Why a relapse?

I check in here daily, but haven't posted here in quite some time. My daughter has been seemingly doing extremely well, since this past Christmas when she was Hospitalized with an abdominal abscess, and plenty of inflammation in her TI.  Since the initial Prednisone and drain line treatment, she was put on Imuran. She has recovered totally with no issues, and living a normal life.

This morning she woke up in excruciating pain in her lower right side. (Terminal Ilium). Minor diarreah and lots of gurgling throughout. 

She's quite worried about relapsing. I guess I could just ask her question. Is it possible to have everything apparently fine, then have a sudden onset like this? Can the Imuran which seems to be working for her, suddenly stop working? School starts next week, and she just got her first job. To quote her, "I don't have time for this"

Thanks for listening.

Tom

 

Hi Gail,

Yes, that's what I'm hoping it is. I wasn't sure whether that's wishful thinking or not. I did put a call in to the clinic and left a message with nurse to get her recent bloodwork looked over just in case. She has her first day at her new job, (indoor water park), tomorrow.

Tom.

Stress can aggravate crohn's. A new job and school starting could possibly be part of the reason for a sudden flare.

You might want to raise the stress issue with her. Learning some methods for handling stress may offer some benefit in the longer term. In the short term, it may be necessary to have a course of prednisone. Food can certainly be a factor due to food intolerances (which differ from person to person) and may be part of the problem also. Regular doctors don't seem to want to get into intolerance testing, so you might want to look for a naturopath or someone who will do it. There is a medical blood test called RAST which tests for blood reactions to food allergens, but doctors often don't use it because it can indicate food sensitivities where no noticeable reaction is caused by eating that food. My idea of why this is so is that it does not trigger an allergic reaction unless the gut wall is compromised. The gut wall performs a barrier function that keeps bacteria and other foreign substances away from the immune cells thereby avoiding constant immune episodes. In the case of stress, the gut lining becomes more permeable and bacteria/bacterial products or food proteins can then trigger any existing immune reaction. There are a number of other causes of permeability, but stress is the most common and hardest to avoid.

Tom,

Your daughter is going to have many bumps in the road. I am in remission right now, and I still have those bad days. As I said before if I am really stressed, or even when I eat something I shouldn't have it will get me down everytime. Also, I had a stomach bug about a month ago that took me about 4-5 days to get over, while my hubby had it at the same time and was fine the next day. Hope she is feeling better soon.

Hugs
Gail*Nanners*

Could be stress or something she ate. I think you should try not to be alarmed by one bad day--it may raise the stress level unnecessarily. If she continues like this for a few days, then it would be more serious (or if she is running a fever, then it's worth talking to her doctor).

Also worth mentioning since this is your daughter... I feel OK most of the time, but during "that" time of the month everything goes downhill FAST. Fine one day and then the next I have pain, lots of gurgling, and D no matter what I eat. At this point I swear off solid food entirely for 3-4 days every month because of it. It resolves on its own and then everything's fine.

I recommend consistent support but not overpowering. Her response is indicative of dealing with typical influences at her age plus the frustration of the reappearance of the disease,and unfortunately crohns can appear even if the meds are taken, so acclamating to this might take a long time. I believe that work and school might be too much for some people with this disease, but this doesn't necessarily point to the reason for the flare or new symptoms. I check in here alot too and would listen to any of her concerns.

Oh Tom if it was her time of the month, then that is the likely culprit. I ended up getting a complete hysterectomy at 36 (already had my 3 girls) because I would be so miserable from the time I ovulated to the time my monthly came. It seemed like back then I had one good week a month. I hated how sick I always felt at that time of the month. When I was younger I felt that the birth control pill really helped to offset all that misery each month. After I got my tubes tied and went off the pill is when each month became so miserable. Hope that helps a little and hoping she gets feeling better soon.

Hugs
Gail*Nanners*

Even in periods of remission I have days like that - usually down to stress or before I got my 'time of the month' sorted, I often do not even realise I am stressing about something until I get the stomach issues, but I do tend to find that if I make myself relax/deal with the problem and give it a day it does tend to clear up. Glad she's been doing so well hopefully it is just something minor that can be dealt with easily.