/remission period, so I'm not sure what to expect. How do you know if you're flaring again? Do the symptoms simply return? How long is one typically in remission?

I have an appointment with a new gastroenterologist in a week and a half, so I'm hoping I can hold out to see a doc until then.

Thank you for your help!

 

[littlefreebird]

i know when i'm flaring when i feel AWFUL, everyone has their off day but if i felt absolutley dreadful continuously then i would know i was starting to have a flare...also when flaring if nothing is done about it it will gradually get worse.

weight loss is typical when coming off pred but definatley keep an eye on it.
One can't say how long a remission period is as you could be in remission for one month or 10 years plus so there's no way to answer that question i'm afraid.
a flare-up is when your disease is active.
people have debated when to class their symptoms as a 'flare-up' but the only one that make that initial judgment is you.

i would class myself in remission if i generally felt well, my appetite is good enough, and i can function i.e. work, socialise etc. without too much disruption. i would have the odd off day in remission where i get tummy aches and diarhoea etc.
try and ask yourself overall how do you feel? if you don't feel too bad, then that's a good thing.

if i noticed my symptoms were gradually getting worse over a period of a few weeks, i.e. stomach aches more frequently, more diarhoea, loss in appetite and weight loss then i would say i was starting to flare.
it's at this stage i would call my GI and let him know.
...if i was continuing to get worse over the next couple of weeks then i would have gone to hospital.

you'll find it easier to distinguish between flare ups and remission over time.

also if you're worried a simple blood test that checks crp levels (which indicate inflammation and infection) can be done to see if they are within normal range or not.

hope i helped a little, i know it can be very confusing and hope you're not flaring. take care. hannah. x

 

[kateel]

Thank you Hannah!! This is all so new to me. I'm still trying to figure out what all of this means. Your post helped A LOT!! Much appreciated!