Hi there, I'm 14 years old and I've been diagnosed with Crohn's since I was six. I am currently having a flare up which consists mostly of cramps, diarrhea, and joint pain. I go to acupuncture every other week to avoid going on long-term medication, however I have Apriso I take as needed and was put on Prednisone for a week. None of these things seem to be helping with my current flare up. It started very mildly about two weeks ago and has gotten gradually worse up until now. I have not had a flare up this bad in a while, although my memory is very bad (possibly due to anemia which I have to get tested for soon) so I cant safely provide much accurate information on past flare ups. When I was first diagnosed at around age six and seven my Crohn's was generally worse than it is now, however after that it got better and has been fairly mild. What I'm trying to say, is that I have not had much experience with this level of flare up that I can remember due to just being young and memory problems, so I'm not sure what to do about the fact that no treatment has worked so far for me now.
Since I am young, I need a pediatric gastroenterologist, however there is not one in my city where I recently moved, so I have to get one a couple hours away. My normal doctor basically said that they don't know much about Crohn's, put me on Prednisone, and sent me away. I would appreciate any insight as to what it means when Prednisone doesn't have any positive effect on Crohn's symptoms, because my family and I do not know.
On to my second problem, joint pain. I have only had this problem in the very recent past, although it only got sever with this current flare up. Before I tried to control it by reducing inflammation by diet, now I basically gave up since it got so bad lol. I hoped the Apriso or Prednisone would help by fighting inflammation but it hasn't done anything besides worsen my insomnia and make me jittery. My joint pain has gotten so bad that I cannot walk normally, or walk up or down stairs. My knees hurt the most and if I walk too much the pain becomes worse and they become very stiff. However, other places also hurt such as my fingers, ankles, elbows, and lower back. Sometimes It hurts to write or type. I've only been to a normal doctor once for this a while back when it wasn't as bad, and their advice was to go on pain killers. However, the only one they thought I should take to avoid complications with my digestion was an opiod, and due to family history I am at risk for addiction and therefore couldn't take it. I have also always had a phobia of pills, however the pain got so bad I forced myself to take a couple of advils last week, I gagged them up the first few tries lol. My family and I don't know if joint pain to this extent is normal or if I could possibly be developing arthritis or something like that, I don't really know. Any insight would be appreciated, I have rarely been able to attend school throughout these past few weeks, although thankfully it is now spring break. Thank you! :sign0085::ylol:
Since I am young, I need a pediatric gastroenterologist, however there is not one in my city where I recently moved, so I have to get one a couple hours away. My normal doctor basically said that they don't know much about Crohn's, put me on Prednisone, and sent me away. I would appreciate any insight as to what it means when Prednisone doesn't have any positive effect on Crohn's symptoms, because my family and I do not know.
On to my second problem, joint pain. I have only had this problem in the very recent past, although it only got sever with this current flare up. Before I tried to control it by reducing inflammation by diet, now I basically gave up since it got so bad lol. I hoped the Apriso or Prednisone would help by fighting inflammation but it hasn't done anything besides worsen my insomnia and make me jittery. My joint pain has gotten so bad that I cannot walk normally, or walk up or down stairs. My knees hurt the most and if I walk too much the pain becomes worse and they become very stiff. However, other places also hurt such as my fingers, ankles, elbows, and lower back. Sometimes It hurts to write or type. I've only been to a normal doctor once for this a while back when it wasn't as bad, and their advice was to go on pain killers. However, the only one they thought I should take to avoid complications with my digestion was an opiod, and due to family history I am at risk for addiction and therefore couldn't take it. I have also always had a phobia of pills, however the pain got so bad I forced myself to take a couple of advils last week, I gagged them up the first few tries lol. My family and I don't know if joint pain to this extent is normal or if I could possibly be developing arthritis or something like that, I don't really know. Any insight would be appreciated, I have rarely been able to attend school throughout these past few weeks, although thankfully it is now spring break. Thank you! :sign0085::ylol: