Questions (just diagnosed)
Hello everyone,
I have a couple of questions after just being diagnosed with Crohns after 2 years of gastro symptoms, non of which were particularly terrible.
First question, about one month ago, around 3 weeks before my colonoscopy, I developed a high fever, severe diarrhoea, and severe abdominal pain, hallmark gastroenteritis. However, I have now seen that a crohns flare can cause low grade fever and all the above symptoms. How likely is it that this was a flare as oppose to a virus or bacterial illness considering the symptoms were debilitating and the fever was terrible for around 3 to 4 days?
My second question is to do with mental health. Since I have been experiencing my symptoms, I have seen a steady decline in my "happiness" and ability to deal with day to day life. I chalked this down to anxiety but now I'm wondering how much could this have been due to the physical effect of this disease? I have been tested many times for deficiencies and all have come back normal however.
Many thanks in advance!
, These are great questions.
Of course, I am not a doctor so I am just speaking from personal experience here.
You are completely right, the symptoms between the two can certainly be similar. The only way to truly know if you have Crohn's is to go through the prescribed diagnostic testing by a Gastroenterologist.
I would definitely push your GI to do these tests if you feel you may have Crohn's. Here is an article that goes through the testing. Take a look and go over it with your GI:
https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/diagnostic-tests-and-procedures/
As far as your second question, you are spot on. Mental health always gets effected when dealing with gastro issues.
It was explained to me by my doctor this way: The gut is what produces 90% of Serotonin, AKA your happy hormone. Now imagine, when the gut is inflamed and disease it can't function properly and therefore cannot produce the proper amount of Serotonin.
In other words, when your gut is struggling, your mental health will most definitely struggle simply due to a functional issue. When the gut is healed you will feel like you again.
I hope this helps. But just know you aren't alone. When I am ill and going through a flare, I am so moody and a total grump. If you want to do some digging, ask for your Serotonin levels to be checked. 😀
I hope you feel better soon.
Hugs, Elizabeth (team member)
Hi Elizabeth
Many thanks for your reply. I have actually been diagnosed with crohn's and will begin on a tapering course of prednisolone next week. Do you have any experience with this? Everything online seems quite bleak wth regards to this medication?
Hi
I was on prednisone for about a year after my initial diagnosis because other medications did not work well for me. Sorry to say, but it is a bit of a bleak medicine. The plus side is, it works! The downside for me personally was a HUGE increase in appetite which led to weight gain, irregular menstrual cycles, and irritability. I tried to focus on the positives though, it was better than having my usual UC symptoms 😀Hope this helps, stay strong!
