Has anyone ever been unable to so much as simply 'sit down' without experiencing excruciating pain?
(In their abdominal area, lower right side to be specific).
Serious question. Is this something indicative of what IBD sufferers experience?
You should definitely get imaging done to see what is causing the pain. You can certainly have this pain with IBD but for example I've never experienced this and I was diagnosed with IBD. So in other words, just because you have this pain does not mean you have IBD--it could be so many things which is why imaging is very important. Are you prone to abscesses? -Elizabeth (team member) IBD affects people in different ways. I have definitely experienced periods in which pain has incapacitated me. I am in the UK, so was prescribed some pretty heavy pain medication to allow me to function.
- Sahara (team member)One of the first signs of my Crohn's was an excruciatingly painful abcess in my rectum. Sitting down sent bolts of lightning through me. I was in college at the time, and had lots of sit-down time. Student health doctors thought I just had bad hemorrhoids. One summer I was put on whopping doses of prednisone every other day, which helped greatly but shocked the surgeon I consulted the following autumn. Almost ten years later I had a colostomy and got rid of the diseased rectum for good. What a relief! Biologics were not available in those days.
Hi
. Are you currently on a biologic or did treatments like that become unnecessary after the surgery? My wife, Kelly, was diagnosed with a severe form of a different autoimmune condition (juvenile RA in her case) at age two, 46 years ago - before modern treatments, with the damage to show for it. She's used a wheelchair since childhood. Many don't realize just how far treatments have come. While modern treatments, like biologics, may not help everyone, they have prevented damage for many. How are you currently doing? Best, Richard (Team Member)
Thanks for asking. I was on several biologics briefly: 1. remicaid when it was brand new and the medical advice was that you get only three doses in a lifetime. Amazingly, it healed a fistula that had worked its way through my abdominal wall so that bowel content was draining out that opening. 2. Humera, after all my surgeries (11) I developed active Crohn's in my very short (4 feet) small bowel that remained. My large bowel was totally gone by then. After two or three years on Humera, I took myself off of it 10 years ago because it was damaging my immune system. I caught every bug in town and was tired of that. So I turned to avoiding gluten and anything else that might trigger inflammation. The biggest things I have to deal with now is Short Bowel Syndrome and fluid balance from HPN.
