Stricture with crohns in remission?

L, strictures are caused by inflammation & as the inflammation heals it turns into scar tissue. The strictures do not go away. My guess is in your prior scopes nothing changed that would set off an alarm bell with your dr.

Good luck with your lab work.

Happy New Year!

Hello Lab.

I am sorry you are going thru this. I hope your outcome is better than mine.

I have been in remission since 2016 because of Remicade.
I can personally attest to scar tissue and strictures. I had a colostomy in 2016, scar tissue suddenly grew so much that in 2019 we had to relocate the colostomy and this month in 2020...another scar tissue area has caused a partial obstruction. I am surviving on Milk of Magnesia and pureed food...well until we can locate a vaccine...and if we can hold off that long...another surgery which will be for my kidneys, colostomy and gallstones will take place soon.

My GI said this happens to a few of his Crohns patients...recurrent strictures and scar tissue leading to obstruction. There isn't anything that can really help-except staying on your meds to prevent further damage and scar tissue. I shudder to think how bad it could have been if I had not been on Remicade. Oh...my blood work did not indicate that I was in a flare or that there was inflammation. A sudden low grade muscle ache and poof...suddenly an obstruction. They had to scope me to locate it in 2019. CT scan I just had does not show the current obstruction - but nothing will go thru if it not liquid. We are waiting on the scope. (I caught chicken pox when I went in just for the scan.) Plus-Dallas is packed with Covid19 patients. The number of healthy patients catching it at the hospital is higher than my doctors are comfortable with right now.
Crohns...it just keeps on giving.

I hope you feel better soon!
Clo

Post Edited (clo2014) : 1/1/2021 2:46:09 PM (GMT-7)

Clo!!! So good to hear from you! Have thought of you often and was wondering how you are doing!I hope they are able to get you in soon to get it fixed. I’m so sorry you are going through this during COVID .
That was kind of how the stricture hit back in 2016 for me though I was in between meds briefly at the time so I kinda think it was related to what ever had healed a few months prior idk. Hopefully this turns out to be a false alarm.
Straydog, yes! I had two dilations that cleared it and two scopes since than that showed it stayed open. Due for another one in mid 2021. He did order faecal calprotectin and infections stool tests. I had about two weeks of mostly diarrhea including multiple accidents where I couldn’t get out of the bathroom without loosing it. Now it’s somewhat better but goes back and forth with more normal bms.

clo2014: Since you are taking milk of magnesia, I guess you are having constipation with your strictures?

Labradorite: You are the opposite. You are having diarrhea with your strictures. Am I reading it correctly?

I am having alternate of constipation and diarrhea with my strictures.

This happened to me too. I have had Crohn’s for 24 years and had never had a structure despite flaring regularly. Two years ago I went into remission and had never felt better, and then out of nowhere developed a rectal stricture. I was so surprised as I otherwise felt the best I’ve felt. On the scope aside from the stricture I was also completely healed except for a couple of centimeters of inflammation. They stretched it but now I’m worried as I feel it recurring and I’m not too sure what they do once stretching it doesn’t work.

EruditePaul,
I am not constipated. I have a colostomy. I could feel that something was off and suddenly it just stopped working one day. I called my CRS and he advised me to try the Milk of Magnesia 2 or 3 TBLS twice a day--until it was thin enough to come out. If I was totally obstructed nothing would come out and I would have to go to the ER. Then we would try to wean me off the MOM. So far there is No weaning going on here. If it is thicker than oatmeal it is very painful. (TMI...Sorry for the visual folks...)We have been trying to hold off with anything until covid surge is over. LOL...

Lab,

How are you doing?

Worried,
Lab and I both were having our strictures dilated in 2016... Hers worked. Mine immediately failed-within a week it was completely closed-and I required surgery. I now have a colostomy. After dilation I was placed on a low residue diet...and am still on it today. A friend had a resection after her dilations failed. She also is on a low residue diet and she avoids all bread products. Every partial obstruction for her...has been caused by bread products.

Clo

Post Edited (clo2014) : 1/7/2021 7:58:06 AM (GMT-7)

Lab,
I did have severe inflammation. I have been much better since the colostomy....but all that inflammation has been healing and scarring and it has wreaked havoc. My GI has said from the beginning that I have been one of his patients with the most severe cases of fistulizing Crohns he has. I am frustrated that we relocated the stoma in Dec 2019 and in Dec 2020 strictures have once again caused issues. My CRS said the whole colon has so many adhesions and strictures he's amazed it works. He's thinking about an ileo...but my GI is worried about losing that much intestine. We will see. In the meantime I will just keep drinking Milk of Magnesia, wait for the vaccine and then finish having it checked out.. Lol...

I hope you feel better soon! Please let me know how the test turns out.

Clo

Thanks Clo!
Blood work came back perfect! So thats good news!
Waiting for the results of the stool tests. I just dropped them off today. Long story about how that ended up taking so long but in an episode of perfect timing two required freezing and I have been waiting for my broken refrigerator to be replaced. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦‍♀️
Side still hurts but no worse.

WorriedUCer said...
This happened to me too. I have had Crohn’s for 24 years and had never had a structure despite flaring regularly. Two years ago I went into remission and had never felt better, and then out of nowhere developed a rectal stricture. I was so surprised as I otherwise felt the best I’ve felt. On the scope aside from the stricture I was also completely healed except for a couple of centimeters of inflammation. They stretched it but now I’m worried as I feel it recurring and I’m not too sure what they do once stretching it doesn’t work.

They take your rectum out and give you an ostomy bag is what they do. I am going through the same thing right now as an inexperienced doctor dilated my rectal stricture and now im almost completely blocked up.