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What is the definition of remission???

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/15/2012 1:57 PM (GMT -5)
Hi, for the last year I've been taking Entocort, Apriso, and Protonix to keep crohns' sypmptoms under control and so far it has worked.  In February my GI dr had me do a Barium Xray and he said I still had inflammation so does that mean the disease in't in remission even though my symptoms are under control?  Things were going well up until about a month and half ago when the symptoms started again but with much less of the diearrhea this time, more cramping and such.  The pain has been waking me up in the middle of the night and it was located very low almost in the bladder area and in the lower right side of my abdoman.  The pain can be excrutiating at times taking my breath away causing me to stop in my tracks.  Not to mention, i seem to be having pain while emptying my bladder and I don't have a UTI, been to my family Dr recently and my sample didn't show any infection only white blood cells and protein.  Is this all caused by the crohns?  I guess i'm wondering if i'm having a flare up of if i have different things going on.  Oh not to mention, my 1 and only ovary is close to about 2 inches big at this point in time with a cyst.  I'm just wondering if anyone can help  explain or make sense of all of this, it just seems to be one pain after another, some worse than others.  What do others consider remission........ confused

 

Thank you to all who reply!

Posted 11/15/2012 2:39 PM (GMT -5)
Remission is the absence of disease. It's tricky with Crohn's because sometimes the symptoms are subtle and you might think you're fine, but there's still active inflammation. This might lead to poor nutrient absorption, anemia, intolerances.....
Posted 11/15/2012 2:46 PM (GMT -5)
 the poor absortion could explain the fatigue i've been feeling lately too.  thanks for the info!
Posted 11/15/2012 3:23 PM (GMT -5)
I thought I was in remission about 10 months after I got diagnosed and had finally been able to taper off prednisone. I was taking Imuran and Mesalamine (pills and enema) and "only" had about 6 loose BMs/day but not blood and not nearly as much pain.

Now that I'm REALLY in remission with Remicade (and last week's colonoscopy confirms it), it's amazing. I feel really good (other than pain from putting in a draining seton into a fistula, but that's from c. diff.). If you still have inflammation, maybe you should look into other meds? Was Feb the last time you talked to your GI about this? And what does your OB/GYN say about the cyst? I was in so much pain from the Crohn's that I didn't even hardly notice the pain from my ovarian cyst collapsing.
Posted 11/15/2012 4:43 PM (GMT -5)
I'll talk to my GI doc on Tuesday, i went ahead and made an appt because the pain has gotten so bad over the last month or so.  My guess, he'll probably change my meds but, i'm scared because I don't want to gain anymore weight.  Since all of this started i've put on enough weight due to the fact i can't eat salad, fruits or veggies and i"m also on a low dose anti-depressant which causes weight gain.  My gyno is pushing me to have the ovary completely removed, however i push back because of menopause, I'm 36.  Sadly, i had to have a hysterctomy at 31 and my right ovary was removed for the same reason cysts.  Some days just feel so hopeless, i just want to feel like myself again but I don't think it's going to happen.  But, you seem to very happy so maybe a new med might help me! 
Posted 11/15/2012 6:30 PM (GMT -5)
I know what you mean. It's so hard to feel that crummy. I know so many people want to avoid surgeries and things like that. As silly as it sounds, make a list of pros and cons. For me, it's so worth it to try anything to feel like I can live as full a life as possible. Weight gain is frustrating (20 lbs from pred) but at the same time, my overall quality of life feels better. That's what made it worth it for me. I was hesitant to try the Remicade, but now I'm so glad that I did.
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