I'm New To Crohn's dx But very familiar with being sick

[Letsbeatcrohn'sMae']

Okay so I feel very weird doing this, But Hey why not. I first got sick In 2002. I was rushed to the hospital by advice nurses recommendation. My mother called because I was doubled over in pain and could not stand up straight. the pain resided on my right side which was a red flag. after I got to hospital, the doctors were ready to wheel me back to the OR in assumption that my appendix had ruptured, thank God for the wrong insurance. LOL turns out it was not appendicitis. after they could not find what was wrong I was released and told to see a GI specialist. I did as I was told and went through the Fun tests of Colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy's and everything else. over a few years time My GI specialist knew for sure I had IBD but didn't know if it was Crohn's or UC. apparently they are very similar. of course during these years I dealt with the uncontrollable BM's, no appetite, weight loss, and DEBILITATING Stomach contractions/spasms. I went through the Lets try any medicine possible to see what she will respond to phase. And nothing seemed to help. Finally I was put on Pentasa and Hyoscamine (sp) which helped take the edge off, but didn't relieve all symptoms. In 2007 They finally concluded that it was Crohn's Disease. Unfortunately I had insurance issues and wasn't able to continue treatment. Fortunately It seemed as if my symptoms improved and I was having less flare ups. Just recently I got confirmation That I for sure had the disease after having a blood test done. I am currently sick with a viral infection that has caused trouble with my spleen and liver and also seems to have flared my Crohn's disease back up! Any advice from someone? I don't know how this works.

 

[***Lisa***]

Hi there & welcome to the forum! I felt the same way as you when I joined the forum a few months ago so don't feel embarrassed. We are just like you, either have Crohns, suspect we have Crohns or supporting someone with the disease. For me, I am helping my 20 year old daughter who has been battling this disease for five years.

Concerning your insurance issues, do you have any coverage at all? If not, have you checked with your local health services office to see if they can offer affordable coverage? A very affordable thing you can do, which I highly recommend, is take natural vitamins and supplements as they are affordable and really work, sometimes even better than meds. Try:

Vitamin D3
Folic acid
Calcium
L- Glutamine
S. Boulardii
Probiotics
Aloe Vera liquid

You can find these either online or at natural food stores. I wish you the best & please continue to post any questions you may have as there are lots of great people here in the forum who can help.

Take care.

Lisa :ghug:

 

[Letsbeatcrohn'sMae']

I have some school insurance but unfortunately it doesn't cover everything. I'm currently not working because I am a full time student taking 18 credits. There was some type of powdered shake my mom got from a vitamin shop specifically used for people with IBD. I just can't remember the name because its been so long since I've taken it. I'm very picky with what I consume because everything seems to send me to the bathroom. I'll try the other vitamins supplements and see if that will help. I've kind of become lost because it seems like not much is helping. Thanks for the support. Sorry to hear bout your daughter hoping she goes into remission soon. This is truly no walk in the park! :yrolleyes:

 

[Jim (POPS)]

Hello there, and I want to give you a BIG worm welcome to crohnsforum.com.

I found out I had crohns right after I retired at age 61, ya, crohns can hit at any age.

You are going through what most do when they first find out its crohns, "what do I do", "how long does a flair last" will I keep getting sicker" all those questions and many more run through our heads. You are not alone anymore. This forum is FULL of people just like you and understand what you are going through. The best support I can give you is "Keep your head up", it will get better.

I regards to health Insurance. If you live in the USA, I would contact health serv. in your area and see if they can help you. BUT I can also tell you this. If you need to go to the ER and you don't have insurance, GO, you need to take care of your self. When the bills come in you can ask them if there is a program that will help you. Most of the time there is.

Try to learn as much as you can about crohns. I found that crohnsforum.com is the BEST place there is for learning. Also, the chat room is a good place to start. It has been slow there for the last few weeks but it will pick up soon I'm sure. I'm in chat around 6PM California time most nights. I hope to see you there, and I will interduce you to all the people in there.

Hope to see you soon. If you have a question please send me a message and I'll do my best to help you out. I'm in this forum every day so I can get back to you the same day.

Again, "Keep your head up" things will get better as time goes on. You will understand crohns better. The more I understand crohns the better I feel.

Jim
(Pops)

 

[lizbeth]

Hello and a warm welcome to the forum .

I joined about Feb time and had never done anything like it before....but boy am I glad I did. I was really nervous about posting but my daughter encouraged me to and I think it's one of the best gifts she gave me . I have met so many wonderful people here and you will too...we all want to help and will answer 'any' query you have to the best of our ability

We understand where your coming from as we all in have experience of Crohns, whether it be our own or someone we are supporting. No question can't be asked here, so if you have any queries please feel free to ask

I can't offer any help regarding insurance as I have no experience of American ways but I'm positive you will get some useful information. I really just wanted to welcome you and wish you well. Take care. :ghug: