Canker sores, also called aphthous ulcers in intestines

In dec 2014 i had My first colonoscopy before i was diagnosed with crohns showed lots of ulcers. Mine were bleeding and painful. There was also inflammation in my terminal ileum. They did a lot of biopsies as well. I was not officially diagnosed with crohns til april 2015. Having crohns has not been pleasant but there r worse diseases i could have. Hopefully you will get some answers soon.

I had bad flares with every symptom possible as well as periods of active disease and not had any symptoms that surprised me when the doctor told me how bad it was. Hopefully its not crohns but it does sound like it. If it is make sure you get on the proper meds and keep track of it. When it's caught before it gets out of control it tends to be a lot easier to manage.
Diet (specifically SCD diet) helps some people but not all/most and tends to be more effective at managing symptoms than treating the inflammation that does a lot of damage. It also is a big life style change so is not for everyone.
Make sure you look at reputable sources for info, there are a lot of websites and misinformation out there claiming to be able to "cure" it with diets, etc. when that is not the case. I spent my first few years with the disease trying different routes other than major long term meds, none of them worked and by the time I went for bigger drugs i was in pretty bad shape.

Post Edited (Labradorite) : 1/9/2017 10:58:19 AM (GMT-7)

Beave, I'm not currently taking any meds. They were instantly offered, which bugged me, honestly. I wish the doctor would have discussed diet with me or some other alternative. I was shocked that it was the first thing that he said before knowing the results of the biopsy. People in my life are telling me not to claim this disease, but honestly, from what I've learned in the last week, I think I have it. Right now, I'm just trying to wrap my head around it and not become depressed.

And, thank you for mentioning NSAIDS. I learned real quick. I take them all the time. Trying to find something I can take naturally to help with menstrual pain. So far, the only thing I have found is ginger. I will try that out and see how it goes.

Exactly. That's why I asked about taking any medications - I didn't mean medications for Crohn's. I meant *other* medications, things tiark was taking before the colonoscopy. Sorry I wasn't clear on that.

Many on this forum throughout the years said they got crohn's from taking Ibuprofen. At least double the amount that said food poisoning gave them crohn's.

Hi tiark, I suggest you just use tylenol until you speak to your doctor, which is usually what is recommended. I have found that ginger makes things worse (I know some on here have had positive effects though) Crohns is tricky if that is what you are dealing with and its best not to try anything without speaking to a doctor. As NCOT said, the NSAIDs could have worsened what was already there but i don't think that there is much (if any)evidence that they can directly cause Crohns (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, most doctors do not discuss diet because there is not enough evidence yet to show that diet can cause remission and what works and what does not. They do usually suggest staying away from things like fried foods though.

When I was first diagnosed, the only symptom I had was severe anemia, which turned out to be a bleeding ulcer near my ileum in my small intestine. It's really great that you don't have GI symptoms, and if they get you on medication right away, then your disease might remain mild. I agree with the other posters that you should wait for the biopsy results and stop using ibuprofen, aspirin or any NSAIDS altogether as they can make bleeding worse. If indeed you are diagnosed with Crohn's, then I suggest that you watch some of the webcasts and read the educational materials on the Crohn's website at www.ccfa.org. And of course, you can always get info here too. It's not good news that you might have this disease, but it's great news that they caught it early and you can get treatment. Most of us live full lives, work, have kids, participate in sports, etc. It's a chronic disease that has to be managed, not a terminal illness. Try not to be too frightened.

The results of the biopsies, you mean?

And calm down, for crying out loud. I wouldn't go googling side-effects: all it will do is terrify you even more. You'll see stuff like cancer and instantly assume you'll get it, even though the chances are of getting cancer from meds are vanishingly small.

Drugs aren't "poison", they are progress. You wouldn't like to live in a world without modern medicine or surgery, particularly if you really do have Crohn's. Back in the day, people died from severe IBD because there was nothing to save them: there was no diet which would have helped with that.

And you may need medications throughout your life but you won't be on Budesonide for life....it is a steroid that they use to settle things down.....probably for a few months until they decide on maintenance medications for you to take.

NiceCupofTea, you sure are tough. Let me be in my feeling for a moment. But, yes, got the results back and it is indeed Crohn's. I come from a family full of nurses. I know that there will always be side effects from being on a med for life. It's not if there will be, it's when and what the side effects will be. There are meds I've heard about my whole life that my mother, who is a RN, would never take. I sometimes feel I know to much about meds. I will say this, I'm glad he didn't say pred. That drugs scares me.

Anywho, there is a doctor here in Georgia who has Crohn's and treats it. I'm going to check him out ASAP. Thank you for smacking me around a bit. It made me chuckle.

Welcome to the wonderful world of crohns :/
I was in a similar situation the I started out. I always felt like meds were poison to some extent and avoided them, even tylenol, not that i needed any other than an antibiotic here and there. When I was diagnosed the medications were so scary and I right away had bad side effects to quite a few meds that upset me even more. (I deal with side effects frequently and adjusting medications to fix them, its not as big of a deal now). I also did not have doctors that were willing to discuss possible side effects which made me very distrustful because there was no one to turn to if i had problems. Its great that there is a doctor near you that has crohns and hopefully will be a good resource! My mother has many health issues and I've seen first hand the good and bad of meds including the deadly consequences of prednisone, but I thought I'd always be able to avoid them. My last flare was actually similar to what you have right now where i had absolutely no symptoms and thought i was doing well. I ended up finding that was not the case when i had a partial obstruction and ended up in a ton of trouble from it. Also discovered the hard way that flares can cause Pulmonary embolisms. I now take remicade, 6mp and a boat load of other meds that googling the side effects of the combination will give you panic attacks but compared to what happened when I thought i was fine its not worth it to be med free, but it took me 6 to 7 years of hell to come to that conclusion so i know its a long journey to acceptance and finding what works for you!

Post Edited (Labradorite) : 1/10/2017 8:58:43 PM (GMT-7)