A brief introduction, my name is David, I am 29 and live in Chicago, IL. My story began in 2002 when I had a GI infection which in retrospect had nothing to do with my Crohns. They ordered some scans and they discovered inflammation characteristic of Crohns in the terminal ileum. So they had the diagnosis but said that I really did not need to treat as it was pretty mild. this was freshman year of college. Over the next 4 years I would have sporadic back pain but never any of the traditional symptoms of nausea, diarrhea or vomiting. I repeatedly went to my GP who said it was muskuloskeletal pain and prescribed me Nsaids and at one point physical therapy. That never really went well and had the pain pretty consistently until 2006. In 06 I had a really painful but not too sever bowel obstruction. In the ER they told me they thought it was my appendix but they saw a bit of illeal inflammation. I was like ya I have Crohns to which they gave me a dirty look and were like oh it is in your chart. Once it cleared up they gave me some pred and sent me on my way. Doc tried a bunch of treatments but the only thing that worked at all was Humira. That held fairly well taking it every 2 weeks until 2011 when it stopped holding and I flaired. They did a scan and saw a lot more inflammation but still not enough to be worried about. I went o weekly Humira. A colonoscopy in early 2013 showed that it was still progressing and surgery was inevitable but I had a couple of years to worry. Late last year my symptoms again got bad and included new symptoms including pain in the front of my stomach and horrible gas. I went to the surgeon who had me get a lower GI and it showed isolated disease but 95% blockage of my terminal ileum. So I went on a low residue diet and scheduled my surgery. On Friday 5/9 Dr. Hurst of the University of Chicago removed my ileum, ileosecal valve and my appendix. The first day was rough but I got onto my feet as soon as I could. Despite walking a lot, I did not pass gas until this morning so I just started clear liquids. If all goes well solids tomorrow and they kick my butt out on Thursday
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My Crohns Story
- Thread starter DSPax530
- Start date
Hello, welcome to the forum!
I'm sorry you've ended up needing surgery, but glad you've started to get on the mend now
. Remember to keep walking as much as you can but not to over push yourself, if you need to rest then make sure you do so.
Keep on top of your pain, good pain control makes recovery a lot faster as you are more able to get onto your feet.
As far as solids go, the key is small portions at first, don't over load your system . Easy , plain foods are the best to start off on.
I'm sorry you've ended up needing surgery, but glad you've started to get on the mend now
. Remember to keep walking as much as you can but not to over push yourself, if you need to rest then make sure you do so. Keep on top of your pain, good pain control makes recovery a lot faster as you are more able to get onto your feet.
As far as solids go, the key is small portions at first, don't over load your system . Easy , plain foods are the best to start off on.
Thanks for the kind words. They actually decided to progress me to solids tonight meaning I went from clears to solids in less than 12 hours. Ate fish and mashed potatos and so far so good. One tip that I got I should share. Some times I have issues sleeping so I wanted something to help with that but non-narcotic. Best answer Benadryl. A side effect of the opiates they give you is itching which is a histamine reaction. It happens that Benadryl is an antihistamine and a wonderful sleep aid. They actually inject it right into your vein and it will knock you right out.