How did your Crohn's start?

[JMC]

I am interested to hear how people first became aware that they had Crohn's disease. Were you 100% well and then suddenly out of the blue became ill? Did you think you had just an ordinary virus or food poisoning bug, but then did not get better? Was there any other event that you could associate with it being triggered for the first time? Something particularly stressful or traumatic?

In my case, as far as I can remember, I was a normal healthy child up to the age of 9 years old (I can remember "normal" bowel movements) and became ill after quite a stressful house move and change of school. I clearly remember thinking I had a normal stomach bug at first, but it went on for too long and I lost a lot of weight which signalled it was something more serious.

 

[Goldfish]

It was stress of exams that brought it on for me this year. I might have had a small bought of it last year but thought it was a bug. haven't had it too bad really but remember just being ridiculously tired and fighting to keep going every day. Knew something was wrong when still suffering 6 weeks after the exams and then saw blood in the toilet. Biggest fright for me. I will have to be careful of stressful times i think. Hope you are ok now.

 

[Terriernut]

I seemed to have gotten ill the first time in 1997 when my beautiful dog Ziggy contracted bone cancer and died at the age of 5 1/2. I lost 30lbs in 3 weeks. Although I look back and had to have the loo urgently for many years before that. Like when my mother passed...

Big stressers will get you every time.

 

[Emily]

at my 7th birthday party as everyone was going home, i started to get horrible stomach pain. i so vividly remember lying on the couch and only a couple kids were left and my parents telling me that i must have had way too much cake and junk food. by that night i was in the ER and i was diagnosed during that hospital stay.

the funny thing is, i was in remission for like 10 years, then on a celebratory 18th birthday trip in New York i got my biggest flare to date, which required surgery.

my birthday must unconsciously stress me out, i just dont get it! haha

 

[xoxava]

This is a really interesting thread! As far as I can remember I've always had a 'sensitive' stomach growing up. It was always worse for me in the mornings. My mom would take my two older sisters to school, then I would nap until it was time for me to go because we lived a bit away. My stomach would always hurt really bad and I would have to use the bathroom quickly! (good thing we had a friend that lived near by!!!) I had a pus pocket on my kidney due to reoccurring strep throat and that had to be removed, ever since I've had stones and frequent kidney/bladder infections. Then by age 11 I started my period and had horrible cramps so my pediatrician started me on naproxen. I took this religiously. I'm the only one in my family with Crohn's and stomach problems in general. Growing up I was able to eat pretty much whatever but over the years things have started to bother me more and more.Honestly Im not sure if I had Crohns from a young age or got it because of all the medications I took as a child. 2007 when I was 16 I started going to a different doctor and immediately he started finding all sorts of things wrong with me. So I've had noticably bad symptoms since then and got my official diagnosis by colonoscopy in june of 2010.

 

[mkhopper]

For many years I was able to live how I wanted and eat whatever I wanted and never had any problems at all (except for one instance).

Then it was like flipping a switch and I was 25 years old at the time. I can even remember what I ate the night before I started having serious problems.

That one instance I mentioned however occurred when I was about 11 or 12 when I spent an entire weekend writhing in pain which I now recognize as a minor obstruction. I saw a doctor at the time, but he had no idea and just sent me home with instructions to just eat soft foods for a few days. Thankfully it cleared itself up.

So it's a good bet, like most others, I've had the condition all along from day one, but it only decided to "wake up" later down the line.

 

[Grant]

mkhopper, thats more or less what happened to me ref the flipping of a switch. I was 24, had been swimming in the sea the day before. The next day I had chronic diarrhea. Even now I still remember it well & it was back in 1983.
I've always put it down to swimming in the sea quite close to a river, that river has fields next to it with cattle in. MAP bacteria maybe that got into me from the cattle??
Either way in a matter of hours my life changed forever.
Rgds
Grant

 

[Carrie]

Oddly, my Crohn's was identified somewhat on accident.

My school required medical screening prior to starting kindergarten, and the doctor had noticed that I was a bit anaemic. Obviously it is not normal for children to suffer from anaemia, so I was sent off to a specialist paediatric doctor for further investigation. Up until that point, I do not specifically remember having symptoms of Crohn's. To be honest, though, I don't remember much about being sick as a child in general. What I do remember where a few spot occasions where I would have tummy aches and be sick at really unfortunate times. Once was a party for employees and their families at my dad's workplace and another was a family get-together at a restaurant, but that was after the anaemia was discovered. It eventually took two years from that kindergarten screening to be officially diagnosed with Crohn's, and in that interim period, I do remember being somewhat unwell on occasion, and definitely remember having to follow a no-dairy diet at the doctor's request.

If it wasn't for that accidental discovery, I kind of wonder what would have happened. I believe I was started on treatments for Crohn's before the official diagnosis, and wonder how much worse it could have manifested itself had it not been proactively treated. I still had tough times as a kid, but it could have been much worse/traumatic had it not been caught early.

 

[tishbite]

I'm convinced I got it from all the adhd medications they had me on as a kid. After I stopped taking dexdroamphetamine for a couple years is when my symptoms started acting up. I had already lost a lot of weight from the adhd medication and I had a majorly suppressed appetite and that's when things started getting bad for me. The stomach pain etc. I don't know if anyone else took adhd medications but I am convinced it was "drug" induced. I had to drop out of high school after trying homeschooling and got my GED.

 

[tishbite]

Also to add. I did have stomach aches all the time as a child but it did not get bad until after I took my adhd medications. That's probably what triggered a flare or something.

 

[mallenfaye]

I am convinced mine was triggered by my holiday to Egypt last October! Thought I came home with the worst dose of travellers diahrea and it went down hill from there. Diagnosed with Helicobacter Pylori bug, got treatment, had some more treatment, oh then ended up in hospital for a week and along came my Crohns diagnosis

 

[Walt]

How did your Crohn's start?

My Mommy met my Daddy.....
:kiss:
.

.
(smiles then shrugs)
.

 

[toomey2]

Out of nowhere for me too

I've only had Crohns for a few months but I am certain it was caused by a bacterial infection I had last year. They gave me this special pill I had to take and that was the only time I had bloody stool. A few months later while getting stressed out between planning my wedding and buying a house was when I first experienced the pain. A few weeks later I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease. Like others on this site, I didn't have any symptoms or problems before last year (I actually considered myself having a stomach of steel although I guess its not my stomach thats the problem its the small intestines!) and there are no other cases of any type of IBS in my family.

I've read that there is a theory that Crohns is caused by bacteria in your system. Thats what made me think of my bacterial infection and the medication they put me on. Just from being on this site and research, I believe Crohns is a lot like Alzheimers where there are many factors that contribute to developing the disease. Everyone's story is different and everyone's case is different. Its going to make it very difficult for them to come up with a cure some day.

 

[soretum]

How did your Crohn's start?

My Mommy met my Daddy.....
:kiss:
.

.
(smiles then shrugs)
.

Haha love it, it's so their fault!

Mine has come on reasonabley slowley over 2009 and 2010 with problems with bloating and fatigue until it all went pear shaped in Janurary this year. I dont know if this was the trigger but I travelled around South America late 2008 and had bad altitude sickness with diarrhoea and my gut has never been the same since. I have always been a very bloaty person though but never really had any problems in the toilet department until the last couple of years

 

[vickyhunter]

I was diagnosed aged 7 after having bowel problems from being about 4. I was really skinny and had impetigo alot, and also had weird bowel movements (rabbit style apparently! :| ) and was passing blood and a very very fussy eater. So I was taken to the hospital for tests and after a few months I had an gastroscopy and colonoscopy as well as blood tests etc and they diagnosed crohn's. Probably catalysed by the fact that my grandma had recently died of bowel cancer, my mum has ulcerative colitis and my cousin has meckles divertic (big family history of bowel problems). Then after I was diagnosed I had my first big flare up and for me, Crohn's began officially I suppose!


xxxx

 

[LindaS]

As far as I can remember, I was relatively healthy as a child. I was not under any particular stress when I started getting sick. I was in college, and under the normal stress as a freshman getting used to living away from home and the normal change of going to college. It started slowly, with some diarrhea and pain, and it took 2 years to be diagnosed. I am of the belief that back then, young women weren't taken seriously when they complained of stomach trouble. Also back then, there weren't very many female GIs, so that could have been part of it. I was hospitalized 6 different times for dehydration before my mom demanded they perform a colonoscopy. I remember clearly that during the colonoscopy the doctor said "oh, look, it is Crohn's"

 

[Akcat]

My symptoms slowly built up over the past 18 months filled with lots of tests and doctors and culminated in a colonoscopy last month which showed Crohn's. Prior to 18 months ago, as far back as my childhood, I can recall having stomach issues. I used to get sick to my stomach almost every morning immediately after breakfast, particularly if it was a large breakfast or if it I was away from home (camping, on the boat, etc.). I actually find it kind of comforting to think all of those mornings of "Argh! Why am I so sick?" might have been for a good reason.

 

[akanderson]

I've had a few problems when I was 19 but never terrible. Then last december I started have horrible stomach pain but I thought it was a bug. Then in jan I started my new job and worked 40+ a week and was getting worse. Went to GP and he couldn't figure it out, webmd said it was crohn's or cancer, so I was freaked out. Then finally went to GI and was diagnosed after a colonoscopy. Yay. Since then though I've lost 40 lbs and have been in a flare up. I go Monday so hopefully I can get some more help. UGH.

 

[chrisnsteph1022]

I was completely healthy and it came on very suddenly at age 23. I just had a lot of diarrhea, so I thought it was a stomach bug. After 2 weeks, I knew there was a problem and went to the doc. It took about 4-6 weeks to get diagnosed. I did a lot of research on the internet and brought up the possibility of Crohn's to my doctor. That's when he referred me to a GI for a scope and it was an easy diagnosis.

 

[Seaside Di]

I was a healthy child. My symptoms first started when I was 18, at first it was just heartburn and mild stomach pains. I went to GP and he gave me Zantac. I then started having diarrhoea which I thought was a reaction to the Zantax. The Dr sent me for a baruim xray which showed inflammation of the duodenum, so they decided to do a folllow through of the baruium and picked up ulceration in the TI. It took about 9 months to get diagnosed, pretty good for the late '80's.

Following my 13 year of remission, my symptoms started with heartburn again, followed by the usual stomach pains, diarrhoea etc, but as I now also have perianal crohn's, I also had dreadful rectal pain and bleeding. I had a colonoscopy rather than a barium this time to confirm the dx.

 

[kjw1112]

when i was 15/16 i went a year and a few months eating Marshmallow Fruit Loops for around 2 meals a day. (i find food i like and eat it religiously until i dont like it anymore) and after about a year, my bowl movements became green and loose-ish. i stopped eating them, and never thought anything of it.

for years after that i would randomly get diarrhea when i would eat certain things (buffalo wild wings, canned ravioli) and i still never thought anything of it. it slowly got worse and worse to the point it is now.

now looking back at it,
and even though that probably isnt what officially caused it, i still blame those damn marshmallow fruit loops.

 

[Allystyle]

I got really itchy legs to start with, like I had been sat in front of a fire then got chilblains feeling!

Then started with the blood loss and every time I ate I got only half a portion before being doubled up in agony!

 

[DustyKat]

How did your Crohn's start?

My Mommy met my Daddy.....
:kiss:
.

.
(smiles then shrugs)
.

Hell, that may well make me guilty as charged...:shifty:

Dusty.

 

[claudia87]

I was quite healthy up until I found myself with a nasty case of food poisoning when I was 22... It seemed to trigger something and 2 months later I was still in agony whenever I ate and would have 2 or 3 trips to the toilet during every meal! Diagnosed with Crohn's 2 months after that. Pretty simple I suppose.
I was also a bit stressed out at the time with post-uni job hunting and moving house....can't have helped much.

 

[toneloc]

My Crohn's!

I contracted the Winter vomitting bug (Norovirus) in Feb 2010 aged 43.

Everyone else in the house recovered, no problem, but I then started to have extreme liquid bowel movements with massive blood loss.

Was admitted to hospital-no real dx, was discharged after being told it was just a reaction to the virus. After numerous colonoscopies I was DX'd in Nov 2010 with Crohn's disease.

Yuk!

 

[Feather]

My biggest symptoms were fatigue, loss of appetite, anemia, and weight loss (in 5th grade, age 11). Because I didn't have much belly pain or bloody stools, it was really difficult to get a diagnosis. I tested positive for mono, so my doctors thought that was probably it, but after several months of continued deterioration, they did more and more tests--and finally, a colonoscopy gave me a diagnosis! I was a pretty healthy kid up until that point, though I know I had some heart murmur and renal reflux problems when I was really little.

 

[fatjoe216]

Well i started having monster cramps, bloody stool and i was very tired. I think I was stressed out from me being laid off then my wife being laid off, not being able to pay bills and almost losing my house. Everything is OK now as i know what i am dealing with now.