Hi my name is Vicky and I was diagnosed with Crohns disease when I was 19 in November 2007 and have now had the condition for just over three years. However my journey with the illness started earlier than this. (I have always been aware of Crohns disease as my mum also has the condition having been diagnosed in her late teens.)
I began to get symptoms of Crohns in late 2006, after a few months of suffering I visited the doctor, who even after I had informed her that my mum had Crohns and my symptoms seemed to be matching hers, decided that as I was 18 the only explanation for my symptoms was that I have IBS. I was given medication for IBS and gradually over the next few months my symptoms continued to get worse, with the IBS meds (not surprisingly) having no effect on my condition. However I was at university, busy trying to pass my exams, and also being very stubborn, and naive I decided to avoid the doctors, as they had done nothing for me so far. (i am not proud of this and have learnt from my mistakes)
Over the months leading up to November 2007, I began to feel very tired, lost a lot of weight (down to 6 stone at my worse, height 5,4), was sick daily, lost appetite, suffered abdominal pains and diarrhea, and finally whilst out shopping with my fiancé I began to bleed. At this stage I was hospitalized and stayed in hospital from 26th November 2007 to 3rd December 2008. During which I was officially diagnosed with Crohns disease and put on steroids, Asacol and iron to control my condition and battle with my anemia. (Avoiding a blood transfusion by the skin of my teeth) I was then switched onto Pentasa and my condition calmed down.
A year later i had another flare up which after many visits to the doctors, and much persuasion (as they were convinced nothing was wrong with me, or my current condition) they finally agreed to perform a second colonoscopy and discovered that my intestines were still inflamed.
Since then I have continued to be on Pentasa and have also been put on Imuran, which has so far kept me in remission to date. *touches wood*
I have joined the forum in the hope to meet and hear about others stories and to discover herbal remedies and other methods that has helped fellow sufferers. I am currently looking into trying the LOMAP diet, which is aimed at IBS sufferers but has been known to help those with IBD and would be very interested if anybody has any feedback or experience with this diet.
Thank you for reading :smile:
I began to get symptoms of Crohns in late 2006, after a few months of suffering I visited the doctor, who even after I had informed her that my mum had Crohns and my symptoms seemed to be matching hers, decided that as I was 18 the only explanation for my symptoms was that I have IBS. I was given medication for IBS and gradually over the next few months my symptoms continued to get worse, with the IBS meds (not surprisingly) having no effect on my condition. However I was at university, busy trying to pass my exams, and also being very stubborn, and naive I decided to avoid the doctors, as they had done nothing for me so far. (i am not proud of this and have learnt from my mistakes)
Over the months leading up to November 2007, I began to feel very tired, lost a lot of weight (down to 6 stone at my worse, height 5,4), was sick daily, lost appetite, suffered abdominal pains and diarrhea, and finally whilst out shopping with my fiancé I began to bleed. At this stage I was hospitalized and stayed in hospital from 26th November 2007 to 3rd December 2008. During which I was officially diagnosed with Crohns disease and put on steroids, Asacol and iron to control my condition and battle with my anemia. (Avoiding a blood transfusion by the skin of my teeth) I was then switched onto Pentasa and my condition calmed down.
A year later i had another flare up which after many visits to the doctors, and much persuasion (as they were convinced nothing was wrong with me, or my current condition) they finally agreed to perform a second colonoscopy and discovered that my intestines were still inflamed.
Since then I have continued to be on Pentasa and have also been put on Imuran, which has so far kept me in remission to date. *touches wood*
I have joined the forum in the hope to meet and hear about others stories and to discover herbal remedies and other methods that has helped fellow sufferers. I am currently looking into trying the LOMAP diet, which is aimed at IBS sufferers but has been known to help those with IBD and would be very interested if anybody has any feedback or experience with this diet.
Thank you for reading :smile:
Thank you for sharing your story! You may want to start your journey here in the 
