Greetings from a newly diagnosed young man from Glasgow

[Technoviking]

Hello everyone,

My name is Chris, and I am a 22-year-old male from Glasgow. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease yesterday, after suffering symptoms of diarrhoea, gut discomfort / pain and tiredness for over half a year. It started in late April, and I thought nothing of it as I generally never get ill. When I was still feeling sick in June, I got more concerned and went to my GP where the long process began with a blood test. Between then and now, I have handed in stool samples, been for a colonoscopy and an MRI scan of my small bowel. After reviewing my biopsies and scan results, I was informed of my diagnosis yesterday.

I've briefly looked over this forum before as a guest, but figured I should introduce myself now that it's official. It's certainly not been the greatest year of my life, as I have found myself feeling down a lot due to illness. I'm glad I now know what it is, but obviously I'm also worried about the future - how this is going to affect my life, and the unpredictable nature of the disease. This forum looks like a great place to come, and it's quite comforting to know that there are so many others who I now share common ground with, and who can provide advice.

 

[SarahBear]

Welcome to the forum, Chris!

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but hopefully being here and knowing you're not alone will help!

Are you seeing a GI? Have they started you on any medications now that you've been diagnosed?

 

[Angrybird]

Hello Chris and welcome to the forum

I am sorry to hear about the diagnosis hun, just know you have come to the right place for lots of helpful info and support. I was also wondering if you are now under the care of a GI doc and whether you have now been started on some meds? Also it may be worth looking into the diet side of things - keeping a food diary can be helpful in pinpointing foods that will aggrivate your tum.

AB
xx

 

[Hope345]

Chris,

Hope you find all the information you need on this site.
Hopefully your doctors will find the medication that works for you and get you into remission quickly.
Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[DAVID KINGHAM]

Welcome to the club Chris.I was diagnosed at 21,seems to be a common age for it to start,so my gastro tells me.I know you may not feel lucky about being told you have crohn's butt the meds have come on a long way in the last 5 years.Try and get yourself on some kind of infusion if possible as tablets only drag it out and give us a bit of time.The biggest thing I've learnt over the years is that when we are hurting.Damage is being done inside and that's what we can't afford to happen.Easy for them to just keep doing test after test while we're in pain.Too late and try not to let that happen.I hope your gastro is on top things and you have a great xmas.

 

[Tina80]

Hi Chris welcome to the forum. I'm also in Glasgow and was diagnosed at the age of 22, although I first got ill at 17. This forum is a great place for support and information. Which hospital do you attend? I've recently just moved from Ayrshire and attend the Southern General. It can be very daunting when just diagnosed but there are lots of new drugs now that can help greatly, it can just take a while to figure out what the best ones are for you.

 

[leahsmom]

just wanted to drop a line to say welcome and i hope you get the right meds so you can enjoy life as a 22 year old.

 

[Technoviking]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yep, I seen a GI doc at Glasgow Royal and I've also been introduced to two nurses who specialise in Crohn's and Colitis. I've been given a prescription for Pentasa, and a course of Budesonide which will start off at 3 tablets a day, then lower to 2 and 1 after six weeks each time.

 

[Angrybird]

I will be keeping fingers crossed you can be feeling better soon hun, please keep us updated on how you are doing.

 

[PVail]

Hi Chris and welcome to the Forum
Sorry to hear you have Crohns but very glad you got diagnosed. Hopefully your treatment will help and bring you some relief from your symptoms. You will certainly get lots of support on this Forum night and day and its good to vent when your in the middle of it all as there are many here who have done this before.
Hope your meds help and keep in touch.
Peter

 

[xxjemmamxx]

Hi Chris, I'm 20 and have just found out that I have Crohn's too when they operated on me. Wishing you all the best and hope that you have some success with the medication they are putting you on.

 

[Technoviking]

Thanks for the show of support folks, I'll keep you updated once I see how the meds are doing after a few weeks.