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What is this pain?

Hi all,

I have crohn's in my terminal ileum and currently in a flare. I have had a constant dull ache on my right side for about 3 months now, and steroids have had no effect on this. Does anyone know what this could be? Obviously I have inflammation there but I've had inflammation there for ages and never had any symptoms from it. And if it is inflammation I would have thought the steroids would have made some change to it. I haven't got any symptoms of fever etc and all my observations like blood pressure are normal.

Thanks
 
It is possible that there is a narrowing, however this is only conjecture. At a certain point you can have scar tissue form so while there is no active inflammation you can have impaired movement through the bowels. Very much worth getting it checked out.
 

Gianni

Moderator
Yeah its fairly common to have chronic inflammation in an area without experiencing real pain for awhile. I had inflammation in my terminal ileum for years before I had experienced any real pain and there are a myriad of explanations possible for this. Could be the development of an abscess, ulcers, or stricturing of the bowel. I also experienced that dull ache on the right side of my abdomen, right under my rib cage for about 3 months before i finally gave in and went to the ER.

I think the next step would be to get a scope for the effected area or at the very least a CT scan though the CT scan won't necessarily be able to pin point where the pain would be originating from. A scope would be your best bet.

All the best

Gianni
 
I agree with Shamrock 15. I had surgery last week for the adhesions. They won't show on CT's/ultrasounds. My surgeon said the only way to know for sure was surgery...Hope you find answers soon.
 
Yeah its fairly common to have chronic inflammation in an area without experiencing real pain for awhile. I had inflammation in my terminal ileum for years before I had experienced any real pain and there are a myriad of explanations possible for this. Could be the development of an abscess, ulcers, or stricturing of the bowel. I also experienced that dull ache on the right side of my abdomen, right under my rib cage for about 3 months before i finally gave in and went to the ER.

I think the next step would be to get a scope for the effected area or at the very least a CT scan though the CT scan won't necessarily be able to pin point where the pain would be originating from. A scope would be your best bet.

All the best

Gianni
I had a blockage six years ago and my surgeon told me that it had been that way for a while.
 
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