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Dating with Crohn's

I am 45 yrs old (f) and was diagnosed with Crohn’s 5 yrs ago while going through a divorce. I didn’t start dating for a couple years because it took that long to get on the right medication and feel better. Even though I was in remission, I still had a lot of trigger foods that caused smelly gas, bloating, and loud noises coming from my stomach. I didn’t get serious with anyone I met so the topic of my IBD was never talked about. Then Covid happened and I decided to put a hold on dating.

I’m at a point now where I’m ready to find someone to share my life with. Unfortunately, I went into a flare up about a week ago so that will have to wait a bit. But that just got me thinking and worried about finding someone who will be understanding and accepting of how this disease affects me both physically and emotionally.

Does anyone have any thoughts to share about dating?
 

crohnsinct

Well-known member
My daughters say the disease is a good jerk’ometer. If you tell someone about your disease and the head for the hills then you saved yourself a boatload of trouble. If they stick around well then it’s worth pursuing.
 
Lol, thank you for that. I can imagine that it's difficult to date at any age when you have health issues. I think some of my struggles come from not fully accepting of the fact that I have Crohn's and the impact that it has made on my everyday life. When I was diagnosed 5 yrs ago, all I could think about was why was this happening to me and haven't I been through enough difficult times in my life . I'm a mom, so I am very familiar with the phrase "life is not fair." And life is truly not fair for anyone, even those that seem to have it all. So I have to keep reminding myself of this and think about how much worse it could be. How's that for positive thinking? 😊
 
Sorry to hear about your divorce but also congratulations on being ready to get out there. As a recently single father of 4 plus a dog and Crohn's thrown in for good measure, i can attest that complete honesty is the only way to go. Not only do you deserve someone who accepts you, but who also has a good helping of empathy, compassion, patience and support. Set your bar high and have fun.
 
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