Hi everyone, Was just browsing the web in search of other cases of people who recently finish a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) for crohn's in hopes to see what I would have to look forward to when my case is reviewed soon. Then I came across this website and decided to tell my story, as I haven't really talked to many people since I've been diagnosed.
First, My name is Harold and I joined the Navy back in OCT 2000 and went through all the Nuclear Training and was assigned to my first Submarine in 2FEB 2003.
Everything was going great, I was qualifying everything when during an underway period, I felt really bad. Bad cramps and vomited. My first HMC was one of those corpsman you don't really complain a lot to. I mean he had 20 tattoo's, was qualified every warfare they had at the time and just had that don't bother me unless your arm is falling off and even then only if you couldn't stitch it back on yourself. needless to say he made an entry at least that's in my record. after a Day I started to feel better and nothing came of it again.
Then 2 years later in about March 05, I had a terrible pain in my abdomen as if my stomach was pushing and my food was going no where. I eventually vomited and again nothing came of it. This time it lasted about 2 or 3 days before finally was feeling better. Then I started this big weight gain. Now everyone and everything that I read talks about CD and weight loss, But I have never had that problem, always gain weight for no reason and hell to get it off.
The Following year we had a new corpsman HM3 who was really good. I had to go to the ER at Tripler Army hospital in Hawaii, They poked me gave me a GI cocktail and sent me home. by this time I was in lots of pain, still not the most pain I had but still not diagnosed with anything. 4 days later felt better.
APR 2007 I began hating life, always had bowel discomfort and abdominal pain which I just began to fell was just normal. I finally got seen by a doctor in Guam who ran some tests and well said my gallbladder wasn't functioning properly. So that got removed. JUL07.. Yay no gallbladder and things kind of cleared up and felt pretty good for about a month or 2.
Then same thing and only getting worse, plus more bloating, constant belching and sighing, plus more weight gain. Kept complaining to the HMCS and well it fell on deaf ears, I even begged for a colonoscopy. I mean who begs for that??
between 2008-2009 I had 5 episodes and I just didn't say anything anymore, nothing ever happened and I just began to think I would just have to live like this forever and became very depressed. which affected my work ethic and job performance. eventually I got removed from my ship because I lost my mind.
in 2010 I regained my composer and got placed back on a new submarine and I immediately began to work extremely hard, I fought to get my weight down working out 5 days a week and eating very little. eventually I went from 28% body fat to 18% body fat. and kept working on making sure I stayed in shape and within standards. I managed to find a way to ignore my pain and problem to make it happen. In APR 2011 I finally received my official orders to the submarine I had been busting my A** on for the past year,then tragedy strikes.
On, May 20th, 2011 during my morning PT something bad hurt inside. I felt it when it happened and stopped till it finally eased and continued my workout that day. That whole week I wasn't feeling good and wasn't eating much, but I just kept going.
I showered and returned to work as normal. Had a quick sandwich and a drink before starting the workday as the Enginneer scheduled a performance Monitor for one of my guys, for me to do that morning and I just found out about it. I had argued with the EWS that morning cause I wanted to do it later as I was still not feeling well, but in the end and him yelling at me and I talked to the ENG, I gave in and went to montior New MM2 (who happened to make MM1 later that day). As we started I became very very ill. It started with extreme nausea and then followed with Extreme pain in my lower right quadrant. I stayed with him to observe the sample and was fighting through the pain to see it to the end. This sample normally takes 40-50 minutes. When we got back to the Lab the pain became so bad I started to punch a locker when my MM2 said I got this you need to get help you might have a serious problem. Which I took his advice, even though I hate to not finish things, since he did everything pretty much perfect. I left and walked from the Ship (which was in Drydock) to the Barge to find HMC Hicks, after I got to the barge I didn't find him nor anyone, I remembered Quarters on the Pier which at the time was being done in a shop, which happened to be on the other side of the drydock opposite the Barge. So when I get there the CO is giving a speech when I signaled to the Duty Chief I needed help and if HMC was in. Turns out HMC was flying in from a conference today. but he got a duty driver to take me to the ER at tripler. After there he tried to get me a wheelchair but due to the renovation going on it was easier just to walk around and deal with the pain than to get up every few seconds to go over a bump. eventually, I got settled in and given lots of pain meds and a CT scan, which the Doctor came back and said "Your CT scan came back BAD!" that's how I found out my intestines perforated in 2 spots.
After emergency surgery that came about an hour after they told me my problem, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease on my 30th birthday....... How's that for a great birthday. But the cool thing was my CO and DOC fought to allow me to at least stay on the Sub while she was in the shipyard so I could finish what I started. But eventually, after about 6 months following the surgery and no medication, my symptoms returned including my weight gain. I was put on Endcort then prednisone, and then finally on HUMIRA, Humira is what finally got my symptoms in check and I still have pain and flare-ups, much smaller than before plus, my recent colonoscopy showed 3 small ulcers and the biopsies show active crohn's.
I have lost all my motivation and after 4 colonoscopies since my surgery. and being put on HUMIRA which make me non-deployable, I'm tired of fighting. I have been trying hard to get my weight back down but nothing. So right now I'm waiting to send my stuff up to DC and get my results back so that I can move back home and start my life again. I have a place to stay and just want to get out of this place I'm at now where I'm not doing what I love to do. Oh, on top of all that my wife just left me when she realized that I was not going to stay in Hawaii.
First, My name is Harold and I joined the Navy back in OCT 2000 and went through all the Nuclear Training and was assigned to my first Submarine in 2FEB 2003.
Everything was going great, I was qualifying everything when during an underway period, I felt really bad. Bad cramps and vomited. My first HMC was one of those corpsman you don't really complain a lot to. I mean he had 20 tattoo's, was qualified every warfare they had at the time and just had that don't bother me unless your arm is falling off and even then only if you couldn't stitch it back on yourself. needless to say he made an entry at least that's in my record. after a Day I started to feel better and nothing came of it again.
Then 2 years later in about March 05, I had a terrible pain in my abdomen as if my stomach was pushing and my food was going no where. I eventually vomited and again nothing came of it. This time it lasted about 2 or 3 days before finally was feeling better. Then I started this big weight gain. Now everyone and everything that I read talks about CD and weight loss, But I have never had that problem, always gain weight for no reason and hell to get it off.
The Following year we had a new corpsman HM3 who was really good. I had to go to the ER at Tripler Army hospital in Hawaii, They poked me gave me a GI cocktail and sent me home. by this time I was in lots of pain, still not the most pain I had but still not diagnosed with anything. 4 days later felt better.
APR 2007 I began hating life, always had bowel discomfort and abdominal pain which I just began to fell was just normal. I finally got seen by a doctor in Guam who ran some tests and well said my gallbladder wasn't functioning properly. So that got removed. JUL07.. Yay no gallbladder and things kind of cleared up and felt pretty good for about a month or 2.
Then same thing and only getting worse, plus more bloating, constant belching and sighing, plus more weight gain. Kept complaining to the HMCS and well it fell on deaf ears, I even begged for a colonoscopy. I mean who begs for that??
between 2008-2009 I had 5 episodes and I just didn't say anything anymore, nothing ever happened and I just began to think I would just have to live like this forever and became very depressed. which affected my work ethic and job performance. eventually I got removed from my ship because I lost my mind.
in 2010 I regained my composer and got placed back on a new submarine and I immediately began to work extremely hard, I fought to get my weight down working out 5 days a week and eating very little. eventually I went from 28% body fat to 18% body fat. and kept working on making sure I stayed in shape and within standards. I managed to find a way to ignore my pain and problem to make it happen. In APR 2011 I finally received my official orders to the submarine I had been busting my A** on for the past year,then tragedy strikes.
On, May 20th, 2011 during my morning PT something bad hurt inside. I felt it when it happened and stopped till it finally eased and continued my workout that day. That whole week I wasn't feeling good and wasn't eating much, but I just kept going.
I showered and returned to work as normal. Had a quick sandwich and a drink before starting the workday as the Enginneer scheduled a performance Monitor for one of my guys, for me to do that morning and I just found out about it. I had argued with the EWS that morning cause I wanted to do it later as I was still not feeling well, but in the end and him yelling at me and I talked to the ENG, I gave in and went to montior New MM2 (who happened to make MM1 later that day). As we started I became very very ill. It started with extreme nausea and then followed with Extreme pain in my lower right quadrant. I stayed with him to observe the sample and was fighting through the pain to see it to the end. This sample normally takes 40-50 minutes. When we got back to the Lab the pain became so bad I started to punch a locker when my MM2 said I got this you need to get help you might have a serious problem. Which I took his advice, even though I hate to not finish things, since he did everything pretty much perfect. I left and walked from the Ship (which was in Drydock) to the Barge to find HMC Hicks, after I got to the barge I didn't find him nor anyone, I remembered Quarters on the Pier which at the time was being done in a shop, which happened to be on the other side of the drydock opposite the Barge. So when I get there the CO is giving a speech when I signaled to the Duty Chief I needed help and if HMC was in. Turns out HMC was flying in from a conference today. but he got a duty driver to take me to the ER at tripler. After there he tried to get me a wheelchair but due to the renovation going on it was easier just to walk around and deal with the pain than to get up every few seconds to go over a bump. eventually, I got settled in and given lots of pain meds and a CT scan, which the Doctor came back and said "Your CT scan came back BAD!" that's how I found out my intestines perforated in 2 spots.
After emergency surgery that came about an hour after they told me my problem, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease on my 30th birthday....... How's that for a great birthday. But the cool thing was my CO and DOC fought to allow me to at least stay on the Sub while she was in the shipyard so I could finish what I started. But eventually, after about 6 months following the surgery and no medication, my symptoms returned including my weight gain. I was put on Endcort then prednisone, and then finally on HUMIRA, Humira is what finally got my symptoms in check and I still have pain and flare-ups, much smaller than before plus, my recent colonoscopy showed 3 small ulcers and the biopsies show active crohn's.
I have lost all my motivation and after 4 colonoscopies since my surgery. and being put on HUMIRA which make me non-deployable, I'm tired of fighting. I have been trying hard to get my weight back down but nothing. So right now I'm waiting to send my stuff up to DC and get my results back so that I can move back home and start my life again. I have a place to stay and just want to get out of this place I'm at now where I'm not doing what I love to do. Oh, on top of all that my wife just left me when she realized that I was not going to stay in Hawaii.
