N
natator55
Guest
I'm very grateful for what I have. After reading many of the previous stories.. i almost feel like i've been a big baby about my much less harsh symptoms. Thanks to all the previous postees for their stories.. very inspirational.
I've had a lot of trouble sharing my story with others (including my very closest friends).. so I guess this is a start... I was diagnosed with Colitis/Crohn's on Mother's Day of 2001 (talk about a great mom's day present). I had just started high school. I was a great swimmer and a very happy child. But slowly, I started to get more and more tired. Blood in your stools is not something you expect or want to talk to people about. My parents finally noticed a difference in me and took me into a family friend GI. He dismissed my problems as "boy troubles" and suggested psychiatric treatment. (I've definitely have had some hooorrible GIs during my 5 years with this disease). Anyways, after passing out at a swim meet, my parents took me into another doctor, who ran a colonoscopy and gave the vague diagnosis of crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. I was put on a large dose prednisone, which included my dad giving me an injection every night. I remember sophomore, junior, and senior years as just a blur of pain, side-effects of prednisone, and various drugs that did nothing for my once-a-month flareup. Towards the end of senior year, I started to form a fistula. Again, another horirble experience draining that with just local anesthetic about 3 days before my prom. I slightly limped through the night and was in a painkiller daze. I couldnt explain my situation to anyone. There is no pain like a fistula - its like a double whammy, its unbearable pain in a place you are not about to talk about and it is embarassing to explain the actual pain to a layperson. Well anyways, I went to college, nothing changed. I didnt eat, I lost the freshmen 15. I spent every hour of the day in bed, crying on the phone to my mother. The winter break of my freshman year, I saw a very good surgeon in Cedars Sinai, and i underwent a seton placement for the fistulas. I also started remicade. I havent felt this healthy since I was 12. It has been a very long time since i could play outside without getting winded or shop at a mall without scanning my environment for bathrooms. and all i can say is, despite all the sacrifices my crohn's/colitis has made me make, i am very grateful for what i have.
I've had a lot of trouble sharing my story with others (including my very closest friends).. so I guess this is a start... I was diagnosed with Colitis/Crohn's on Mother's Day of 2001 (talk about a great mom's day present). I had just started high school. I was a great swimmer and a very happy child. But slowly, I started to get more and more tired. Blood in your stools is not something you expect or want to talk to people about. My parents finally noticed a difference in me and took me into a family friend GI. He dismissed my problems as "boy troubles" and suggested psychiatric treatment. (I've definitely have had some hooorrible GIs during my 5 years with this disease). Anyways, after passing out at a swim meet, my parents took me into another doctor, who ran a colonoscopy and gave the vague diagnosis of crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. I was put on a large dose prednisone, which included my dad giving me an injection every night. I remember sophomore, junior, and senior years as just a blur of pain, side-effects of prednisone, and various drugs that did nothing for my once-a-month flareup. Towards the end of senior year, I started to form a fistula. Again, another horirble experience draining that with just local anesthetic about 3 days before my prom. I slightly limped through the night and was in a painkiller daze. I couldnt explain my situation to anyone. There is no pain like a fistula - its like a double whammy, its unbearable pain in a place you are not about to talk about and it is embarassing to explain the actual pain to a layperson. Well anyways, I went to college, nothing changed. I didnt eat, I lost the freshmen 15. I spent every hour of the day in bed, crying on the phone to my mother. The winter break of my freshman year, I saw a very good surgeon in Cedars Sinai, and i underwent a seton placement for the fistulas. I also started remicade. I havent felt this healthy since I was 12. It has been a very long time since i could play outside without getting winded or shop at a mall without scanning my environment for bathrooms. and all i can say is, despite all the sacrifices my crohn's/colitis has made me make, i am very grateful for what i have.
