Bored with my bowel.

[Mayerzzz]

Hi all,

I'm Mary, 22, from Ireland. I got diagnosed with crohn's in January 2012 after being treated with IBS for 7years. This last year of my life has been truly so difficult and lonely.

I'm exhausted all the time, my pains are never completely ceasing and its causing me quite a bit of depression. The worst symptom which im not sure is crohn's related, is my sex-drive IS ZERO, which is very hard on me and my boyfriend. I found this forum and thought meeting people in my situation would help my well-being.

Medication so far has been pentasa 4g/d, and a 6 week course of prednisolone....there talking about moving me onto azathioprine or something and I dont really know much about it. So any information about it would help me

 

[David]

Hi Mary and welcome

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, that must be terrible and I hope we can help a bit. Let's see:

1. That you're exhausted all the times makes me wonder about a few things. For example, have you had your vitamin B12 levels tested? How about vitamin D? Both of those are deficiencies common in people with Crohn's Disease and can lead to both fatigue and depression. If you haven't been tested, I strongly suggest you discuss being tested with your doctor. In addition, we have a wiki entry on fatigue that may give you some additional ideas to discuss with your doctor. If you solve that issue, I wonder if your sex drive might improve as well.

2. You mention you're still in pain. Where specifically is the pain?

3. We have a subforum dedicated to Azathioprine. You'll see people in there talking about Imuran which is the brand version of Azathioprine and you'll also see people discussing 6-MP. Azathioprine turns into 6-MP in the body so they're basically the same drug as well (I won't bore you with the differences )

That's a good start I think

Again, welcome!

 

[Beebop]

Hi .

I thought I would respond as I have a similar story. I am 24 years old and was diagnosed with Crohn's in November of last year. At that stage my boyfriend and I had only been together a few months and it was rough! I kept lots of it from him as I was too embarrassed to tell him everything that was going on... He's been really good but he doesn't really understand especially why I might not feel so sexy sometimes hahaha.

I did a 4 months course of prednisone and am now on Pentasa. I take 6 tablets a day and if I remember to take them regularly it seems to sort it... In saying this everyone is different and what works for one might not work for the other.

I hope things get better soon.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Mayerzzz]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. The pains in which im talking about are just the abdominal cramps that make my eyes water and a quick dash to the loo, i've developed a breathing technique quite similar to that of a woman in labour lol I've just came off prednisolone, and i'm feeling like im back at square one, with the cramping happening approx 12/15 times a day.

I dont think ive have my vitamin B12 or D checked so thanks ill get onto that immediately.

Also my job as a waitress means im on my feet basically running around for 10/12 hours a day and then my first day off it seems my symptoms are worsened which doesnt help my studying to become a social worker, zzzzzz, one thing after another. Its just frustrating that people dont seem to understand my condition, constantly telling me "oh ive got IBS, I know how you feel."

Ive had a read through this forum and its comforting to just understand and see similarities in myself and other, i suddenly dont feel as alone.

Looking forward to sharing my BM's with you's lol

P.S todays a good day thank feck

 

[David]

You poor thing.

Yes, definitely request vitamin B12 and D. And ask what else they're willing to test for. Other common deficiencies also include folate, B6, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and iron. But the more they're willing to test, the better. This can be a bit of a fight though.

When you get the results, don't let them tell you, "oh it's fine, you're low normal". Get the actual numbers and report back here if you're comfortable doing so. We can provide additional insight at that point.

 

[Mayerzzz]

Thanks David, I'll do that