I'm new in forums, and this will probably get long, but I would so, very appreciate it if anyone would read this, and any words of encouragement. I've felt so alone for a long time, and it's amazing to finally write this out where someone might read it and understand.
I have had severe stomach cramps, followed by violent diarrhea or constipation accompanied by nausea since I was four years old. I remember crying in the bathroom, and thinking I must have committed a sin to God to have such pain (my family is very religious). I am now 20 years old, and it has never gone away. Funnily enough, my parents never took me to a proper hospital for examinations - all the doctors took blood tests and told me it was probably stress, or food poisoning or that I was faking it to get out of school. I suppose the reason for my delayed attention to my illness was because of my 10+ years of depression (After 2 years of therapy I am free of it now!!!) and because all the cramps and diarrhea went away pretty quickly after they happened, so when I told my parents about it I looked perfectly healthy.. So time passed, and my worst flare up in a while began about 2 months ago.
It was a normal morning with another bout of cramps, but something was wrong with the cramps - it was so severe and painful, that I became very scared and called my mother. It kind of went away after the diarrhea, but after that, it became regular, more regular than ever. I was scared to eat anything, so I lost weight, became depressed and tired all the time. Two weeks ago I had a really bad case of indegestion, which led me to schedule an appointment at a good hospital. I went, and they immediately scheduled a colonoscopy (I only ever had endoscopies with no problems), blood test, stool test, and other physical examinations. The doctor told me that if nothing flashed up, it was probably IBS.
I had my colonoscopy two days ago, and they found inflammation, so they took samples to analyse. It was about this time I went on the internet, and found out about Crohn's disease.
The symptoms were so accurate they scared me. Cramps, diarrhea, blood with stool, vomiting, joint pains(mainly my knees and hips), eye problems, constant fatigue, constantly being cold, and loosing weight drastically. Ever since I began getting cramps at four, my mother told me I had gone from being of healthy weight to being very, very skinny, and always have been. My symptoms come in waves - sometimes of the year I'm fine, then some months are hell. I have always had very irregular periods since getting my first at 15. My doctor has ruled out IBS. I am trying to not self-diagnose and pre-worry - it might be something else (they've ruled out cancer as well). Yet I have never felt so understood reading these forums and their stories. I am simultaneously scared to death and relieved to be understood. I will have my final examination and diagnosis on next Thursday. Whatever it is that I have (some sort of IBD?), I hope, that at last, I will be treated. Thank you so, so very much for reading - it truly means the world to me.
I have had severe stomach cramps, followed by violent diarrhea or constipation accompanied by nausea since I was four years old. I remember crying in the bathroom, and thinking I must have committed a sin to God to have such pain (my family is very religious). I am now 20 years old, and it has never gone away. Funnily enough, my parents never took me to a proper hospital for examinations - all the doctors took blood tests and told me it was probably stress, or food poisoning or that I was faking it to get out of school. I suppose the reason for my delayed attention to my illness was because of my 10+ years of depression (After 2 years of therapy I am free of it now!!!) and because all the cramps and diarrhea went away pretty quickly after they happened, so when I told my parents about it I looked perfectly healthy.. So time passed, and my worst flare up in a while began about 2 months ago.
It was a normal morning with another bout of cramps, but something was wrong with the cramps - it was so severe and painful, that I became very scared and called my mother. It kind of went away after the diarrhea, but after that, it became regular, more regular than ever. I was scared to eat anything, so I lost weight, became depressed and tired all the time. Two weeks ago I had a really bad case of indegestion, which led me to schedule an appointment at a good hospital. I went, and they immediately scheduled a colonoscopy (I only ever had endoscopies with no problems), blood test, stool test, and other physical examinations. The doctor told me that if nothing flashed up, it was probably IBS.
I had my colonoscopy two days ago, and they found inflammation, so they took samples to analyse. It was about this time I went on the internet, and found out about Crohn's disease.
The symptoms were so accurate they scared me. Cramps, diarrhea, blood with stool, vomiting, joint pains(mainly my knees and hips), eye problems, constant fatigue, constantly being cold, and loosing weight drastically. Ever since I began getting cramps at four, my mother told me I had gone from being of healthy weight to being very, very skinny, and always have been. My symptoms come in waves - sometimes of the year I'm fine, then some months are hell. I have always had very irregular periods since getting my first at 15. My doctor has ruled out IBS. I am trying to not self-diagnose and pre-worry - it might be something else (they've ruled out cancer as well). Yet I have never felt so understood reading these forums and their stories. I am simultaneously scared to death and relieved to be understood. I will have my final examination and diagnosis on next Thursday. Whatever it is that I have (some sort of IBD?), I hope, that at last, I will be treated. Thank you so, so very much for reading - it truly means the world to me.
