- Joined
- Jan 13, 2012
- Messages
- 1
Hey all -
I was 19 years old when I first ran into trouble. I was in college playing baseball and living the life of a poor college student. In my spare time I was donating plasma to keep a little spending money in my account and that turns out to be what probably saved my life. I donated on a Thursday and in my pre-screen the tech stated that I appeared "pale". I didn't think anything of it since it was Iowa in the winter and I didn't spend much time in the sun
After I donated I went to get my check and the guy that was paying out asked me if I was feeling alright... I said "Of course, why?" He said "You look just like they do before they hit the floor." At this point I was starting to wonder what was going on. Keep in mind that during all of this I was in my offseason training program which involved wind sprints and weight lifting...
Fast forward 2 days and I'm in my car and on my way home for a quick pit stop then off to the University of Iowa for the Ohio State/Iowa football game. When I got home I remarked to my parents that I'd been a little fatigued of late and that I felt like I had mono. My dad suggested that I go get checked out before I hit the road so we headed to the family doc. When we got there they did the finger prick and tested my hemoglobin level. The nurse placed it in the little machine and looked at me funny... She said "We're gonna try this again." She pricked another finger and remarked that the blood was coming out bright red... She ran it through another testing machine and came back saying "I don't even know how you're standing up right now" My hemoglobin was at 6.1. The doc came right in and said that I was going to be admitted to the hospital immediately. 1 week and a ridiculous number of tests + 2 pints of blood later I was released with a Crohn's diagnosis. At the time I had no idea what that meant but I knew I felt better +2 pints of blood! I started on liquid iron supplement and Asacol. Over the next 3.5 years I had the occasional blockage that resulted in severe pain but other than that I was a healthy young man. College ended and I got a full time job & Abercrombie & Fitch as a manager.... One month in I suffered a perforation and had an emergency resection...THAT really sucked. From then on I've definitely felt like I have a disease. I've been on Pentasa, 6MP or Imuran & vitamins over the last decade. I had my second resection a little over 2 years ago and once again I feel pretty good. The silly thing is that if you didn't know I have Crohn's or couldn't see my scar you would have no idea that I'm sick... I guess I just don't act it!!
From here out I'm just praying that I'm done with surgery. I try to eat good and it was reflected in my most recent physical. Although my cholesterol is somewhat alarming. My HDL came back at 44 which is good for a man and my LDL came in at 47 which is REALLY low however I've heard that it could be too low.
So that's me in a nutshell
Josh
I was 19 years old when I first ran into trouble. I was in college playing baseball and living the life of a poor college student. In my spare time I was donating plasma to keep a little spending money in my account and that turns out to be what probably saved my life. I donated on a Thursday and in my pre-screen the tech stated that I appeared "pale". I didn't think anything of it since it was Iowa in the winter and I didn't spend much time in the sun
After I donated I went to get my check and the guy that was paying out asked me if I was feeling alright... I said "Of course, why?" He said "You look just like they do before they hit the floor." At this point I was starting to wonder what was going on. Keep in mind that during all of this I was in my offseason training program which involved wind sprints and weight lifting...Fast forward 2 days and I'm in my car and on my way home for a quick pit stop then off to the University of Iowa for the Ohio State/Iowa football game. When I got home I remarked to my parents that I'd been a little fatigued of late and that I felt like I had mono. My dad suggested that I go get checked out before I hit the road so we headed to the family doc. When we got there they did the finger prick and tested my hemoglobin level. The nurse placed it in the little machine and looked at me funny... She said "We're gonna try this again." She pricked another finger and remarked that the blood was coming out bright red... She ran it through another testing machine and came back saying "I don't even know how you're standing up right now" My hemoglobin was at 6.1. The doc came right in and said that I was going to be admitted to the hospital immediately. 1 week and a ridiculous number of tests + 2 pints of blood later I was released with a Crohn's diagnosis. At the time I had no idea what that meant but I knew I felt better +2 pints of blood! I started on liquid iron supplement and Asacol. Over the next 3.5 years I had the occasional blockage that resulted in severe pain but other than that I was a healthy young man. College ended and I got a full time job & Abercrombie & Fitch as a manager.... One month in I suffered a perforation and had an emergency resection...THAT really sucked. From then on I've definitely felt like I have a disease. I've been on Pentasa, 6MP or Imuran & vitamins over the last decade. I had my second resection a little over 2 years ago and once again I feel pretty good. The silly thing is that if you didn't know I have Crohn's or couldn't see my scar you would have no idea that I'm sick... I guess I just don't act it!!
From here out I'm just praying that I'm done with surgery. I try to eat good and it was reflected in my most recent physical. Although my cholesterol is somewhat alarming. My HDL came back at 44 which is good for a man and my LDL came in at 47 which is REALLY low however I've heard that it could be too low
.So that's me in a nutshell
Josh
