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Posted 7/6/2010 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
For the ladies, would you say dealing with Crohns day after day after day after day is worse than PMS and, if so, how many times worse? I ask because I wonder just how much my mental state compares (I have very little patience anymore for others' petty stuff, for example) after many many months of CD.
Posted 7/6/2010 8:22 AM (GMT 0)
We may not be the right segment of population to ask, GDen.

I think our periods - and our premenstrual stuff - can be worse than "normal" peoples', because of all the extra inflammation and pain that goes with it. Sure, we might get PMS, but that can be (dramatically) overshadowed by the fact that we actually get SICK (sometimes seriously sick, sometimes hospitalised) before & during our periods.

That's why so many of us are on the Pill...
Posted 7/6/2010 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
PMS/periods is also an incredibly individual thing. My blood loss can be so severe that I get hospitalized for it (in fact right now it is not safe for me to have periods (TG for Depo, but even that does not always work), and as a result of having a period is mainly why I spent May and into June in the hospital), and each time I have had issues with obstructions it has been during a period.

As for mental status during that time I completely understand why women can become suci/homicidal during that time.

Crohns has a tendency to make me pissy, but with periods I have a tendency to lean much more towards violence.
Posted 7/6/2010 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
My digestive issues are SO MUCH worse around my period, not just pms time. I take BC pills to skip my period and that way I have to deal with it only about 4 times a year instead of every month. It's well worth it.
Posted 7/6/2010 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
I would definitely agree that Crohn's makes PMS so much worse!
I dread that time of the month! For me, it's not really the cramping or bleeding that bother me (mine are always pretty light and last maybe 2-3 days) but it's the fatigue, loss of appetite etc.

I just started sulfasalazine about 2 and 1/2 weeks ago. A couple days after I started was when I got my period, so I took Midol like usual, not thinking anything of it. Oh boy! I felt so out of it the rest of the day! I was tired, yet jittery and dizzy. It was not a good feeling :(
Posted 7/6/2010 6:38 PM (GMT 0)

MMMNAVY said...
Crohns has a tendency to make me pissy, but with periods I have a tendency to lean much more towards violence.


and then add prednisone to that! smhair

I was just wondering. My current 14 months and counting flare has definitely worn down my fuse and diplomacy, plus I've been having chronic headaches every day for the past few months.
Posted 7/7/2010 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
I also have a terrible time with my period - both cramping and incredible blood loss - much worse than in my pre CD days. I'm still amazed/dismayed every month at how awful it is. At age 47 (and tubes tied), I've been reluctant to start the pill but am meeting again with my ob-gyn this summer to discuss.

But, I would say that PMS is more confined to a "mood" thing for me - irritable, short-temper, rage etc. Whereas CD is more "everything" -- pain, hospitals, medications, digestion, mood, embarrassment, requiring planning, fatigue, sleep, etc. You get the picture.

So, if I had to choose one (and what a choice that would be), I'd choose to have PMS over CD any day.
Posted 7/7/2010 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
I think my PMS is usually worse then my Crohn's...but only because my Crohn's has been in remission for most of the time that I've had it. After first getting diagnosed and getting under control, my Crohn's has always seemed to be symptomatic (D, C, cramping, pain, gas, etc) about 1 - 2 weeks before my period. So for me, since the PMS brings/worsens the Crohn's, I think it's worse.

It's kind of weird though. When I first got sick, my Crohn's manifested like menstrual cramps for like months on end before the d and weight loss started. So it was kinda surprising to get diagnosed with Crohn;s when I thought I had bad periods....

I've never had any success from the pill though. The first (and only month) I was on it, I was more crazy then when I'm on 40mgs of Pred so I had to stop taking it. My only good thing is very, very long cycles...
Posted 7/7/2010 3:53 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't noticed much of a difference, but then again I have't had a period for forever (I have the Mirena IUD) I did used to get very pissy when I was younger and right around my period. I didn't start getting cramps until I started my senior year in high school, and that was somewhat around the time I probably started having some symptoms of UC/CD. I hate always having cramps, so I would definitely take a week of cramps every month instead of 24/7 cramps. I'm always moody it seems, don't know what to do about that.
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