Living in denial for 8 years?!?

[Jenn]

Hi there all I am happy I found this site, I have already found comfort and hearing others stories.. I was diagnosed with CD in 2000 when I was 22 years old, I had begun having diarreha for about 5-6 months, I put it off as college life and bad eating habits and lack of sleep and maybe a little to much going out.. Terrible stomach pains started one night and put me in the ER, had my first colonoscopy and bowel X-rays, diagnosis crohns colitis, went on pred. for a month or so and started taking asacol, was back to myself in no time at all. So I stayed on the Asacol for about a year, me and my doc. decided I could try to go med free which I was able to do for quite a long time.(Until now) Occasionally over the past 8 years I have had this abdominal pain attacks that I could control with darvocet take one or two and then was fine. Well about 3 weeks ago I got this abdominal pain and the Darvocet was not doing the trick, ended up in the ER with a bowel obstruction, it did pass on its own, New CT showed more Crohns activity than I had before, one spot in my terminal ilieum and another spot just down from that, luckly they don't sound that large 5cm maybe. So the doc says I have some inflamation/stricturing going on (which I knew I had a strictured area in my terminal ilieum).. SO through this all I haven't had any diarreah which really confuses me, exstatic I don't, I just thought if your having a flare don't most people have diarreah, anyway My doc put me on pred for 8 weeks, pentasa and Imuran, so going from not really taking any medicince to all these I am feeling so overwelmed.. And reading all the side effects to Imuran it is still at my pharmacy I am scared to pick it up. I feel like my doc. is frusterated with me because I keep calling with questions. I feel like for the last 8 years I just went about life and really just had this disease in the back of my mind and just never delt with accepting it and now its hitting me with a ton of bricks, yes I have a chronic disease.... And to top it all off My husband and I where hoping to have another baby, where wanting to start trying this winter, but the imuran puts a total screatching halt to that for now. I do understand that I need to be 100%healthy to even think about pregnancy, its just so hard, you think you can have things planned out but you just never know whats around the corner.. Thanks All.. Jenn

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

Welcome Jenn.

I can relate to your situation, having gone through an extended remission period myself. I'm sure my disease was active at a low level during the time, but the symptoms were managable. I do find it does catch up to you though, then it can hit you pretty hard. I'm sure finding that out now!

 

[teeny5]

Welcome!

My husband and I too were thinking of having children, but then I was told I might have Crohn's. The GI was adamant that I do not get pregnant with all the inflammation I was having. Though we had not tried yet to get pregnant it was still heartbreaking to hear that it had to be put on hold. I too know that I need to be healthy to get pregnant, but it was a big decision for us and just sucked that Crohn's made it for us. Like we had no say in the matter.

I love this forum...it keeps me sane and lets me know that I am not alone.

 

[mommy1st]

I was diagnosed with Crohns when I was 10 years old so it was long before I had kids. In November of 2002 I had my third surgery for Crohns, I was then married in May of 2003 my husband and I decided to have kids right away because my Crohns was under control. I stopped my meds and when I did get pregnant I honestly had never felt better. I was like a new person I had so much energy even though I was pregnant, for some reason Crohns just tends to get better in most people during pregnancy. So yes get the Crohns under control and then get pregnant. And yes with my second pregnancy I felt the same, wonderful. I was considered high risk the first time because they worried that with the Crohns my son might be under weight. He was 7lbs 6 oz so they were very happy with that my second son on the other hand was three and a half weeks early and he was a generous 9lbs 1oz no under weight babies for this Crohns patient. I'll always remember what a doctor said at a seminar for Crohns someone had asked him if he thought people with Crohns shouldn't have children and he said yes have babies lots of babies. Good luck to you and I hope you're starting to feel well.