Sickness/pain from Crohn's vs stomach bug

[ruhereyet]

I have Crohn's and am in the middle of a nasty flare. My cramping, gas pains, and Diarrhea are unbelievably painful. In the last week, I've seen my GI, my CR, and my PCP.

Here's my question...it seems easy to say, "eh - it's your Crohn's" when I present them with my symptoms (which also include a frequent headache and body aches). However, what if it's NOT my Crohn's. What if it's the flu, or food poisoning, or another type of infection. It seems it's so easy for all these doctors to just pass everything off as symptoms of Crohns.

My meds include: Z-pack for sinus infection; Flagyl for abscesses; Dicyclomine for cramps; Humira (today was my first day).

I'm miserable, and if this is genuinely a flare of Crohn's, then fine. I'll accept it. But, if it's something else that needs to be addressed, then do I need to insist on additional testing from my PCP or GI?

Thank you,
Cathy

 

[nogutsnoglory]

It can be hard to differentiate but my best advice would be to look at the amount of time it's occurring and to be in tune with your body. There may be subtle differences in how you feel ie: more run down, headaches etc that aren't typical of a flare for you.

A virus shouldn't last too many days, if your pains last more than 2 weeks it's safe to assume its crohn's. Now you can also have both at the same time which is just awful. Feel better.