Meg's Story

[meghan510]

Hi All,
I was FINALLY diagnosed with Chron's Disease in October of 2005. I had been complaining of symptoms since I was 15 years old and now at 24 was diagnosed. My mother and both grandfathers also have and had Chron's Diesase so it runs in the family. I had been complaining to doctors for years that this is what I had and they continually told me that I have IBS, everyone has IBS pretty much!

I would have probably never had been diagnosed except for the fact that my appendix burst! Which they also misdiagnosed with the flu and told me to go home and rest until I passed out and ended up in emergency did they finally realize it was my appendix. They then did a CT Scan and realized they couldnt remove my appendix because all the poision had taken over my small bowel and colon. So 2 months and 8 days and many Cipro and Flagyl pills later they removed my appendix, during which time they found Chron's Disease had basically taken over my small bowel which they believe in turn caused my appendix to do what it did!

Needless to say it was a cluster but I was in a way relived they had finally found what I knew I had all a long. For my first stage of treatment the doctor put me on 16 pills of Pentasa a day! Which I took for 2 months and didnt change anytihng. He just prescribed me Prednisone to take and then start taking the Pentasa again once the Prednisone gets everything under control. I am VERY concerned not only about taking Prednisone because of the side effects but also taking 16 pills a day of Pentasa, its horrible. At this stage I am trying to do as much research as I can to find alternative methods or medications. If anyone has any good suggestions that I could talk to my doctor about let me know. Thanks.

Meghan

 

[Karen]

Meghan ... WELCOME ABOARD !! I am sure that you will find lots of people here willing to lend a helping hand & to give you support when you need it and so far ... I have made lots of new friends here seeing I am a wife of ah crohn's patient ... so take care and have fun & jump right in !!

 

[mikeyarmo]

Welcome to the board. I am glad that you are finally diagnosed and can hopefully get control over your condition finally. There are many alternative treatments, but that does not mean they are at all effective or for you. Ask any questions you have though and we will help you out. Something you should also be aware of is that sometimes things have gone too long to receive any treatment other than what the doctors can do. This is not totally awful though, as the doctors can try many things to get you under control. So do not totally block out what the doctors are saying, but as yoy seem ready to do learn a lot for yourself.

 

[jyarmo]

Hi Meghan,

Thank you for sharing your story with us! You have gone through a lot! I cannot believe it took your doctors so long to diagnose you! We are a helpful bunch so ask us anything that you may be wondering about and we're always here for you to lean on! 16 Prednisone pills a day does seem like a lot....have you told your doctor that you're concerned about it? Communication with the Doc is important..

Keep us updated and it's nice meeting you!

 

[ReeRee]

Hi! So glad you're here! What took ya so long? Just kidding. I'm in a mood today. I'm Ree, or Robbie. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm looking forward to seeing you around and getting to know you better. You've found a great group of people here! Our Fearless Leader is awesome, as is everybody else here.

 

[cookey]

Hi Meghan, nice to meet you. Glad you joined the site. My suggestion to you would be, tell your doctors of your concern about all the meds you are taking. It's very important to communicate your thoughts with your doctors. That does seem like an awful lot of pills sweetie...plus the prednisone. I hope you are at least feeling a little better. If you have any more questions, please ask us.

 

[Kate]

Welcome Meg...... It seems very common to mistake IBD for IBS as i have had the same miss diagnosis and they had thought my appendix were about to burst and it was a blockage which they still didnt diagnose... Sorry off on a tangent there. Pred although suck it does work for the most part and the pentatasa i cant really comment on as im on 8 a day and that seems fime. Anyhow welcome and i hope things get better

Kate

 

[Tami Lynn]

Glad to have you here Meghan!​

There's nothing wrong with researching alternative treatments, and I give you credit for taking the incentive to empower yourself with all of the knowledge and facts you can find.

Of course, it would be even better if you can find a doctor who is willing to support you and guide you if you decide to try new things. "Knowledge is power" (or so they say).

I'm sure if you have the time to read over several of the messages posted in the past throughout the forum, you will gain many different perspectives, and perhaps even some helpful insight on various things that others have tried and had some success with.

Much of learning about this disease is trial and error, and no two individuals are exactly the same in thier experiences (although many have similarities).

Best wishes, and I look forward to seeing you around here more often!

 

[Mozam]

Hi Meg!

Welcome to the board poppet. That's good news that they've finally diagnosed you, but what a roundabaout way of doing it, huh? Ah well - you're in safe hands anyway!

We may not be docs on here, but we can all give advice and provide a friendly cyber ear at any time.

Hope to hear more fom you Meg - you'd better stick around!

take care