How do YOU flare?

[AmyIsHere]

I know, like IBD itself, a flare is different for everyone, so what is the experience like for YOU (or your loved one, if you do not have IBD yourself)?

What symptoms do you exhibit during a flare?
Are there certain symptoms you exhibit every time?
How do you determine if it is a flare as opposed to something else?
Do you experience any symptoms pre-flare that alert you that it might be coming?
At what point do you consult with your GI?

Feel free to add any additional information not covered by the above questions about your personal experiences related to flaring.

 

[FrozenGirl]

Symptoms: D, fatigue, cramping, gas, fever, blood in stool are the main ones
I get blood and D almost everytime.
Hard to say, mostly its a wait and see if it gets worse vs better
Feverish a big pre symptom for me as well as painful gas
I contact my GI if it is a sudden change or doesn't get better within a week or so, or new symptoms.

 

[Nym]

What symptoms do you exhibit during a flare? bowel spasms; mucus / blood; fatigue.

Are there certain symptoms you exhibit every time? acidic taste in mouth; ringing ears;acute pain in lumbar to the point where I'm either on the loo or on the bed.

How do you determine if it is a flare as opposed to something else? Definitely the lumbar pain and bowel spasms - these don't occur during detox. Nor is there that dreaded sense of of urgency.

Do you experience any symptoms pre-flare that alert you that it might be coming? a sense of fullness, lost appetite usually start the bells ringing. This is uaually followed by a coated tongue and acidic-type taste in mouth.

At what point do you consult with your GI? When and if I end up in hospital. I will see my GP a few times during a flare just so he / she (whoever can see me the fastest) can exam my abdomen and advise on pred. increase level.

I will hit a flare with everything I've got: I'll omit all stove-top cooking and fill up on long, slow cooked meals. I also won't drink any hot tea. I also do a bit of flare-prevention prep by keeping frozen stews and bolognaise sauce on hand. This reduces my temptation to call the local Chinese takaway after a big day of living without needing a bathroom more than once. Chinese foods and soups are my weakness but the vegetable oils kill me.

 

[Justanothercp]

My flares as mostly related to stricture, so symptom is mostly waves of pain, and hard abdominal mass. Pretty much the same every time.

 

[Pilgrim]

It is a bit of a mystery because our daughter was diagnosed at 3 and was unable to give us a lot of verbal description. At her worst flare she would get up from sleeping to have a bm, blood in stool, explosive stools, and awful fatigue.

I don't know if her appetite is just a little kid thing or Crohn's related but she has a off and on appetite.