- Joined
- Jan 22, 2011
- Messages
- 47
Well, where do I begin? I dont know when the Crohns began but I know when it started changing my life and me!
Summer of 07 I remember having a lot of constipation! Id eat and feel full, uncomfotably full for hours! Even after small meals! So full i felt (Im a guy so I can only speculate) Pregnant! I mean Id get really tired, sweaty, have trouble breathing and couldnt get comfortable no matter what I tried! It was like I swallowed a bowling ball! I started to get sick all the time and for a guy who had a physically demanding job, and was active in sports, I kept gaining weight and losing energy! I was always on the go and up for anything but for some reason I started becoming a homebody and was always tired! In the fall of 07 I had extreme stomach pains (LRQ), so bad I was curled up on the floor at work! Luckily Im a commercial plumber and I was actually working on a part of a hospital! My co-workers didnt have to take me far for help! An overnite stay and a bunch of tests later led the doctors to conclude I had a gastrointestinal infection! It was actually a guess since all the tests were fine! They told me if I didnt improve by morning theyd take my appendix out just to be safe! Well I ate that next morning and everything was fine so they shipped me outta there! (I was later told after my diagnosis that if they went in for the appendix they would have found the Crohns)......
Fast forward to late summer 09! I had still been dealing with constipation, and fatigue but looking back I guess I was adapting and learning to cope better! I was moving forward in my career and was on my second year of a six figure salary! My life was finally getting some direction! I was with a great girl, I had purchased a brand new truck, for the 1st time in my life had all my bills paid and had managed to save 20k for a down payment on a custom home that I was about to sign the paperwork for them to start building and then.......it started!
I was actually on my way back from signing some final changes to the floor plan of the house! After the signing we stopped for some food! I had some wings and beer! When we got back in the car I could tell something was wrong! The constipation was like never before and I was sweating profusely! Next thing I know Im telling my girlfriend to get me to a hospital because Im having a heart attack! 29 and in decent shape, a heart attack? My heart was racing, felt like I couldnt catch my breath and pure panic was in my head! that started the 1st of many trips to the ER!
After this incident occurred, began the start of a new me! This seemed to change me! Not just mentaly but physically as well! I started not being able to relax, being depressed and just overall feeling different! A couple more heart scares (which by the way each time my heart checked out fine) and my primary wanted to label me with anxiety! Everything was going great in my life what was I anxious about? Doc said the purchase of a home can do this...well I knew myself and to me, it didnt fit! Then came the daily, headaches, innability to concentrate, weird chest pains, extreme fatigue, blurred vision, stomach pains, back pains, random all over pains and bowel movements that ranged from (dont mean to be graphic but) rabbit droppings to ribbon-like to shredded paper! That was when I actually had a bowel movement! Doc said constipated! I flipped out and stormed out of his office to a new doc! Her answer.....I need to see a pschycologist! Oh yeah, now they thought I was crazy along with some of my family! I kept tellin them something was wrong with my health and almost no one except my girl believed me! I made a deal w my Doc and said I'll go if you run more tests!
After 3 wasted visits, I developed 2 new frightening symptoms! The 1st was lack of an appetite! I always had some sort of daily craving...but now nothing....which I ended up losing 20 pounds fast! They decided to test my gallbladder, which came back as only functioning @ 10%! They were gonna remove it but because I was young they wanted to wait and see if I had an underlying cause! Well the demon finally reared its ugliest head and I developed IRITIS! The most painful thing Ive had in my life! It was at first thought to be pink eye and mistreated therefore leading to a severe case of iritis! I was on constant drops and in a pain pill coma for 3 days! I went to an eye specialist who after injecting me with a steroid in the corner of my eye said to me that she has only seen iritis this severe in people who have an auto-immune condition! She then ask me......I kid you not, if I had any weird or unusual symptoms lately? Huh, where do I begin! As soon as I told her the symptoms relating to the bowels, she immediately called my G.I. and told him to do a colonoscopy! Later that week, I finally found out who my symptom demon was.....a term I was unfamiliar with CROHNS! That was april 2010!
After my diagnosis, I was immediately put on prednisone for about 2 months, then started Remicade in June! I still am not back to the old me, not even close! The remicade to me seems to be holding the crohns to a mild form! Im trying to get them to up the dose cause after about 4 weeks my bad days become more than my good! As far as my life, just as uncertain as this disease! I lost my job, never got the house, have a strained relationship with my parents, burnt through the 20k to pay bills and other expenses and still in no condition to return to work! Basicaly Ive had to hit the reset button on my life but Im stuck at the start cause the disease wont let me get going! My girl has stuck by me through it all but I dont know how much more she can handle? This disease has changed me so much that in some ways Im sure Im a diff person than the guy she fell in love with! Only time will tell?
Id like to thank anyone who took the time to read this! Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated! Its great to have a forum like this and I wish you all, us all the best! Your all in my prayers! God Bless!!!!
Summer of 07 I remember having a lot of constipation! Id eat and feel full, uncomfotably full for hours! Even after small meals! So full i felt (Im a guy so I can only speculate) Pregnant! I mean Id get really tired, sweaty, have trouble breathing and couldnt get comfortable no matter what I tried! It was like I swallowed a bowling ball! I started to get sick all the time and for a guy who had a physically demanding job, and was active in sports, I kept gaining weight and losing energy! I was always on the go and up for anything but for some reason I started becoming a homebody and was always tired! In the fall of 07 I had extreme stomach pains (LRQ), so bad I was curled up on the floor at work! Luckily Im a commercial plumber and I was actually working on a part of a hospital! My co-workers didnt have to take me far for help! An overnite stay and a bunch of tests later led the doctors to conclude I had a gastrointestinal infection! It was actually a guess since all the tests were fine! They told me if I didnt improve by morning theyd take my appendix out just to be safe! Well I ate that next morning and everything was fine so they shipped me outta there! (I was later told after my diagnosis that if they went in for the appendix they would have found the Crohns)......
Fast forward to late summer 09! I had still been dealing with constipation, and fatigue but looking back I guess I was adapting and learning to cope better! I was moving forward in my career and was on my second year of a six figure salary! My life was finally getting some direction! I was with a great girl, I had purchased a brand new truck, for the 1st time in my life had all my bills paid and had managed to save 20k for a down payment on a custom home that I was about to sign the paperwork for them to start building and then.......it started!
I was actually on my way back from signing some final changes to the floor plan of the house! After the signing we stopped for some food! I had some wings and beer! When we got back in the car I could tell something was wrong! The constipation was like never before and I was sweating profusely! Next thing I know Im telling my girlfriend to get me to a hospital because Im having a heart attack! 29 and in decent shape, a heart attack? My heart was racing, felt like I couldnt catch my breath and pure panic was in my head! that started the 1st of many trips to the ER!
After this incident occurred, began the start of a new me! This seemed to change me! Not just mentaly but physically as well! I started not being able to relax, being depressed and just overall feeling different! A couple more heart scares (which by the way each time my heart checked out fine) and my primary wanted to label me with anxiety! Everything was going great in my life what was I anxious about? Doc said the purchase of a home can do this...well I knew myself and to me, it didnt fit! Then came the daily, headaches, innability to concentrate, weird chest pains, extreme fatigue, blurred vision, stomach pains, back pains, random all over pains and bowel movements that ranged from (dont mean to be graphic but) rabbit droppings to ribbon-like to shredded paper! That was when I actually had a bowel movement! Doc said constipated! I flipped out and stormed out of his office to a new doc! Her answer.....I need to see a pschycologist! Oh yeah, now they thought I was crazy along with some of my family! I kept tellin them something was wrong with my health and almost no one except my girl believed me! I made a deal w my Doc and said I'll go if you run more tests!
After 3 wasted visits, I developed 2 new frightening symptoms! The 1st was lack of an appetite! I always had some sort of daily craving...but now nothing....which I ended up losing 20 pounds fast! They decided to test my gallbladder, which came back as only functioning @ 10%! They were gonna remove it but because I was young they wanted to wait and see if I had an underlying cause! Well the demon finally reared its ugliest head and I developed IRITIS! The most painful thing Ive had in my life! It was at first thought to be pink eye and mistreated therefore leading to a severe case of iritis! I was on constant drops and in a pain pill coma for 3 days! I went to an eye specialist who after injecting me with a steroid in the corner of my eye said to me that she has only seen iritis this severe in people who have an auto-immune condition! She then ask me......I kid you not, if I had any weird or unusual symptoms lately? Huh, where do I begin! As soon as I told her the symptoms relating to the bowels, she immediately called my G.I. and told him to do a colonoscopy! Later that week, I finally found out who my symptom demon was.....a term I was unfamiliar with CROHNS! That was april 2010!
After my diagnosis, I was immediately put on prednisone for about 2 months, then started Remicade in June! I still am not back to the old me, not even close! The remicade to me seems to be holding the crohns to a mild form! Im trying to get them to up the dose cause after about 4 weeks my bad days become more than my good! As far as my life, just as uncertain as this disease! I lost my job, never got the house, have a strained relationship with my parents, burnt through the 20k to pay bills and other expenses and still in no condition to return to work! Basicaly Ive had to hit the reset button on my life but Im stuck at the start cause the disease wont let me get going! My girl has stuck by me through it all but I dont know how much more she can handle? This disease has changed me so much that in some ways Im sure Im a diff person than the guy she fell in love with! Only time will tell?
Id like to thank anyone who took the time to read this! Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated! Its great to have a forum like this and I wish you all, us all the best! Your all in my prayers! God Bless!!!!
