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Just registered on Crohn's forum, Had Crohn's a few years.

My name is Jessica, i'm 16 years old.

I think around fifth grade I started showing symptoms for Crohn's and got sick. At first my mom just took me to all the regular pediatric doctors but all they ever said was i was constipated. Obviously after some miralax and a few enemas, that obviously was not right. So one day my mom had to pull me out of school because the school had called home and said i was sick. So my mom took me to the hospital. I went for tests and all that blah blah blah, and i was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

I was at first put on Prednisone and another medication I can't remember the name. I was on those for a while as me and my mom tried to learn more about the disease. I told only a select few of my friends at school about it, I kind of ended up regretting telling them. Of course they couldn't keep their mouths shut at 11. So once in awhile kids at the lunch table would ask me "Are you sure you can you eat that? Won't you get sick?" It got pretty tiring after a while as people actually made jokes about what they'd heard.

The next year in sixth grade I got worse. So halfway through the school year I was admitted Helen Devos children's hospital. For the first week they had me try and empty out my system, kept me on mostly water. Then when they took some tests and got the results back, they told me i needed surgery. I was only 12 so yeah I cried. It was mostly shock though. Once i'd gotten used to the idea I was pretty relaxed about it. My mom was the emotional wreck. I don't know why. It was just a bowel resection, and its not like the doctors go through all that schooling for nothing. They know what what theyre doing. But she still cried when i was going into surgery, i guess it's a mom thing. Later, I felt myself being placed back in the hospital bed and i sort of started to wake up. The first thing I did was look to my mom, who was standing at my bedside and ask her "do i have a stoma?" That was honest to god my biggest worry! They told me beforehand i might need one, i don't even think i understood what a stoma was. But i knew i didn't want one. The next few days were kinda sucky. It hurt to laugh or sneeze and it kinda hurt to move a lot. But it got better. I spent most the days watching emperor's new groove, over and over again. Then the day before i was sent home, was my 13th birthday, most the nurses that were with me came to my room with cards, and real socks(not the crappy hospital ones), honestly the best presents ever. later that day some of my cousins dropped by and my sister with my parents, and they all gave me candy and stuff i could eat now that i wasn't on a liquid diet. The next day I went home!

It was weird being home. Especially when we had big family get togethers. Which means all my mom's siblings and their kids gets together at my uncles house and we basically eat. A lot. i didn't really feel like eating though. Sometimes we'd go home early because i just didn't want to eat. i don't know, i just didn't want to push it, I thought i might get sick again. But eventually i was eating normal again and was at a healthy weight. My family much preferred me eating and putting on weight versus the sickly pile of bones i was during my hospital stay.

Its been about four years now since the surgery and now the medications i'm on are mercaptopurine, folic acid, remicade, and also an iron pill. i was also on a nasal spray for a while, i forget the name of the medicine, it was either an uncomfortable spritz up my nose or an unpleasant shot. Eventually they let me go off the nasal spray so now i'm just on the four medications. I still get symptoms sometimes but i go for regular check ups with my gastroenterologist twice a year. and because of one of the medications i take, my eyesight isn't okay so i wear glasses(or i'm supposed to..) I try sometimes to talk with my friends about Crohn's when they ask about it, but they don't really understand.. Thats why im on here. And sometimes I talk to my old bus driver, because her son has colitis. Thats pretty much it to my story. Sorry it's kinda boring, but its real. And it's me:)
 
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Hi Jessica welcome to the forum. I must say you are a very brave, mature girl. My daughter is also 16 with crohns diagnosis at the age of 14. Unlike you she won't talk to anyone about it or join a forum such as this for support. I sure wish she would. I hope you get support here as well as knowledge of your disease, my daughter gets mad at me for researching all I can.
And oh by the way....your mom crying, yep that's a mom thing, us moms just ache whenever are kids have pain.
Keep up what you're doing and keep us updated.
:dusty:
 
Hi Jess, Im also a Jess ahaha :)
I can completely relate to you! I know exactly what you went through because I just went through the same thing only 2 weeks ago. That is amazing that you hardly get any symptoms now, I hope to be like that one day.
I understand what it is like with your friends.. I have only told my closest friends, but I don't think they truly realise how serious and life changing Crohn's is.
If you ever want to talk Jess I'm always here! :) xoxo
 
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