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Guest
Hello members! After having such a warm welcome I thought i might as well write out my story after being diagnosed with crohns in 2003 (it's either this or revision:ybatty: ).
I was 13 at the time.
First symptoms:
Tiredness- I remember falling asleep after coming home home school everyday, I would brag about it to my friends as being lazy is the new cool thing these days....
Loss of appetite - in a month or two, Just not eating all of my dinner escalated into not eating much at all and just the smell of food would make me feel nauseous.
My fear:
Then came the pain, that distinct pain you get when you do ANYTHING, it's hard to describe but it's one of my worst fears. I hate that searing, sharp yet long pain you get in your gut. And when i ate anything, it would make me into a screaming wreck, rolling around on the floor asking for help, crying everyday.
A&E:
I have only been taken into A&E twice because i begged to go into hospital. I was given codiene the first time and morphine the second time, on both occasions I woke up the whole ward with my screams, the pain was UNBEARABLE!! Awful time in my life, apparently the drugs stop your gut working or something, but whatever it was beit an allergic reaction, it was HORRIBLE!
The Doubts:
A paeditrician asked me whether i wanted to stay in hospital, i said yes. (I wanted to be cured of whatever i had) He then asked me about my older brother and sister, i then started crying because i was exhausted and jealous that they are so successful and normal yet i'm here, not eating and screaming with pain. He then suggested that we go COUNSELLING!
Ever since that meeting with the paeditrician, my father would shout at me whenever i'd scream in pain, telling me to stop making it up.
My whole family thought i was attention seeking. I remember my sister saying "stop this ****, you're just attention seeking and noone believes you, just get up off the floor!".
I even thought i was going crazy, that subconsiously i was making up this pain i felt in order to get attention, i spent a lot of days on my bed, crying and begging at myself to stop this.
The Tests:
At a private clinic I had tests within the space of 4 months:
Endoscopy: Ulcers in stomach and osophagus
Colonoscopy: Ulcers in Colon
(This is the silly part)
Endoscopy & Colonoscopy: Ulcers still there (obviously, she did the tests again, to this day i hate her for doing that, unnessesary and i bet she did them again for the money??)
The clincher was the barium meal, when FINALLY the consultant thought it looked like crohns but wasn't sure(?!?).
Diagnosis:
The week after i went to london to see a IBD consultant who immediately after looking at the pictures said "yep this is classic crohns". FINALLY it has a name! haha! I was happy yet sad that i have a life time disease to manage, which will render me to an extent for ever.
Treatment:
I had to do 6 weeks of no food, but shakes- then 6 x ascacol but that didn't work..
Did another 6 weeks no food- then did ascacol with azathioprine.. BINGO!
They've now changed the ascacol to pentasa (i don't know why).
Since Diagnosis I have:
Doubled my weight- 43 into 86kg
Mid-Essex Champ in Rugby
Double UKSG winner in Volleyball (Central England)
4 National Cups in Volleyball
8 England Juniors Caps in Volleyball
After that year I have had no serious flare ups of crohns, my best advice is whenever you feel a slight tinge and it gets worse... spend the next day or two drining calorie/vitamin enriched drinks instead of eating- it's a small price to pay!
Have a great day and good luck on your own adventures!
I was 13 at the time.
First symptoms:
Tiredness- I remember falling asleep after coming home home school everyday, I would brag about it to my friends as being lazy is the new cool thing these days....
Loss of appetite - in a month or two, Just not eating all of my dinner escalated into not eating much at all and just the smell of food would make me feel nauseous.
My fear:
Then came the pain, that distinct pain you get when you do ANYTHING, it's hard to describe but it's one of my worst fears. I hate that searing, sharp yet long pain you get in your gut. And when i ate anything, it would make me into a screaming wreck, rolling around on the floor asking for help, crying everyday.
A&E:
I have only been taken into A&E twice because i begged to go into hospital. I was given codiene the first time and morphine the second time, on both occasions I woke up the whole ward with my screams, the pain was UNBEARABLE!! Awful time in my life, apparently the drugs stop your gut working or something, but whatever it was beit an allergic reaction, it was HORRIBLE!
The Doubts:
A paeditrician asked me whether i wanted to stay in hospital, i said yes. (I wanted to be cured of whatever i had) He then asked me about my older brother and sister, i then started crying because i was exhausted and jealous that they are so successful and normal yet i'm here, not eating and screaming with pain. He then suggested that we go COUNSELLING!
Ever since that meeting with the paeditrician, my father would shout at me whenever i'd scream in pain, telling me to stop making it up.
My whole family thought i was attention seeking. I remember my sister saying "stop this ****, you're just attention seeking and noone believes you, just get up off the floor!".
I even thought i was going crazy, that subconsiously i was making up this pain i felt in order to get attention, i spent a lot of days on my bed, crying and begging at myself to stop this.
The Tests:
At a private clinic I had tests within the space of 4 months:
Endoscopy: Ulcers in stomach and osophagus
Colonoscopy: Ulcers in Colon
(This is the silly part)
Endoscopy & Colonoscopy: Ulcers still there (obviously, she did the tests again, to this day i hate her for doing that, unnessesary and i bet she did them again for the money??)
The clincher was the barium meal, when FINALLY the consultant thought it looked like crohns but wasn't sure(?!?).
Diagnosis:
The week after i went to london to see a IBD consultant who immediately after looking at the pictures said "yep this is classic crohns". FINALLY it has a name! haha! I was happy yet sad that i have a life time disease to manage, which will render me to an extent for ever.
Treatment:
I had to do 6 weeks of no food, but shakes- then 6 x ascacol but that didn't work..
Did another 6 weeks no food- then did ascacol with azathioprine.. BINGO!
They've now changed the ascacol to pentasa (i don't know why).
Since Diagnosis I have:
Doubled my weight- 43 into 86kg
Mid-Essex Champ in Rugby
Double UKSG winner in Volleyball (Central England)
4 National Cups in Volleyball
8 England Juniors Caps in Volleyball
After that year I have had no serious flare ups of crohns, my best advice is whenever you feel a slight tinge and it gets worse... spend the next day or two drining calorie/vitamin enriched drinks instead of eating- it's a small price to pay!
Have a great day and good luck on your own adventures!
