Need advise, not well and can't do anything about it

[Olygal1215]

Hello, I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2012, and have been on Pentasa 2 caps 3 times a day along with Promethazine for when I nauseated. When the Crohn's was diagnosed my GI doc classified it as mild to moderate and I thought if I took my meds and made the right dietary choices I could keep it under control. For the first year after my diagnosis that strategy seemed to work because other than a few small bad days here and there I felt pretty good.

That all changed this Christmas Day. I woke up up vomitting then the constant BMs, then I was on the toilet with a bowl in my lap with it coming out both ends. And when that calmed down I was still extremely nauseated and then the cramping started and it felt like my insides were wretching out of me. I was taken to urgent care and put on IV fluids and given predisone. This was my first experience with a nasty Crohn's flare and it scared the daylights out of me.

Since then I just haven't felt right. My BMs are erratic and when I do have them they are small and pellit like. I keep seeing blood on the toilet paper. I am constantly slightly nauseated. And I keep having this pain that alternates between a crampy feeling to a sharp stabbing feeling in my lower right back and abdomen. The things I was doing before to manage my Crohn's (diet, medications, probiotics) just don't seem to be working.

I have an appointment with my GI doc next week and I am sure she will want to order more tests. The problem with that is I am changing jobs in March and so I will be dropping my insurance with my current employer and signing up for the one with my new employer. But my insurance coverage with the new employer doesn't start until April, and my current insurance has a really big deductible. I just can't afford to pay towards a huge deductible on an insurance I will no longer have just to turn around and pay towards another deductible on my new insurance. So any tests will have to wait until April. So I will have to wait 3 months to do any testing which I know will hinder what my GI doc can do to helpe me. But what choice do I have, I just cannot afford it any other way.

Mainly I am just very concerned that the Crohn's I had that I thought was mild to moderate has progressed to more severe and that there may be another dangerous complication going on. There is something else wrong, I just don't feel well. I know I might sound crazy but I am trully scared. And I cannot afford to do anything about it until April. Any thoughts or advice?

 

[Sandi Creek]

Hello, I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2012, and have been on Pentasa 2 caps 3 times a day along with Promethazine for when I nauseated. When the Crohn's was diagnosed my GI doc classified it as mild to moderate and I thought if I took my meds and made the right dietary choices I could keep it under control. For the first year after my diagnosis that strategy seemed to work because other than a few small bad days here and there I felt pretty good.

That all changed this Christmas Day. I woke up up vomitting then the constant BMs, then I was on the toilet with a bowl in my lap with it coming out both ends. And when that calmed down I was still extremely nauseated and then the cramping started and it felt like my insides were wretching out of me. I was taken to urgent care and put on IV fluids and given predisone. This was my first experience with a nasty Crohn's flare and it scared the daylights out of me.

Since then I just haven't felt right. My BMs are erratic and when I do have them they are small and pellit like. I keep seeing blood on the toilet paper. I am constantly slightly nauseated. And I keep having this pain that alternates between a crampy feeling to a sharp stabbing feeling in my lower right back and abdomen. The things I was doing before to manage my Crohn's (diet, medications, probiotics) just don't seem to be working.

I have an appointment with my GI doc next week and I am sure she will want to order more tests. The problem with that is I am changing jobs in March and so I will be dropping my insurance with my current employer and signing up for the one with my new employer. But my insurance coverage with the new employer doesn't start until April, and my current insurance has a really big deductible. I just can't afford to pay towards a huge deductible on an insurance I will no longer have just to turn around and pay towards another deductible on my new insurance. So any tests will have to wait until April. So I will have to wait 3 months to do any testing which I know will hinder what my GI doc can do to helpe me. But what choice do I have, I just cannot afford it any other way.

Mainly I am just very concerned that the Crohn's I had that I thought was mild to moderate has progressed to more severe and that there may be another dangerous complication going on. There is something else wrong, I just don't feel well. I know I might sound crazy but I am trully scared. And I cannot afford to do anything about it until April. Any thoughts or advice?

Olygal, I am sorry that you are feeling unwell right now, hopefully the GI will give you something to help with all of your suffering.

As for the health insurance, check with your new employer health insurance to see if they credit what you have already paid in with your previous deductible. Many insurance companies do this, but most people don't know about it.

Best of luck
Sandi Creek