Hi There 
I am pretty new to this forum though I have been on similar ones in the past.
I'm 21 years old and have had crohns since I was 11.
Had a pretty rough time of it all through high school with a good 5 years without remission. I was averaging 25 trips to the loo a day and throwing up at the same time. The pain was unexplainable, there were times where all I could do was curl up in a foetal position and cry. At my worst I was 15 and 4 and a half stone. Treatments included; steroids, NG feeds, MAP bug therapy, pentasa, metronidazole (long term), Helicobacter treatments etc etc.... In the end my colon perforated during a routine colonoscopy aged 15 and I woke up with an ileostomy It was quite honestly the best thing that ever happened to me, it gave me my life back and I was able to get on with my education and teenage life as normal.
A year and a half later, aged 16, I had the stoma reversed and a straight ileo-anal anastomsis.
I have remained well since (touch wood). I managed to complete my A levels and a three year degree in Dental hygiene and Therapy and I am just about to start working
I am on no medication apart from loperamide, though my consultant and IBD nurse aren't too happy with this. I have been warned that being on no medication is not wise and I run the risk of toxic megacolon. But i've had years of punishing my body and liver with multitudes of medications that aren't even proven to work. So it's a risk i'm taking for now.
Thats about it. Obviously the story is a lot more complex that that brief outline but I could go on forever!
Myself and a friend also run a support group for young people and their families who have stomas we meet up and do activities such as canoeing and team building in an enviroment where stomas are the norm We are based in Manchester/Bolton but we have people coming from other parts of the country to take part in the weekends It's just nice to help give the support that I really couldn't find when i was younger!
Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone with similar stories!
I am pretty new to this forum though I have been on similar ones in the past.
I'm 21 years old and have had crohns since I was 11.
Had a pretty rough time of it all through high school with a good 5 years without remission. I was averaging 25 trips to the loo a day and throwing up at the same time. The pain was unexplainable, there were times where all I could do was curl up in a foetal position and cry. At my worst I was 15 and 4 and a half stone. Treatments included; steroids, NG feeds, MAP bug therapy, pentasa, metronidazole (long term), Helicobacter treatments etc etc.... In the end my colon perforated during a routine colonoscopy aged 15 and I woke up with an ileostomy
It was quite honestly the best thing that ever happened to me, it gave me my life back and I was able to get on with my education and teenage life as normal. A year and a half later, aged 16, I had the stoma reversed and a straight ileo-anal anastomsis.
I have remained well since (touch wood). I managed to complete my A levels and a three year degree in Dental hygiene and Therapy and I am just about to start working
I am on no medication apart from loperamide, though my consultant and IBD nurse aren't too happy with this. I have been warned that being on no medication is not wise and I run the risk of toxic megacolon. But i've had years of punishing my body and liver with multitudes of medications that aren't even proven to work. So it's a risk i'm taking for now.
Thats about it. Obviously the story is a lot more complex that that brief outline but I could go on forever!
Myself and a friend also run a support group for young people and their families who have stomas
we meet up and do activities such as canoeing and team building in an enviroment where stomas are the norm We are based in Manchester/Bolton but we have people coming from other parts of the country to take part in the weekends It's just nice to help give the support that I really couldn't find when i was younger!Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone with similar stories!
