New here

Hi. I just signed up for this site after finding the forum when I searched for info about some symptoms.

Basically, I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2004. In my case, there is no evidence of Crohn's in the large intestine (colon etc). It's all in the small intestine. thankfully, i have not had it as bad as it seems many others have.

I've been on Humira for roughly 3 years. it was working fine until my employer switched insurance companies and the new one gave me hell about paying for it. because of that, i was off humira for a few months. i've been on it for about a year since then but it just isn't as effective anymore.

i recently had a capsule endoscopy which showed a good deal of ulcerations in the small intestine. the camera got stuck in food for about 3 hours (even though i fasted as per instructions) and my doctor thinks there may be a narrowing in the intestine. I had a CT scan yesterday and now have to wait for my doctor to get back from vacation for the results.

i have also been throwing up more lately. yesterday morning around 6am i threw up the food i ate for dinner around 9 hours before. i found that odd as i thought the food would have moved out of the stomach at that point. i have also been experiencing tons of loud gurgling sounds from my intestines. usually without pain, but sometimes with pain/discomfort.

i am also going to be trying remicaid soon - probably in a couple weeks.

i've never been on a health forum and haven't spoken to anyone other than my doctor about crohns (with the exception of a brief conversation with a client of mine who also has crohns). so basically, i'm interested in any input/advice you can offer. I'd especially like to hear if anyone else has crohns only in the small intestine. i was told this is pretty rare.

thank you very much.

Hi Avi and welcome to the forums. There's a lot of very helpful, kind, considerate and understanding people here.

It is very possible that since you had to stop taking Humira and then began to receive it again, it may not be effective for you. Typically people will take Humira until it stops working for them.
There are others here who have experience with both Humira and Remicade that may be able to add further to this. I haven't taken either of them.

Did the capsule eventually, hopefully pass? When having Crohn's disease for a long period of time, years, with flare ups, scar tissues does build up on the intestine wall. I had to have a lower bowel resection due to having Crohn's up to that point for 22 years, lots of scar tissue built up and blockages occurred more frequently during flare ups.

The gurgling is also very common with Crohn's, I've had times being at a dinner table with others and my stomach joined into the conversation.

Crohn's is an inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus and has numerous symptoms.
I've had it a total of 39 years, the lower bowel resection had been 16 years ago and they removed 17 inches of my small intestine.
As others from the forums join in, you'll see how a lot of us differ in how the disease affects us.
Others can tell you what to expect as far as Remicade too.

Glad to meet you, Avi. Keep hanging around! People here know what you're talking about, empathize, and give you a great opportunity to ask questions (even ones that you'd never ask anybody else--no such thing here as TMI) and vent if you need to. Welcome!

Thank you all for your responses.

My doctor will be back in the office next Tuesday and i'll see what he says about the CT scan. Part of me almost wants him to say I need surgery so I could at least DO something about this already. But I'm not too eager to have any surgery because of the short and long term risks.

Either way, I will likely get a second opinion from a specialist at Mount Sinai (in new York). My doctor is a gastroenterologist and only does a "moderate" amount of work with crohns. I found this out recently. I thought he was more knowledgeable than he may actually be. However, I've been treating with him since the beginning and I have never had reason to doubt him and he is usually very responsive and caring.