Byebye to personal space

[dlowe]

So i've always been modest, and I should be I'm a 19 year old girl. But after going through all the procedures and wearing alll of those lovely hospital gowns, I think it's safe to say I have no more "personal space." Does anybody else feel as violated as myself??

 

[AndiGirl]

I can relate! Hahaha! Nervous laugh! I can honestly say that I am no longer scared of medical procedures or needles, but the lack of modesty and having to, "bare all," still bothers me. It bothers me that my GI and doctor see as much, if not more than my husband.

 

[dlowe]

AndiGirl,
At least im not the only one! I know the doctors say, they do this all the time and its not big deal; but it so is. Now when i go to the ob/gyn I'm like this is cake compared to my GI haha. Kinda off topic, but I see you take medicine for nausea. I alwaayyss feel nauseous, is that the crohns? I think I'm so used to my stomach hurting that it messes with my head? ugh I freaken hate this disease!

 

[AndiGirl]

The symptoms that people suffer from CD seem to vary from person to person. Some rarely get nauseated, but for me it seems to be a chronic symptom. I was prescribed Zofran for the nausea. I used to take Phenegran, but that made me too sleepy. As a teacher, and a mom of two little ones, being sleepy isn't an option. I am with you, "I hate this disease."

 

[beth]

Yep, I can't think of anywhere a doctor hasn't been! (dont know whether this should have a laughie smilie or a cry smilie!)

Crappy f£$%^&* crappy disease.

 

[sawdust]

This used to really bother me a great deal, but I must have had my pride slowly eroded over time, as it's not near the deal it used to be for me. I've been fairly desperate for results a few times, which made me more tolerant of the poking and prodding :voodoo:. Ever look around much in a waiting room? Your bum (or worse) is not the first or only bum to be seen today.

 

[Gwen pippy]

I could so relate

DX at age 11, still a child, had to grow up fast.
My first embarrassing crohns moment - Age 15 barium enema and this hot radiologist from New Zealand shouts to have X-ray stopped and then calls me "chubby cheeks", I smiled and said It must be moon face as I have been on Preds for a couple of weeks, he said I don't think so your hospital gown has opened!!!!

I have since gone on to have countless scopes, enema's, tests of all descriptions, two births and two miscarriages, so don't think there is a bit of me inside or out that hasn't been viewed by someone. I have absolutely no issues with showing my body now and this is coming from someone who used to be chronically shy.

As horrible as crohn's can be, it has made me more confident and in turn able to talk about issues that other people would crawl under a rock to avoid, knowledge in power especially with this condition.

Happy Flashing your chubby cheeks everyone!!!

xxxx

 

[Nico85]

The best advice ive been given is "Leave your pride outside the front door when you visit the hospital"

Ive learned to do this, every doctor you see has seen this stuff a million times.

 

[lookitsjen]

lol, this made me laugh because just last week i was in the hopsital and had to do colonoscopy prep while in a double room. I chose to use the commode so as not to take up the bathroom from my roommate. Anyways, the stupid gown was getting in my way so i just took it off. The nurse comes in to check on me while I'm on the commode and says "are you cold" i was like no and she goes "well don't you want to put the gown on to be a little more modest?" i was like "I'm pissing out of my ass five inches away from a complete stranger! modesty is the last thing on my mind!" she left me alone after that, but i found it to be quite funny

 

[Goldfish]

lol, this made me laugh because just last week i was in the hopsital and had to do colonoscopy prep while in a double room. I chose to use the commode so as not to take up the bathroom from my roommate. Anyways, the stupid gown was getting in my way so i just took it off. The nurse comes in to check on me while I'm on the commode and says "are you cold" i was like no and she goes "well don't you want to put the gown on to be a little more modest?" i was like "I'm pissing out of my ass five inches away from a complete stranger! modesty is the last thing on my mind!" she left me alone after that, but i found it to be quite funny

I think that it priceless. Well done you! :rof:Forgive me for laughing. I'm laughing with you not at you! Love it.

 

[rygon]

So used to it by now, when I went 4 a stomach xray the guy asked me to lower my trousers. A few embarrassed seconds went by until he said, I meant just ur trousers u can pull ur pants back up

 

[Grant]

Good thread & so very true. I think that with Crohns all dignity is long lost, I've had female Doctors sticking their gloved index finger up my rectum to the nurses helping during Colonoscopy seeing me as nature intended so many times that I hardly give it a second thought. Weird isn't it. But they've always been ultra professional & that puts me @ ease.
We are what we are underneath the clothes, "Naked Apes" as Desmond Morris famously said.
Rgds
Grant

1st symptoms 1983
Diagnosed 1985
1997 Right Hemicolectomy & Resection
2002 Laperotomy & Resection
2010 Laproscopic Ileocolic Resection
Currently got yet another stricture.

Been on Azathioprine & Pred
Currently on Entocort 6mg every day
Humira 40mg every two weeks
Calcichew
Pentasa 4gm daily
3mthly B12 Jabs

 

[tiloah]

Luckily, no. I have no concept of TMI, shame, self consciousness, what have you. I will show all and tell all! (Although I do save it for when it's socially acceptable; I'm not a nudist).

My nurses and husband kept trying to close the blinds in my room and get me to close my gown when I was walking around. I could care less. I was like, I just had surgery! If you don't want to see my butt, don't look!

 

[lookame]

Me...I remeber the first time I had to drop my pants and had a doctor shove their finger up my bum to check for hemerroids NOT a favorite procedure of mine. Anyway you don't spew blood from the anus because you have hemerroids...then you know all the times I crapped my pants yeah puts a whole new spin on embarressment

 

[AndiGirl]

I think the worst for me was when I was still fairly young, and I needed to have a lower GI (Barium Enema). There were two male technicians that were performing the scope procedure on me, and one female in the room observing. At that time, nothing was worse than having two different mens' fingers up my butt. I really couldn't relax.

 

[Nico85]

The barium anema was the most degrading experience of my life to date, was 2 female nurses aswell.
It was also not the most comfertable feeling in the world, infact it was agony!!

 

[lookame]

I think my most embarrassing moment (in the hospital at least) was in aug of last year. I was on diplomine (which made me dizzy let me tell you) and drinking the prep(I also had an antinausial) anyway I downed a good 1/4 of it when my brother came to visit, so I took a break and chatted with him(I was loopy so lol it was prob an odd conversation) after he left I drank two more cups quickly when my stomache felt odd. I want to the bathroom and just as I was turning around to sit on the toliet....vomet...everywhere. I didn't even know what had truly happened it felt like I had to poo so I thought instead of making a further mess I'll lean over the toliet in case I have to vomet more(my tummy still felt odd) and that when I crapped myself...double whammy all on the floor which I was trying to avoid lol... :/*sigh*

 

[vonfunk]

When I had surgery last month there were tubes everywhere that there should be tubes. IT was awkward when the nurse removed the catheter, although I was out of it so not too concerned.
But when they removed the rectal tube, I almost asked one of the nurses to leave, because she was very attractive and I didn't want her to see me on my side with a tube being pulled out of my butt.

My embarrassment is directly proportional to the attractiveness of any women present at the time.

 

[Cookie]

While I was in the process of being diagnosed nine years ago, I went to my OB/GYN for an annual exam. I had a rectovaginal fistula at the time. The nurse practitioner who did the exam did not know what it was (neither did I yet, I just knew that gas and stool was coming from somewhere it shouldn't). She called in a doctor to have a look, who then called in another doctor and before I knew it, I had a whole room full of people staring in my vagina as I lay there with my feet in the stirups. And their comments were along the lines of " I've never seen anything like that before". I was so humiliated. When I left the office, I just sat in my car and cried.

Needless to say, it's been a long journey since that event. Now I can just laugh these things off...because if I didn't, there would be a whole lot more crying!

 

[dlowe]

Wow, you guys all had pretty embarrassing things done (sorrrry) but it made me feel a little better!

 

[sawdust]

Needless to say, it's been a long journey since that event. Now I can just laugh these things off...because if I didn't, there would be a whole lot more crying!

Aww, this made me sad. I've felt this way before, but never quite so cut and dry as your experience. I'm sorry that happened to you. Have you told the doctor how that made you feel? You'd think they'd like to know, so they can avoid that in the future?

Last year, my doctor couldn't see me right away during a flare, so they got me in to see a female PA. I really needed to see someone right away, so I wasn't terribly upset that this wasn't my regular doctor. Anyway, she did the test to see if there was blood and I'll never forget her face. I don't think she had ever seen a positive result on that test before. It all turned out fine, but it turns out that a "shocked" or unexpected reaction from your doctor doesn't instill the greatest of confidence in the patient.

 

[brittbb09]

haha, I did.. TMI but i had a new boyfriend and after a month of dating i ate something kinda bad and unfortunately , im sure we all know, we can't hold our bowels sometimes and i was stuck in the bathroom all night. i felt so awful and embarrassed but now its just like hey, i gotta go i gotta go. and after everyone seeing my butt im pretty sure i dont have a sensor anymore i have to catch myself. mine happened when i was 19 too

 

[Jessi]

I'm kinda losing my sensor, too. When I was a kid, my brother liked to embarrass all of the sisters by talking with excitement about how huge his turd just was and how it wrapped two times around the inside of the toilet bowl. We all were mortified that he would tell us something about poo.

Things are definitely different now. I am the one chatting up a storm about consistency, color, frequency, etc. about poo. They must certainly all be tired of me and my lack of tact. Sigh. I have certainly changed.