Argh! I can't deal with this anymore :(

[Aaron1333]

So as some of you know i'm 16 and recently diagnosed with crohns disease. I'm in hospital at the moment on their strict liquid only diet but i'm being fed through a tube due to not being able to drink it myself. They told me last week that i'd be expected to stay for around 2 weeks... Today i got told i need to be in hospital for another 3 weeks and then i have surgery booked afterwards? And my mum got a letter from my doctor saying i need to attend his clinic on the 5th November as an 'Outpatient' to have my colonoscopy? There are so many doctors and surgeons talking to me i am being told so many different things Surely if i am being an outpatient for my colonoscopy on the 5th then i'm not having surgery on my stomach in 3 weeks? It would all be too soon. And what makes this all worse is my older sister is expected to have her baby on the 30th October, i really would like to go visit her and the baby but i'm afraid i'll still be in hospital. Has anyone else been messed around by doctors and told different things? Sorry for the moan, i needed to get it all out!

 

[Rob.G]

Hi Aaron1333.
With my 13+ years of Crohns I've been in and out of Hospital so many times with the same liquid diet through an NG Tube. It does get annoying and boring, especially when they keep extending how long they are keeping you in for but it's worth it in the end when it gets you back on track. Just stick with it and get your parents or whoever to bring stuff in for you to do, I take my PSP, iPhone/iPad/iPod, Laptop, Book, I race RC Cars and they even let me Build one of my RC Cars on my Bed Table! Just anything to occupy your time and it won't feel nearly as bad.
The Colonoscopy is usually done just before surgery to double check exactly what they need to do.
As for being in Hospital while you sister is giving birth.... I've been in Hospital for my Girlfriends Birthday, Sisters Birthday, Sisters Wedding (I was meant to be the Usher), as much as I would have liked to be there for all of these, I would have been no good to them in the state I was in, obviously I don't know the exact state you are in but it's generally pretty bad and getting worse if it comes down to the liquid diet through the NG Tube and then they want to perform surgery, I have also been there myself, the last time I was in hospital, I went in on the liquid diet to get some weight on again but ended up having emergency surgery a month or so later on the day I was due to go home. It's really nothing to worry about and will be for your own good, many of us have been through it and are much better off for it. I'd let them do what they need to do, get you back on the right track and then you can be there properly for your sister once she has had the baby and you are felling better/stronger, I'm sure she would want you to get yourself better first as well.

 

[silvermander]

Don't be sorry for the moan! I'm 22 years your senior and still moan and complain when I need to.

I've been in and out of hospital for the past two years, so I know how you feel about so many doctors saying things, but none of it makes much sense. Everything contradicts and leaves you all jumbled.

First off, I hate to say this, but you need to focus on you. If you get to see your sis and her baby, great! But if not the day the baby is born, you will see them soon. You have to focus on your guts and getting better.

Secondly, do you have a parent there keeping track of all that you're being told? If not, then you need everyone get together, sit down with you and tell you exactly what's going on. Not telling you to have a sit in without letting anyone touch you until you get some answers as that would be negligent of me to say such a thing, but I did it when I was 16 and not getting the answers I needed. But for your peace of mind, get them to tell you the plan, have them put it in writing if you want to make sure you can hold them to it in the future.

Third, remember that they're doing all this so you will get better. Much of the rime we're dealing with this crap we're feeling much worse than we had been at home. It sucks, but it is what it is. On the other hand, you're allowed to be bitchy. At any age we can only be expected to take so much before we're ready to let the next person have it!

One last thing - I remember how sucky it is to be 16 and in hospital dealing with all this crap! It totally sucks and I feel for you big time. It also sucks to be 38 in hospital dealing with all this crap, but when your 16 they treat you as if your five without the real answers you need. Stand up for yourself, but remember that they're working to make you better, no matter how chaotic it becomes. Chin up.