How long do you go without eating during a flare up?

Hello,

My husband is having the worst flare up yet. He has been feeling bad since before Christmas, but 2 weeks ago he got a lot worse he could not keep white rice down. He has not eaten for 2 weeks. I have an appointment for him at an IBD Clinic on the 30th and they will not esee him sooner. He has been the the general doctor twice and was switched from (I am sorry I don't have the bottle here at work so the spelling is wrong) azathioprene to entocort ec, to prednisone 40 mg a day. Last week I had them give him fluids via IV. What should I do? If I take him to the ER, I wonder if they will see him sooner that way? How long do you normally go without eating during a flare up? He has lost over 30 pounds in a month. This is so frustrating! I would really appreciate any insight that you might have. He was diagnosed in 2007 but prednisone has never failed before.

Honestly how long you go without eating depends on the intensity of your symptoms. And after a while of suffering through crohn's pains, nausea, cramping, urgencies and hours on the toilet you can become nervous/afraid to eat. Then eventually you forget to eat altogether.

I personally have gone about 3 days without realizing I had nothing or terribly little to eat, maybe more. I don't remember entirely. But I do know its when I start to get symptoms like the shakes, intense weakness and fatigue and lack of concentration that I realize I have gone too long. Know one person went around two weeks without eating and but was given nutrients during a hospital stay.

Has he tried drinking nutritional supplements such as Boost, Ensure, Glucerna, etc...? Can he hold those down? Many people use those to help get nutrients in their body when they can't eat. I would absolutely get him to an ER as he could be making pain and other things worse by not eating or getting nutrients any other way.


I hope he finds some sort of relief soon. Living with crohn's is not always the easiest thing to deal with. You are a very good wife for having such concern and caring for your husband.

He has been drinking ensure clinical strength, approx. one every one to two days. I have begged him to go to the ER, but he has refused so far. The general doctor said that he only needed to go to the er if his abdomen went rigid and it hasn't yet.

It is not a good idea to wait so long for an appointment.
It is a better idea to go to the ER as soon as possible so that he will get the appropriate tests and proper care.
Hope he feels better soon.
What a worry for you.
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha

I ended up losing about 45 pounds when I was first diagnosed, but I found clear apple juice was a surprisingly good, although not very healthy way to slow my weight loss a little.

I hope he starts to feel better soon! Good luck to you guys, it's a rough trip for anyone, whether they've had it for a while or not.

ive gone weeks without eating but when i cant keep fluids down i knwo its time to go to ER, i think not eatin is fine as long as you keep his fluids upx

Flare ups never keep me from eating entirely. I have only vomited due to Crohn's once that I can recall, but my disease is all in my large bowel.

Thank you all for your help and support. Due to a cancellation, he gets to go to the ibd clinic tomorrow! FINALLY!

I've never cut out eating entirely. I do however cut down on how much I eat, and I may have a difficult time keeping it down.