Hello everyone! I'm Darby, 17 years old and diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at age 12. I've been feeling pretty down lately about my crohn's so I guess I'll just go ahead and share my story.
I was always pretty underweight growing up, but doctors always chalked it up to simply having a naturally small frame. I started first experiencing crohn's symptoms around the age of 11, I was constantly having diarrhea but I was so embarrassed that I did everything I could to hide it from my parents. Eventually the cramps and such got so bad, and I had lost such an enormous amount of weight, that my parents caught on and brought me into the doctor. This was probably one of the worst experiences I've had with a doctor. She told my parents to wait out in the hall, and proceeded to question me about anorexia. I was so furious and upset. She seriously thought that I was faking my symptoms:ymad:.
she finally referred me to a specialist where I underwent tests and such that eventually ended up in my diagnosis. At the time I was so happy to finally know what was wrong with me. I was put on prednisone, and for the first time gained a substantial amount of weight. Up until now I've experienced multiple flares, hospital visits, weight gain, weight loss, and I'm now at the point where my crohn's seems to be doing pretty well.
Although my body feels okay, I've still been feeling a bit down in the dumps lately do to poor body image and such, which I'm sure many of you can relate to. Because of my crohns, I look like I'm about 13 years old. My body is pretty disproportionate (long legs and arms). I'm 5'3" and currently weigh in at about 90 pounds. Not only am I thin because of my crohns, but I just naturally have a hard time putting on weight due to a fast metabolism. My mother is 5'11" and has always been very thin. I'm still growing, though I'm often worried that I won't reach my full potential. Because of these feelings I have a hard time forming relationships, and just overall feel like I've missed out on a lot of stuff normal kids get to experience.
But anyway, I'm so glad to have found this forum
. It's nice to see the stories of other people going through the same thing.
I was always pretty underweight growing up, but doctors always chalked it up to simply having a naturally small frame. I started first experiencing crohn's symptoms around the age of 11, I was constantly having diarrhea but I was so embarrassed that I did everything I could to hide it from my parents. Eventually the cramps and such got so bad, and I had lost such an enormous amount of weight, that my parents caught on and brought me into the doctor. This was probably one of the worst experiences I've had with a doctor. She told my parents to wait out in the hall, and proceeded to question me about anorexia. I was so furious and upset. She seriously thought that I was faking my symptoms:ymad:.
she finally referred me to a specialist where I underwent tests and such that eventually ended up in my diagnosis. At the time I was so happy to finally know what was wrong with me. I was put on prednisone, and for the first time gained a substantial amount of weight. Up until now I've experienced multiple flares, hospital visits, weight gain, weight loss, and I'm now at the point where my crohn's seems to be doing pretty well.
Although my body feels okay, I've still been feeling a bit down in the dumps lately do to poor body image and such, which I'm sure many of you can relate to. Because of my crohns, I look like I'm about 13 years old. My body is pretty disproportionate (long legs and arms). I'm 5'3" and currently weigh in at about 90 pounds. Not only am I thin because of my crohns, but I just naturally have a hard time putting on weight due to a fast metabolism. My mother is 5'11" and has always been very thin. I'm still growing, though I'm often worried that I won't reach my full potential. Because of these feelings I have a hard time forming relationships, and just overall feel like I've missed out on a lot of stuff normal kids get to experience.
But anyway, I'm so glad to have found this forum
. It's nice to see the stories of other people going through the same thing.
