Upper GI Crohn's?

Sorry that you are suffering. I've been having reflux for 15 years now. I'm on Nexium 40 double dose to put my reflux under control. I also developed gastritis, duodenitis and lately gastroduodenitis. Mine are not Crohn's related. Some people can have Crohn's in the upper GI tract. Crohn's can be present from mouth till anus. Did you have any scopes? During an upper endoscopy, a GI can take a biopsy which the pathologist can confirm whether to be Crohn's or not.
What PPIs did you try? I've almost exhausted all possible PPI until I found relief w Nexium. When I have a stomach flare up, I am used to adding Zantac 300mg x 2 and Gaviscon 1 x 4 (as indicated by my signature).
Hope you feel better soon :)

Thanks for your replies!

So, I'd been on omeprazole 20 mg for years as needed, and when that failed in April I went to 40mg then to 40 mg of pantaprazole- plus max strength zantac- and now to dexilant 60 mg. Nothing's keeping it under control, although it does help some and some weeks are better than others. Right now I'm planning to get an endoscopy toward the end of August (I don't live in a place with great medical care, so I'm having to arrange a trip to a big city), and hopefully my doc will do all the biopsies etc... necessary to diagnose me with whatever it is or isn't. I wonder this though: if I was having a flare that lasted 2-3 months and now it seems to be getting a little bit better, will they be able to see signs of Crohn's in an endoscopy a month from now? Is it a disease that can hide if things don't feel really intense at the time of the procedure? I'm definitely still symptomatic, but this week (thank goodness) I feel much more normal with the exception of my aching hands.

Vitaka, I think 23andme is worth the money. I was curious about my genetic risk factors for various illnesses, and thankfully I discovered I don't have any markers for the really bad death sentence types of illnesses, but I do have a few of the genes that spike my risk for the autoimmune diseases of Hashis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Crohn's. It was definitely good to know, since my symptoms haven't been diagnosed yet. Since my grandmother had lupus, it was a happy thing for me to see that my genetic makeup actually puts me at a decreased risk than the average populace for that one (whew!). Also it's fun to know about family lineage and drug reactions (and even whether you're likely to benefit from a Mediterranean diet!) Interesting stuff. I chose to keep my name and info anonymous, and that's an option if privacy is a concern.

When you get the endoscopy they will do biopsies that should confirm/deny Crohns regardless of whether it is active. I was DX with CD in my stomach & esophagus about 10 years ago, prior to that I only thought it could be in my intestines. I also have reflux, buy my GI doesn't connect the two -- although I can definitely see the connection.

My joint pain tends to increase with CD flares, so you may be onto something there. Take care, hope you find out it's NOT CD causing your reflux!

I'm double-jointed too GC and my rheumy said that a lot of my joint pain could be attributable to hypermobility rather than arthritis ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermobility ), which can cause a lot of joint pain, among other things. My joints also all crack pretty much every time I move (my body thinks it's 30-40 years older than I am). I think hypermobility is the only thing out of all my medical issues that someone else in my family has (my dad).

I can pretty much do exactly what that hand is doing the the picture on the Wikipedia page. :)

Hi Vitaka, I seen that you started your first remicade infusion in April. I am going to the doctor tomorrow and I am suppose to begin infusion therapy. I am nervous. I really do not know what to expect and the side effects scare me. I was wondering if you are getting any relief with treatment. I been suffering since DX of flare in May. I was started on prednisone 40mg 2 weeks ago. Still have all the same symptoms just harder to fall asleep with the pred. I been losing weight because the fear of pain out weighs the need. Since I been on the pred I been getting really bad headaches, and joint pain mainly in my knees and hands. If you can give me some feed back on how the infusion therapy is working for you. Are you experiencing any side effects. I am a nurse and they say it lowers your immune system so this is a concern for me as well. I have been out of work since May due to complications. I need to get normalcy back into my life.