Lonely...

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lydia131

Joined
Jul 2, 2011
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lonely...

I am a college student in an area with at least 5 schools. I was diagnosed with Crohn's at the end of may 2011 and actually left school early on medical leave. I choose to be very open with my friends and family about my condition, and am DYING to meet other people "like me" or who will understand what I am going through! Unfortunately, only 1 girl has approached me saying she has UC and that she does not tell anyone about it and does not like to talk about it. All i want is a friend who understands and wants to joke about the fact that we alwayyyyys have to go to the bathroom. How do i find people??? Also, I just signed up for a program where I am basically assigned a buddy who has crohn's and she seems very nice from her first e-mail, but she isn't local and is about 10 years older than me :/
 
Hello & welcome.
This forum runs 24/7, so you can always find somebody here who understands.

They also have a section that you can register your home State & schedule meetups with People from the same area.

I would also look for a support group in your area.

Hope this helps & good luck.
 
Dont feel lonely Lydia..
Until I was diagnosed recently I knew nothing about CD. But now I have met a number of people in my work place who have the disease. You will meet people of that I have no doubt....
And as said above....you can make contact with many members here and who knows someone close online may be just around the corner....:)
Take care..
 
Why would you want your friends to have the same condition? It is nice to have someone to talk to that understands your problem (thus this forum). But do not let your condition to effect your life and the relation with your friends. Who said you can't joke about it with your close friends?

And i like your will to joke about your condition. While i am not very open about my problems, taking them too seriously does not help :p.

Enjoy life,
Stikku (Matthias Portelli)

P.s. pity I dont live in your area, I dont know anyone from my whole nation with similar conditions. (If you want to talk add me on skype)
 
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I definitely try not to let the condition control my life, but being in a flare for the past 6 months, and the traumatizing experience with prednisone this past summer, have made me feel separate from everyone. So i want a friend who understands what i mean when i say that i can't drink excessively and why, and someone who understands what i mean when i say i am having an episode and cant hang out-or better yet they can then offer advice! My family freaked every time i would have an episode this summer and just had no idea what to do to make me feel better (obviously there was nothing, but they felt like they should be doing something).

Also, I definitely do shed some comedy about the disease, more so with my close friends from home (i am a college student, living 5 hours from home and even further from my best friend) but at school, people dont really understand it so well for some reason. and when i got sick last year a lot of my friends got angry with me because all of a sudden i would disappear for a month in my room and then one weekend i would feel totally normal and want to go out but might get sick and have to go back home early.

Matthias, where do you live that nobody in your whole nation has such diseases?? I feel like you just havent asked/looked!!!!
 
Aw, hang in there. I like to make jokes about this crappy disease with my husband all the time. Good thing we both think farts are funny.

What are you taking to control your disease? Maybe its time to switch medications.
 
In most hospitals there are psychiatrists who deal with people who are actually alone. I was one of them, my dad died, my mom wasn't around, my brother was in another country.

So I go crohn's and felt even more alone. Wasn't able to attend University full time anymore and the Uni said I wasn't welcome anymore. Started to stop looking people in the eyes, completely lost trust in everything and everyone.

So I joined hospital groups, where we just sit around and talk to each other. It really helps.

Also, many hospitals, (especially the christian ones since nuns here have been doing that for years), have a program where you can become a volunteer, they basically go around door to door and ask if you need anything or you can go to ER to tell family members where to sit and wait. I used to hate hospitals with every fiber in my body, but it's not so bad, some of the most interesting people can be found in hospitals.
 
Pen said:
A good place to check out it the http://www.ccfa.org/ they may have a community in your area you could go to and meet and greet or volunteer there. Hope this helps. :hang: lots of hugs.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the website says that i am part of the new england chapter (a pretty large surface area) and I attended a local walk in Springfield, and the info tent said the closest support group is about an hour or so away. Do all hospitals offer IBD support groups?
 
Lydia said:
Aw, hang in there. I like to make jokes about this crappy disease with my husband all the time. Good thing we both think farts are funny.

What are you taking to control your disease? Maybe its time to switch medications.
Click to expand...

I am taking aprissa (4 pills each morning) and a variety of supplements including iron twice a day and a probiotic. Also, that is the kind of relationship i will have to aspire to. I have it with my closest friends but naturally they are all girls or gay men. (and i say naturally because i go to a womans college now)
 
Theres a thread with people on facebook who are willing to talk about it. I found the 1st 6mnths or so I really wanted to talk to someone and found this site a huge help. After that I havent really bothered talking about it at all, Ive got used to having it and its part of my life now. I dont keep it from people, but I dont bother telling people unless asked either
 
lydia131 said:
I am a college student in an area with at least 5 schools. I was diagnosed with Crohn's at the end of may 2011 and actually left school early on medical leave. I choose to be very open with my friends and family about my condition, and am DYING to meet other people "like me" or who will understand what I am going through! Unfortunately, only 1 girl has approached me saying she has UC and that she does not tell anyone about it and does not like to talk about it. All i want is a friend who understands and wants to joke about the fact that we alwayyyyys have to go to the bathroom. How do i find people??? Also, I just signed up for a program where I am basically assigned a buddy who has crohn's and she seems very nice from her first e-mail, but she isn't local and is about 10 years older than me :/
Click to expand...


Hey, I know your pain. I have the same problem where I live. Crohn's is virtually non-existent where I live so I have to depend on resources like this website and "GI Monitor" for Android for support.

I know how it feels to have a crappy college experience with this disease. I was in college until I got hospitalized in April and was forced to drop out. I now do online schooling and find that I finish the classes more quickly and more efficiently this way. Assignments that use to take me 3 or 4 hours to complete are now taking me 30-40 minutes since everything's already laid out for you. Plus, the technology that the classes are based off of in my online school is much better than what they had at my old university (it is Houston afterall).

You hang in there. Remember, there was once a time where there was no internet which meant no support at all in some places. That's why I think that today no person should be lonely if they have the internet. :)
 
Hey! I know you're pain! I think we all feel lonely at some point during this disease. I am also a college student and don't know anyone around my age going through the same difficulties. I know it could be worse, but going in and out of the hospital can put you in a funk...as well as the meds!

You have a lot of people here that understand, and sometimes just reading stories from other people make me feel A LOT better! Hang in there and if you ever need a good laugh...this is the place ;)
 
rygon said:
Theres a thread with people on facebook who are willing to talk about it. I found the 1st 6mnths or so I really wanted to talk to someone and found this site a huge help. After that I havent really bothered talking about it at all, Ive got used to having it and its part of my life now. I dont keep it from people, but I dont bother telling people unless asked either
Click to expand...

Do you by chance know the url for the fb thread? and ya i am hoping this disease will become just part of everthing and not seem so new!!
 

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