Hi All just decided to start looking around and seeing how others are dealing with the same problem I have.
Started back when i was in the army around 2001. I was having upset stomach and diarhea out of no where. I would go into sick call and they would get my vitals signs and what not really not find anything and just try and keep me from getting dehydrated and send me back off to work. This went on for about 6 months seems like they thought I was "faking" sick to get out of going to the field. Then one morning I wake up and I cant get my food down I would chew and swallow and it wouldnt go anywhere felt like it was just sitting in my chest, again I went into sick call they put me on a liquid diet for 30 days and set up an appointment for an MBS. About 3 weeks later its MBS time and the MD didnt see anything wrong and basically told me "whatever it was its gone now" and sent me on my way. I continued with the diarhea and stomach pains and dealt with it myself taking basically every over the counter GI med i could some helping me enough to keep me out of the ER.
Now its 2002 Im in the Army's LVN program where missing school means possibly getting kicked out. I was still having the stomach pains which seem now to be greater right after meals and still had the loose stools. I try not to go to sick call so i dont miss any class but i cant take it anymore. So i go in let the PA know my symptoms he looks me over and say's "Do you eat alot of dairy products?" and I think about and I DO I love cold cut sandwiches w/ cheese, Capt Crunch Cereal w/ milk I drink milk with just about every meal and Oreos and a tall glass of milk when ever I can. Im lactose intolerant he tells me. Gosh Darn it He figured it out!!!!!! Sure Ill miss milk but now I kNOW whats wrong with me. He tells lay off the milk give it a few days and you will be back to normal. I was feeling good mentally knowing my problems would be solved in the next few days..............
Days turned to weeks...weeks into a few months.... I stayed away from cheese Milk and even tried Soy Milk(which is just gross). No changes. Again I wait to go back in until I can afford to miss a day of school. Im back at the clinic about 4 months after the Lactose intolerance diagnosis. Same thing what are your symptoms? How long? he looks me over asks me if Ive been stressed out how are things with the family? I let him know that Im in nursing school my wife (at the time) was pregnantand I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old running around the house. Hmm he says Ever heard of IBS? Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I wasnt prescribed anything basically told me to take better control of the stressors in my life and things will g back to normal (by this time I have forgotten what NORMAL was). I finished Nursing school but still had the pain after i ate and loose stools but now I carried Mallox everywhere i went....
Its now July 2003 Ive learned to deal with the stomach pains following my meals and took lots of pepto to help with the loose stools. I dont know if the pain was decreasing or if my threshold for pain was increasing either way I dont think it felt that bad around that time. I was working the night shift at a local hospital (moonlighting, iwas still in the army) it was about 11pm about 5 hrs into my shift when I just started vomitting, i went home at about midnight. I wake up aroun 5am feeling horrible hot with fever, nausea and I have this severe lower right quadrant pain. Off to the ER i go.
Its about 5:45 am when i get to the ER vitals were taken and I was in the back waiting for a DR in no time. DR takes a look at me and tells me looks like it your appendix. Im gonna get ready for an open appy. My first surgery, Wow. I am given some pretty strong pain meds just after i sign the consent for surgery. Im out in lala land at about 8am. I dont remember much about that day just quick flashes of my stomach hurting, and the meds not working.And someone telling me "you have to sit up in that chair" I finally wake up enough to find out what was going on at 10pm that night.
I am awake now its 10pm according to the clock in my ICU room. Im sitting in a really big recliner like chair. I have no idea what was going on My stomach hurt like hell theres a very large dressing covering my entire stomach. I get up out of the chair really shakey very light headedand stagger out of my room where a few nurses came running and helped me back into my bed. What the hell happened?
About this time a Dr. who was on call that night just happened to be there for my surgery this morning. He told me that they made the incision for my appy and when they did they had alot of dirty fluid come out of the incision (should be clearish) so they checked out my appendix and it was finebut since they were in might as well take it out, really dont need it and it can cause trouble later. after that was done they started an exploratory surgery to see what was going on with that dirty fluid they found turns out i had about 19inches of dying bowel and numerous perforations. they cut all the bad out hooked my back together cleaned me out nice and good and put me back together. specimens were sent out and I was diagnosed with Crohns about 2 weeks later. the army gave me a medical discharge. I was put on mesalimineand I am still taking it(works but im still having problems) I have been through 3 perirectal abcess surgeries the last was in 2005. I was also just diagnosed with AS Ankylosis Spondylitis caused by the Crohns. Now Im taking Celebrex for that too. I have bad and good days Some days the Crohns is bad but the AS is good, or Crohns is bad and AS is good, Sometimes AS and Crohns are both bad or both good. Just gotta take it day to day. Least i have some ppl here that know what Im going through. Its hard for otheres to really understand what I go through without really going through it.
Clint
Started back when i was in the army around 2001. I was having upset stomach and diarhea out of no where. I would go into sick call and they would get my vitals signs and what not really not find anything and just try and keep me from getting dehydrated and send me back off to work. This went on for about 6 months seems like they thought I was "faking" sick to get out of going to the field. Then one morning I wake up and I cant get my food down I would chew and swallow and it wouldnt go anywhere felt like it was just sitting in my chest, again I went into sick call they put me on a liquid diet for 30 days and set up an appointment for an MBS. About 3 weeks later its MBS time and the MD didnt see anything wrong and basically told me "whatever it was its gone now" and sent me on my way. I continued with the diarhea and stomach pains and dealt with it myself taking basically every over the counter GI med i could some helping me enough to keep me out of the ER.
Now its 2002 Im in the Army's LVN program where missing school means possibly getting kicked out. I was still having the stomach pains which seem now to be greater right after meals and still had the loose stools. I try not to go to sick call so i dont miss any class but i cant take it anymore. So i go in let the PA know my symptoms he looks me over and say's "Do you eat alot of dairy products?" and I think about and I DO I love cold cut sandwiches w/ cheese, Capt Crunch Cereal w/ milk I drink milk with just about every meal and Oreos and a tall glass of milk when ever I can. Im lactose intolerant he tells me. Gosh Darn it He figured it out!!!!!! Sure Ill miss milk but now I kNOW whats wrong with me. He tells lay off the milk give it a few days and you will be back to normal. I was feeling good mentally knowing my problems would be solved in the next few days..............
Days turned to weeks...weeks into a few months.... I stayed away from cheese Milk and even tried Soy Milk(which is just gross). No changes. Again I wait to go back in until I can afford to miss a day of school. Im back at the clinic about 4 months after the Lactose intolerance diagnosis. Same thing what are your symptoms? How long? he looks me over asks me if Ive been stressed out how are things with the family? I let him know that Im in nursing school my wife (at the time) was pregnantand I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old running around the house. Hmm he says Ever heard of IBS? Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I wasnt prescribed anything basically told me to take better control of the stressors in my life and things will g back to normal (by this time I have forgotten what NORMAL was). I finished Nursing school but still had the pain after i ate and loose stools but now I carried Mallox everywhere i went....
Its now July 2003 Ive learned to deal with the stomach pains following my meals and took lots of pepto to help with the loose stools. I dont know if the pain was decreasing or if my threshold for pain was increasing either way I dont think it felt that bad around that time. I was working the night shift at a local hospital (moonlighting, iwas still in the army) it was about 11pm about 5 hrs into my shift when I just started vomitting, i went home at about midnight. I wake up aroun 5am feeling horrible hot with fever, nausea and I have this severe lower right quadrant pain. Off to the ER i go.
Its about 5:45 am when i get to the ER vitals were taken and I was in the back waiting for a DR in no time. DR takes a look at me and tells me looks like it your appendix. Im gonna get ready for an open appy. My first surgery, Wow. I am given some pretty strong pain meds just after i sign the consent for surgery. Im out in lala land at about 8am. I dont remember much about that day just quick flashes of my stomach hurting, and the meds not working.And someone telling me "you have to sit up in that chair" I finally wake up enough to find out what was going on at 10pm that night.
I am awake now its 10pm according to the clock in my ICU room. Im sitting in a really big recliner like chair. I have no idea what was going on My stomach hurt like hell theres a very large dressing covering my entire stomach. I get up out of the chair really shakey very light headedand stagger out of my room where a few nurses came running and helped me back into my bed. What the hell happened?
About this time a Dr. who was on call that night just happened to be there for my surgery this morning. He told me that they made the incision for my appy and when they did they had alot of dirty fluid come out of the incision (should be clearish) so they checked out my appendix and it was finebut since they were in might as well take it out, really dont need it and it can cause trouble later. after that was done they started an exploratory surgery to see what was going on with that dirty fluid they found turns out i had about 19inches of dying bowel and numerous perforations. they cut all the bad out hooked my back together cleaned me out nice and good and put me back together. specimens were sent out and I was diagnosed with Crohns about 2 weeks later. the army gave me a medical discharge. I was put on mesalimineand I am still taking it(works but im still having problems) I have been through 3 perirectal abcess surgeries the last was in 2005. I was also just diagnosed with AS Ankylosis Spondylitis caused by the Crohns. Now Im taking Celebrex for that too. I have bad and good days Some days the Crohns is bad but the AS is good, or Crohns is bad and AS is good, Sometimes AS and Crohns are both bad or both good. Just gotta take it day to day. Least i have some ppl here that know what Im going through. Its hard for otheres to really understand what I go through without really going through it.
Clint
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