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29 years of Crohn's

aged 15 in 1985 i was operated on for Crohn's..from time to time I still have fare ups.As far as I can tell,Crohn's symptoms is different for many people.this is how my flare ups begin....diarrhea,aches and pains for no reason,bloatedness as soon as I eat and a dull pain in my belly that you could easily learn to live with.The other is strangely "weight gain".Although im not eating as much,Ido gain some weight.Could this be my metabolism slowing down to compensate for the disease or could this be part of the cause of the problem."just speculating".The times Ive been told Ive not got a flareup because of the weight gain has been five times at least.Then six months later or longer when Ive two or three stone and sleep upto 20hours a day im finnaly diagnosed.Nowadays I goto straight to the doctors and skip the specialsts at the hospital..I ask for Prednisolone 5ml.Four a day for a week then reduce it by one every week.Ive done this for the last six years on four occasions."touch wood" it seems to work for me.I also take 30mlg of lanzoprasole a day for acid.I also think this may have helped maintain my Crohn's.Like Ive said,Crohn's seems to be different for everyone,but im mostly in really good health and do not follow any sort of diet.Drink when I want to..I tend to know instinctivly what could upset my belly,but then,so do most people.The time it takes to diagnose in my opinion is the reason why people are often going for surgery.Why it takes so long,I dont know.People like myself who have experience many flareups know our symptoms and should be able to tell a specialist they are having a flareup without having to wait six months for it to show up in a blood test.I hope "My Ongoing Story"has been helpful.....Alan..Aged 43..
 
Hi Alan & Welcome to the Forum:

I most certainly agree that no one should ever have to wait six months to get blood test results to confirm what you have suspected all along. That's a long time to wonder and suffer without any real relief. So, are you still taking prednisone now? Are you now symptom-free the majority of the time? Weight gain is very unusual when you have Crohns, unless your weight gain is a side affect of the prednisone.

All the best!

Lisa :ghug:
 
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