Left Side Pain - Flare for almost 3 months?!

Hi! I'm new to this forum, but I've been diagnosed with Crohn's disease since 2006. I'm currently on pentasa 500 mg - 2 pills, 4 times a day; prednisone 20 mg - 1 pill, 2 times a day; loratab 2.5 for pain as needed which does nothing. There is not a GI specialist in my area, and all GIs leave within a year or two of coming here. I've had to start over with 2 different GIs since I've been diagnosed. Now, I'm waiting for a referral approval for another GI specialist about 2 hours away from my home at an established practice. It's been over a year since my last flare, and it only lasted a week and prednisone and cipro helped then. This is the worst pain I have ever experienced.

I've been having horrible left side pain from my ribs to my back since mid-December. My back was so tender that you could barely touch it without shooting pain going through me. At first, my doctor thought I pulled a muscle so we treated that way. However, after a month of no change, we realized that I was having a crohn's flare up. We tried some OMT to try to relieve some of the pain for a few weeks, but nothing worked. Finally she put me on cipro and prednisone for the crohn's flare up, and did some blood work. My sed rate was high and my WBC was high.

One week later, my WBC was 22.7 and the pain was not getting any better. I was admitted to the hospital for 6 days - clear liquid diet, IV fluids, 60 mg of solumedrol 4 times a day (tapered to 3 then 2 times per day before release), along with my pentasa. My pain got better on the high doses of steroids, but I had the worst side effects. My face was so red it was purple, hot flashes, night sweats, and swelling. 2 CAT scans showed nothing abnormal and an xray revealed I may have an obstruction; however, a small bowel follow-through revealed nothing abnormal. My WBC finally returned to normal range on my release day and I was allowed a low residue diet with no dairy.

I remained on that diet for a week after being released and slowly started incorporating things back in to my diet. I didn't have many BMs in the hospital, and have had many days of constipation since my release. It's been two weeks since my release, the pain is back in full force and I was on a soft food/low residue diet until today. My doctor said to go back to clear liquid diet until the pain goes away or I can get in to see the GI specialist. I've noticed that along with the pain in my left side that I experience all my gas bubbles on the left side too. And it is loud.

Has anyone else experienced this left side pain? Is there anything else I can do until I can get in to see a GI specialist? I recently spoke with someone who has crohn's too, and they recommended aloe vera juice/capsules since I'm in a flare. I've read mixed reviews on this, so I'm not sure if I should try it.

I don't currently have a GI. I'm waiting for my referral to be approved for a new GI. My FP doctor is helping me along for right now. However, I consulted with her today and she said no to miralax and to try colace. So I'll give that a try. I'd even try prune juice at this point, and I think I may get some of that this evening too.

I had the left side pain before I started having the constipation. My doc thinks the constipation is now stemming from the pain meds, but I don't know any more. I just can't wait to get in and see the GI soon!

I am sorry you are going through this. I am in a flare up, and I get right side pain along my ribs and up into my shoulder. I have been driven to the hospital in an ambulance because it was so bad. The cause was determined to be an obstruction, causing my intestines to inflate, putting pressure on my diaphragm, causing air and pressure on my right side...very very painful.

I've started to see a new GI. He has since completed a endoscopy that detected mild gastritis, a colonoscopy with tons of biopsies that were normal, and just recently completed the pill cam. I'm still waiting on the results of the pill cam. My OMT doctor believes my issues lie in my small intestine because my inflammation points all lead to that area. We'll see what the pill cam reveals.

I'm still having pain, and have prescribed donnatol to help alleviate some pain throughout the day. I've been on prednisone since my hospital visit, and I'm on my last week - hopefully. I've developed some sort of rash now, and I'm sure if it from the prednisone taper. I haven't changed anything with my soaps, detergents, etc. so I don't know what else it could be from. Anyone else have this?

@tamm: Thank you for your post. I don't drink - very rarely if I do, and I haven't had anything to drink since summer before this flare started. So I don't believe that is my issue.

@OnlyByHisGrace: I feel your pain. It is not a fun experience. I wish I could explain it to people, but sometimes I feel like people think I'm making things up.

@busycrohnsmom: My GI put me on magnesium because I was having severe muscle cramps on the prednisone. I haven't really noticed a change. I alternate between constipation and severe diarrhea.