Flare up, Emergency room??

wow.. I've tried twice to post this.. first time I wrote like an essay.. it got erased right before I was going to submit it to you guys and second time my computer restarted itself.

My third attempt.. I'll try to make it as short story form as possible:

                  For the past week and a half I've been going through what I think is a flare up. I've been having frequent and extremely bloody BMs.. anywhere from pebbly to bloody diahrea. I'm still new to the disease so I don't exactly know what the true definition of a flare up is because my symptoms have never really gone down. The only med I take is Colazal, which I sorta stopped because I don't think it works. On wed. I had to go home early from work because after I spent 15 mins in the bathroom and looking down to a toilet of almost all red blood I was in so much pain I was crying and cried all the way home. I tried to take 3 colazal (used to take 3 3x a day) to see if it would help. I puked it up immediately. I had horrible pain the next day also when I tried to eat mac and cheese...I ended up puking it all up..and havin bloody bms all through the night... every time i went to lay down I had to get up again. Next day I got chicken noodle soup down.. not too much pain at all, bloody bms still... today is bloody also...but ive been able to eat.

Once my pain subsided somewhat on wednesday though.... I called my dr up in atlanta..(I just got married and moved to Perry, Ga from atl) She said that I had no choice but to go to the ER. When i got married I didn't have insurance w/ my parents anymore and hadn't been added to my husband's yet (I should be added tomorrow) It was 5000 w/o insurance for an ER visit. My GI also said that because I couldn't hold down my medicine and got nauseaus from it...I seriously had to go to the ER. She said once it was over I'd prob also have to get another colonoscopy.

My questions are: 1. What defines a flare up?

                         2. How do you know when you HAVE to go to the ER? Have you gone to the ER and if so.. why? What does the ER do to help a flare up??

                         3. Is what I'm going through a flare up?

                         4. I'm not crazy for not goin to the ER and sticking it out when I don't have 5000 to pay on a trip there right now am I??? lol

sorry for your trouble to read that

The previous poster addressed most of the questions, so I'm not going to double up on those responses. However, if you are not holding down fluids or solids and you're bleeding to the degree you are, a visit to the ER may end up with you being admited to the hospital. At the hosiptal, they can give you IV fluids to keep you hydrated. I'm no expert, but I'm sure they can get you some meds to make you feel better. Something is definately wrong. You sound like you are in rough shape. I know $5000 is a lot of money for an ER visit, but my personal thoughts are that this is your health. To me, my health means everything. You can always go on payment plans. Most hospitals will accept whatever payment you can afford. When I first moved off my parents insurance and had my own, I had a c-scope and an upper and a few visits to the ER - payment plans were my friend. And the hospital didn't charge interest.

Please take care of yourself!

It is so sad in a country like ours that insurance or lack thereof is such a bottom line and interferes with important health decisions. It is easy to say get immediate medical attention and you definitely do need it for sure but I can sympathize with the worry about the financial end of things too. I hope you can get the help you need and it all works out for you. Definitely get signed up on your husband's insurance as their may be a "waiting period" you may need to go through as well.

All the advice above is great....my husband was in so much pain and a lot of what you are describing that I couldn't stand it any longer and insisted he go to the ER. He was admitted and kept for 5 1/2 days. Needed IVs and almost 3 units of blood. He was given pain medication in the IVs to quiet things down and slowed down the colon too and the frequency and urgency was a lot less. He was put on a pain management program and is still on it. He is starting to show signs that we should be able to think about tapering off the pain medications -- these meds seem to work very well for him - he is not in a stupor and "out of it" as they are timed released. I am not happy that he is still on them but it has made the difference in him getting his life back.

He sees his local GI tomorrow and the Mayo Clinic again on 11/19th which I am sure may want to start to get him off these pain meds and see how things go from there.

I hope you can get some relief fast. I'll be praying for you.

Definetley go to the ER. If youcan wait another day for your insurance to kick in and I am assuming that is 12:01 midnight then I would go then. Are you running a fever?

Stacy

sweetmelody,

Something that "may" help would be to avoid sugars & milk and eat smaller amounts of carbohydrates. This may or may not help you feel better, but try it for a week and see what happens.

ps.
No sugar means, no cakes, candies, sodas, fruit punch, maple syrup, etc...try using honey instead.

NBT

glad you are doing better, not sure where the $5k came in for an ER visit......my husband nearly sawed off his hand (prior to his being on my insurance) and that whole thing was only $1,500 for the ER visit, surgery, x-rays etc.

When I was first dx'd I had just quit my job for another and had to wait 90 days for insurance but that job was so horrible, I found another job and had to wait another 90 days for my insurance (have been at that co for almost 8 years now) and I racked up over $2k in medical bills Doctor visits, some kind of oscopy (not a colonoscopy) and prescriptions, I remember going to see my specialist for 5 minutes and he poked me in the stomach and sent me on my way.......the bill was $300. Anyhow, it took me almost a year to pay it off but I was glad I did not wait......your life is worth it!!!

I'm pretty sure the pred nipped that flare in the bud. Unfortunately, you need to address it by keeping the flares down. Do you have a GI or a PCP that you can go to who can refer you to a GI?

Like you, when I was first diagnosed, I was so sick. I kept calling my doctor, I remember, but I only got a c-scope scheduled. I really needed to be on pred or enemas to stop the flare. Instead, I just got sicker and sicker, and the day before my scope, I ended up in the emergency room, gettings bags full of fluids. I could hardly get up long enough to go to the ER, I was so weak and dehydrated, but once I had fluids, I felt like a new person. By the next morning, however, I was again just about unable to function. They left the IV in my hand in anticipation of the scope the next day, so they gave me fluids during the process and I felt better afterwards. I was immediately put on pred and started the treatment regimen I'm on now for my UC.

My emergency room visit was only like $800, and that was about six years ago. My scope was much more. Be sure to do what I didn't do, and ask for an insured price on your bills. I was shocked to see since I now have insurance how much cheaper things are for insured patients. I thought I was getting a great deal with payments and no interest for my $2300 or so, till I recognized later on that billings by clinics and hospitals are routinely discounted 20, 30, 40 even 50 percent and more by insurance companies.

I hope you stay on the well side!

Mitz

I'm SO glad to hear that you got some help! What miserable time for you :(
Pred is that drug we love to hate - but at certain times it works like a charm!
Take care and keep us updated!