Severity of Your Symptoms?

[Echo_]

Hello,

First I just want to say that as of now I have not been diagnosed with Crohn's or any other type of IBS. The reason I am posting is because I'm currently experiencing Crohn's-like symptoms, but they are very mild. The only reason I would make the connection between what I'm going through now and Crohn's is because my sister has it. I'm reluctant to go to my doctor about it because I feel like these symptoms could be caused by a number of different things. The main thing keeping me from seeing my doctor though is that my abdominal pain is sporadic and only about a 3 or 4/10 on the pain scale, where as when my sister experiences flare ups she says her pain is a 7 or 8.

Anyways, I was just wondering if the abdominal pain associated with Crohn's disease always has to be really intense or are there any of you out there who experience mild pain like me?

 

[astarks]

My pain during a Crohn's flare is usually very intense, to the point where it's difficult for me to move easily a lot of the time. However, I have a now 15 year old brother, and when he was about 10 or 11, he was having mild abdominal symptoms. At first, everybody assumed it was Crohn's because of me, but it turned out he had Celiac and POTS. So, don't discount the possibility that you have something unrelated to Crohn's, even if your sister is sick.

On a side note, Crohn's is a type of IBD, not IBS. I know people who have IBS who have much more mild symptoms than most of my IBD friends, so that's another possibility. It's hard to say for sure without knowing the specific symptoms though. Definitely talk to a doctor about it! It can't hurt.

 

[Asher]

I don't have much abdominal pain at all. My doctors have said that my symptoms don't match the severity of my disease.

Like someone else said, it could be celiacs that you're experiencing. When do you feel the main most often?

 

[DJW]

Hi and welcome.

I was diagnosed (in a bad flare) with no abdominal pain. I had pain off and on for years prior to my DX. Bad pain didn't hit until a year or so into my diagnosis.

 

[dcbrooks]

My Recommendation: If you have insurance, there's a family history, and you're having ANY symptoms, SEE A GI DOCTOR. Otherwise you're just putting yourself at risk. If you hesitate, it could very well come back to haunt you. I know from experience. I'm not trying to scare you into seeing a doctor. I'm just saying, why not potentially catch a problem sooner than later?