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Hospital? Or no?

So I'm in the middle of a flare. I'm going to the bathroom around 8 times a day. My stool comes out nearly all in liquid form and about 1/3 to 2/3 of it is just blood. A lot of the time I will just sit there and blood will continue to come out. I also experience extreme stomach pains during that make me groan and whimper throughout the experience.

I have a scheduled appointment with my general practitioner in two weeks and one with my GI in about a month. I'm also on the cancelation list for the GI so if someone cancels I can get in earlier. This has been going on for about 3 months now but I feel as though more blood is beginning to show up. (From 1/3 of my stool to 2/3 of my stool)

My doctors office said if things get worse or the pain is too much I should go to the hospital, but it's hard to tell if things are "worse" or not because the pain and blood are pretty difficult things to actually gauge. I'm also a college student who has a very variant unpredictable schedule and I don't have easy access to my car (it's about 2-3 blocks away) so I would like to not have to go to the hospital... But I just don't know.. I've only been diagnosed for about a year now and I don't know what is "normal" or an "acceptable" amount of pain or blood.

During my first flare before I was diagnosed I also had the same symptoms with extreme pain and a lot of straight up blood. They did a colonoscopy and never told me of anything super out of the ordinary other than I had Crohn's. So is this normal for me? Should I just buck up? Or do I really need to go to the ER? I really don't know where my health stands and what I should do about it.

Thanks all,
Z
 
Try and get in to see your dr or go to the ER. That is not something you have to buck up and suffer through! I feel you need more urgent medical help than you have booked.
 
Agree with the others, go to the ER. That sounds like way too much blood to me. Can someone drive you?
 

Cross-stitch gal

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If you could rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10 where are you? The closer you are to a 10 will tell you for sure if you need to seek help. We do have a saying on here that if you're asking yourself if you should or shouldn't go either to the hospital/ER it's probably time to go. Hope you can get some help soon.
 
I would say CD is enough out of the ordinary of a find on a colonoscopy!


Its a good idea to go to the ER, your disease can progress with out you knowing it.

I guess think about it like Cross-stitch gal, how bad is the pain and are you ok with the about bleeding your having?

Personally bleeding trumps pain,

I hope you get relief soon!

Lauren
 
I went to the ER today. They couldn't do a ton for me but they assured me that a lot of the things I'm experiencing are technically in the realm of normal. They said I'm a bit animic but not enough to need a transfusion. The doctor prescribed me steroids for the next 12 days that he thinks will drastically help my flare. He also prescribed me medication for my pain and nausea. He said nothing stood out to him as something I needed to have surgery or immediate testing for but he thinks it would be wise to get in to see my GI sooner.. If only that was possible.. But yea the ER Doctor took blood samples, urine, and stool samples and everything came out relatively normal other than low hemoglobin and obvious blood in my stool. But he did not seem to think there were any immediate problems.

I'm really thankful for the steroids and have high hopes that it will help my flare subside. He gave me a very strange look when I told him I'm not taking any medications for my flare. (And thus is why I'm trying to find a new GI). Fingers crossed. I'm seeing my primary in two weeks and my GI in a month. Everyone cross your fingers and pray that he's right and that I am actually okay.

Also pain scale I feel like it can get up to an 8-9 during its worse moments but the pain usually only last for about 20 minutes throughout the day as I find I need to use the bathroom.

Really hope these steroids work.

Thanks for the love all,
Z
 
One thing that was really good was he tested for white blood cells in my blood to test for infections which could be a serious problem and my levels were normal. Also no fever or any other signs of infection so I suppose a lot of bleeding and pain is "normal" for my untreated flares. But now that I'm being treated I have high hopes it will subside.

I really appreciate the support guys. Thank you so much. It really means a lot. I guess what I found so hard was that I've been diagnosed not too long ago so I don't know what is a "normal" amount of pain or a "normal/acceptable" amount of blood. But everyone I've seen in the last year, other than having Crohn's disease, doesn't think I'm in immediate danger or having serious complications.

Again. Thank you all. Best forum on the Internet :)
 
Glad you went to ER. The GI can't fit you in if there is a cancellation?
Yep I'm on the cancelation list but that's as good as I can get. The doctor is also new so he doesn't know me or my problems yet so I don't think he's going to put me above his other patients. But I am on the cancelation list.
 
So glad you went to the ER and even though there was nothing needing to be done urgently(good news really) now you have some medication to hopefully help with your flare and pain until you can be properly seen by the GI. Hope you are starting to get some relief already xx
 
So glad you went to the ER and even though there was nothing needing to be done urgently(good news really) now you have some medication to hopefully help with your flare and pain until you can be properly seen by the GI. Hope you are starting to get some relief already xx
Surprisingly I am :) just one dose of the steroids has already done wonders. Thank you.
 
After I spent a weekend in the hospital I was prescribed with steroids too and I have been better ever since. My stools are now solid and I have only about 1-2 bm's every day instead of feeling like I had to work/sleep next to a bathroom like before. Steroids are not a permanent fix but I hope they help you enough to get you to your first appointment. I'm surprised you didn't get moved up on the list since you went to the ER. Wish you the best and glad that you were able to get something prescribed that is helping you with your flare!
 
Don't ever wait too long with symptoms like that.

The last time I waited too long, the damage was severe enough that I needed surgery.
 
Call your doc after hour number. Talk to the on call doctor and tell him/her what's going on and tell them you want a direct admit to the hospital. Going to the ER is a waste of time. You all ready found out all they can do for you. They don't know your history or have access to the current colonoscopy or such.

I was direct admitted to the hospital yesterday because I did what I just wrote. now I am here getting pumped full of drugs and waiting on test results to see what the next plan of attack is.
 
Glad you went to the ER. The ER did get you on a steroid which should help calm down your flare. In the future, don't wait so long when flaring. It is important to get in ASAP. In my case, my last ER visit was in June 2010. I was in a severe flare and at that time did not know what was going on with me. It was the ER Doc who ordered a CT Scan and declared I had Crohn's. My GI at the time was stuck on it being IBS. I am forever indebted to that ER Doc.
 
I have always had good luck with the ER docs.

Your GP can call your GI and ask that you be seen sooner. I used to do that when I worked for a Drs office. If I couldn't get the patient in sooner, I would put my dr on the phone and he would
Get the job done. It's very common for Drs to do that.


Lauren
 
Call your doc after hour number. Talk to the on call doctor and tell him/her what's going on and tell them you want a direct admit to the hospital. Going to the ER is a waste of time. You all ready found out all they can do for you. They don't know your history or have access to the current colonoscopy or such.

I was direct admitted to the hospital yesterday because I did what I just wrote. now I am here getting pumped full of drugs and waiting on test results to see what the next plan of attack is.
I live in a different city than where my doctor is. There are no GI doctors in the city I live in. I live in a small college town about an hour from my GI Doctor.
 
I have always had good luck with the ER docs.

Your GP can call your GI and ask that you be seen sooner. I used to do that when I worked for a Drs office. If I couldn't get the patient in sooner, I would put my dr on the phone and he would
Get the job done. It's very common for Drs to do that.


Lauren
Yep I'm seeing my general practitioner in two weeks and thats what I have planned to do. I'm already feeling 1000x better from what the ER doc gave me
 
Good luck, hope you get better soon.

Just remember always take it seriously. I didn't push my Drs hard enough and my CD spread and I have been out of remission for 6 years. Even if we can't see it or feel
It. It's there

Lauren
 
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