Need advice; losing weight unintentionally, tiny appetite, feeling OK

Kinda sounds like you might be getting ready to flare. I was the same way recently and then all of a sudden bam I got slammed. I mean it was quick too, from one day to the next. Spent 2 1/2 weeks in the hospital and four months out of work. Just came back the end of October.

You really need to stay on your meds at all times. It helps to keep things from at least getting too out of control. I think I would be more forceful with your docs and tell them you are starting to be concerned. Hugs and I hope things improve for you.

jhicks, I understand your concern and I think you must have active disease causing the puny appetite AND the hand pain. The question for you is do you want to deal with it now or wait till it gets really bad? I spent about 9 months feeling like you are now, and my GI never took it very seriously because I hadn't lost enough weight, my iron wasn't all THAT low, etc. etc. I tweaked my meds and eliminated gluten and got an exercise program started and, most importantly, resolved an incredibly stressful personal issue. I feel much better now.

It was so sad for me to not enjoy my meals. I also love food. I remember having a total pity party one weekend about a year ago when I spent 3 days with my dearest girl friends and didn't enjoy one bite of all the great girl food we went out for.

Push your DRs to take you seriously. Come on back to the board and ask for specific advice. You will find good answers here!

I always battle to keep weight on and recently with the joint/nerve pain I got from taking Humira has really zapped my appetite and so weight falls off. If people haven't seen me for a few weeks first thing they say is 'have you lost weight again?'. I have no real answers as trying to keep to eating 4000 calories a day is hard when appetite not great.

As for the cancer issue, slightly different for me as colon removed many years ago and had ileo for 20 years so no worry there but do get concerned in case all the inflammation in small bowel and all scar tissue connecting everything inside goes bad.

Hope things settle down and it doesn't flare badly for you, keep close eye on things and if worried then go straight back to your GI.

jhicks, I don't go to "cancer" right away, just Crohn's flare. I'm not generally an anxious person and I don't think I'm old enough to really worry too much about colon cancer (yet). I'll be 50 next year and I guess I'll have to be scoped again one of these days.

Hi jhicks,
My son suffered from weight loss and absolutely zero appetite for over a year. Recently he was prescribed an appetite stimulant (it's actually an antihistamine) called Cyproheptadine (Periactin) and it did wonders for his appetite. It made him too tired to take it on a regular basis (and he took only 1/2 the dosage prescribed), but used it on the weekends....his appetite would then be great all week. It seemed to have triggered something because now his appetite is quite good and he doesn't need to take it (he actually only took it 3 weekends). I hope this is of some help....I know it's no fun to eat without really feeling like it.

Good luck to you, and hope you are feeling better soon.

Oh yes, every thing that even *might* be related to our condition strikes the core of me as, "Is this the THING?" or is it something more normal. Managing that anxiety becomes as important as managing the Crohn's itself sometimes. I've had some success with St. John's Wort (mild), Kava Kava (stronger), and Valerian root (sleepytime). These are herbal formulas, so sometimes can react badly if you are in a flare, so tread lightly, and try with Dr. guidance. They help me a lot tho.

I came down with a terrible cold a week and a half ago. Went to my primary care doc and found she left the practice with no notice to patients! Anyway, I've been sick for a week and a half and am still looking puny with no appetite. It's weird because when I was sick with crohn's before, I had no appetite because I was bloated and had a blockage. Now I feel fine (minus the cold, whichbiscmuch better) butvi still have a tiny appetite. At Christmas people kept commenting on how skinny I was getting. I'm average build (12-14) typically, but skinny or thin is not typically used to describe me. My pants are saggy now and my rings twirl easily on my fingers but still stay on. My 12s are loses and I probably could fit a 10. I'm not complaining about that, but I want to feel good, too.
I got really scared tonight when I almost fainted while trying to out dinner in the table for my kids. I was never "out" and I caught myself on the way down, but it was unsettling. I've found a new doctor to see at the end of next week. I winder if this could indeed be crohn's related in the absence of gut pain, runny stools, gloating and joint pain ir if something else is wrong. I'm really getting worried.
What tests should I ask for.

All of this is good advice and I have an appointment scheduled with a new doc a week from today.
The thing is that, for the most part, I feel good. My arthritis hasn't bothered me in a few weeks, my gut isn't bothering me at all. I haven't lost as much weight as you all have, certainly not 20 lbs in a month. Maybe, just MAYBE 15-20 lbs max over 4 or more months. I don't feel bloated, so that's not what's keeping me from eating. I just have no interest in eating most of the time. I often realize that I haven't eaten when I feel queasy or feel a burning sensation in my stomach. When I got woozy last night and almost fainted, I started to get really concerned.
I just figured if I were flaring, I'd feel bad. Bloated at the very least. But I don't even feel that. (I did have about 4 days last month when I did experience some bloating, but it soon passed)
I did have a blockage and a resection to correct it in 2005. But that was much different. I was always in the bathroom even though I couldn't go. I felt bloated and nauseated and tied in knots for months. I've been doing relatively well since the surgery and typically have more arthritis issues than gut issues. So this lack of hunger and weight loss is yet a new wrinkle to a complex puzzle.
I'm pretty sure I had a C-diff panel a while back, but what is that exactly? Other than sounding familiar, I'm not sure what that is.
Thanks