When to make the call

Hi everyone,

Last week I posted about my knees bothering me, and as usual, last night a flare started. I am having bouts of abdominal pain, I took Tylenol this morning, pain seems the same as this morning. Not sure if I should go t emerg and get it checked out. My GI always said to get checked out to be on the safe side, but I hate to go and wait for hours to find out what I already know.

When do you guys make the call to go to a dr? Or emerg?

General rule of thumb
If it's bad enough for you to post a question on here about whether to go to the ER or not
Then it's time to go

Hate the ER as well
Can you call your Gi ahead of time so they know your coming ...
I know sometimes this helps them fast track ds and much less of a wait
Typically they have already decided to admit before we even get there if we call ahead

Hope things calm down

Yes, you are right about its time to go. Fortunately my gastro might be at the hospital and if he's not, one of his colleagues in his office will be and they are all familiar with my situation. So I will head in soon and get checked out.

Thanks for putting things into perspective. Sometimes when you aren't feeling well, your judgement gets cloudy.

Ok, here is the update. I ended up going to emerge last night. They did bloodworm and ultrasound, turns put I have an infection, they didn't know what kind of infection. So, they gave me antibiotics, i am taking flagyl and Cipro for two weeks. They have ordered a stool test and I am assuming that will tell what kind of infection. This is my first time having an infection with Crohns. Anyone tell me what the normal course of action for an infection is? And in the process of the ultrasound they found gall stones and i have to get my gall bladder out. Ugh! Never ends.

I would love to hear any experiences with infections.

There can be so many infections...what were your symptoms specifically? I get C-Diff, unfortunately, quite often...but could be anything. Hope you feel better soon!

I was having abdominal pain, loose stools, slight nausea. These symptoms are very typical for me during a flare, so I was surprised when she said infection. Apparently my "lactate" blood work number was a little high so that indicates infection.
What's cdiff? Were you on antibiotics?

I would think the only way to see if you have an infection or what type would be through a stool sample. That should tell if you have an actual infection or not. Hope you start feeling better real soon.

Hmm...I'm surprised they didn't do a CT scan to check for abscesses. Are you having fevers?

No fever. She mentioned doing a CT scan but then decided not to. I see my gastro on Wednesday and maybe he will do one. I am feeling much better today.

Oh geez, lol, now you have me worried about an abscess. Would it have shown up on a ultrasound? I read online that they can diagnose a abscess through ultrasound aswell. In general I feel ok, no fever, appetite is slowly coming back and no pain. Usually when this happens it's only a flare and it takes me a little longer to be pain free, so I'm actually surprised at how well I feel.

Both of my parents have ended up with H pylori infections recently. Apparently it is a reasonably common issue but they don't often test for it. It can do a lot more than just cause the ulcers it is known for.

C diff is Clostridium difficile. A nasty little bug to get.

How are you feeling today?

I am pretty much back to 100%. Appetite is back to normal and so is bowel movements. I was well enough yesterday to do a light workout in the gym. I see my GI Doctor Wednesday afternoon. How will I know if the infection is clear? Or if it's caused anything like ulcers? Having an infection is all new to me.

It really depends on the type of infection. I suppose finish out the antibiotics and see if your symptoms return.

Yeah, I guess the gastro dr will give me more info on Wednesday.