- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
- Messages
- 24
Hello Everyone!
I've been stalking around on this forum for a while now but I figured that it would be good to finally introduce myself and share my story. If not for anyone but myself, because sometimes it's just cathartic to write it all out.
I was diagnosed with mild to moderate Crohn's Disease on December 2, 2011. Currently, although there is still inflammation showing on my colonoscopy, the symptoms are lessening so it seems as though I'm in remission at the time. Although I do recognize that certain foods trigger worse gas or diarrhea than others still, I have always had somewhat of what I just thought was a finicky stomach. I also assumed many many times that I just got food poisoning, even when the rest of my family (who always had eaten the same as me) was fine. None of these things came to mind when I had my major flare, however.
At the end of August 2011, I was 34 weeks pregnant with my third child and it was a Wednesday. I had woken up in the middle of the night with mild cramps, but I just assumed it was the regular digestive difficulty I have in pregnancy and dismissed it and went back to bed. By the time my children woke me up in the morning, I still had the cramping, although it was minor and I felt as if after I ate my breakfast of oatmeal and had a BM, I would be fine. Well, I had two BMs that were soft but not loose and the cramping did not go away. At times, it was difficult to walk around as I had my daily farm chores of feeding the chickens and just being a Mom to my two little girls who were 3 and 2 at the time. By 9am I was in pretty bad pain and thought that I may be having some pre-term labor contractions. I have experienced pre-term labor with my first child, but this felt different. Also, I have experienced a completely natural and unmedicated childbirth and have a high pain tolerance, so this pain was unusual and unfamiliar to me. The other thought was that maybe my uterus was rupturing as I also have had a cesarean section birth. By 11am I was having regular contractions and had put a call into my OBGYN and had an appointment to go into the office for a non-stress test to check the baby, as I assumed maybe this was labor starting early. When we got to the hospital at noon, I was almost unable to walk, the pain was so severe. After monitoring the baby and my contractions and seeing the amount of pain I was in, I was wheeled over to the hospital and put into Labor and Delivery Triage. I told every nurse who visited me that I have a high pain tolerance and I had delivered my children drug free and naturally, so I understand the amount of pain that involves but THIS was so different. I needed pain medication because I could barely breath or talk. After a couple of hours of monitoring me and baby and making sure that I was not in labor, I was able to have some pain relief.
The next 36 hours were very blurry as I underwent several ultrasounds, tests, scans, etc. I think I had 4 ultrasounds on the baby, one to check my gallbladder, a cat scan (which showed intestinal inflammation-but could barely bee seen because my uterus and baby were huge) and also a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia because I was having issues breathing due to the pain. I never cried through this whole ordeal, even though I am very emotional. It just hurt bad enough to talk and breath, so crying was out of the question. By Thursday night, after exhausting all other options, my OBGYN (whom I love) had spoken with a General Surgeon and decided our last option was to to a laparascopy to see WHAT was going on in there. This was dangerous as my uterus was in risk of rupturing, I am 34 weeks pregnant, and they have no idea what they are looking for, but they could see something intestinal on the CT scan. During the lap, the saw inflammation and stress of the intestine but could not diagnose anything without further testing at the time. A staff of NICU and maternity nurses were with me in the operating room. If anything were to go awry with the sedation or the surgery, my baby would be born via emergency c-section then and there and I would have woken up not pregnant anymore. Thankfully, when I woke up, my first question was "Where is my baby??" and the kind nurses assured me that he was still in my womb. It was then that the Surgeon and OBGYN, along with a GI specialist that they had called in during surgery, said that I may have just had an intestinal infection that led to the pain and contractions since everything all of my organs were so tight in my abdomen OR there was a small chance of Crohn's disease. I was put in heavy IV antibiotics and by the next day was feeling better and able to at least walk again.
I spent a week in the hospital due to complication with the baby and my own further healing. After four more weeks of lots of testing to ensure the baby was ok, we spent a few more night at the hospital, which was extremely difficult with two other children to take care of as well!! Our first son, Elias was born at 38 weeks, healthy and happy via c-section. Through my prior surgery he did fine, but he had his cord wrapped around his neck so tightly that is was a danger for me to delivery naturally as intended.
I had to wait for my 6 week recovery period after delivery and immediately started testing with my GI specialist, the Dr. who had seen me during surgery and in the hospital originally. After concluding that the testing showed inflammation and symptoms were confirmed, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I am an otherwise, healthy young Mom of three and wanting to continue on with my life as symptom free as possible. I began taking 1g of Pentasa twice daily and have started to notice some change in symptoms and I am also beginning a diet shift.
I just wanted to introduce myself and share my story in the event that there are any other young Moms like me who are going through this while also taking care of their family. Obviously, besides the complications of my pregnancy, my symptoms remain fairly mediocre for now. We live a holistic and natural lifestyle so it was difficult for me to begin taking pharmaceuticals daily, but at this point, prolonged remission is better than risking more time in the hospital and missing out on life with my family.
So, lots of love out to you all. I'll be on here from time to time looking for advice and a sense of community in living with this disease.
I've been stalking around on this forum for a while now but I figured that it would be good to finally introduce myself and share my story. If not for anyone but myself, because sometimes it's just cathartic to write it all out.
I was diagnosed with mild to moderate Crohn's Disease on December 2, 2011. Currently, although there is still inflammation showing on my colonoscopy, the symptoms are lessening so it seems as though I'm in remission at the time. Although I do recognize that certain foods trigger worse gas or diarrhea than others still, I have always had somewhat of what I just thought was a finicky stomach. I also assumed many many times that I just got food poisoning, even when the rest of my family (who always had eaten the same as me) was fine. None of these things came to mind when I had my major flare, however.
At the end of August 2011, I was 34 weeks pregnant with my third child and it was a Wednesday. I had woken up in the middle of the night with mild cramps, but I just assumed it was the regular digestive difficulty I have in pregnancy and dismissed it and went back to bed. By the time my children woke me up in the morning, I still had the cramping, although it was minor and I felt as if after I ate my breakfast of oatmeal and had a BM, I would be fine. Well, I had two BMs that were soft but not loose and the cramping did not go away. At times, it was difficult to walk around as I had my daily farm chores of feeding the chickens and just being a Mom to my two little girls who were 3 and 2 at the time. By 9am I was in pretty bad pain and thought that I may be having some pre-term labor contractions. I have experienced pre-term labor with my first child, but this felt different. Also, I have experienced a completely natural and unmedicated childbirth and have a high pain tolerance, so this pain was unusual and unfamiliar to me. The other thought was that maybe my uterus was rupturing as I also have had a cesarean section birth. By 11am I was having regular contractions and had put a call into my OBGYN and had an appointment to go into the office for a non-stress test to check the baby, as I assumed maybe this was labor starting early. When we got to the hospital at noon, I was almost unable to walk, the pain was so severe. After monitoring the baby and my contractions and seeing the amount of pain I was in, I was wheeled over to the hospital and put into Labor and Delivery Triage. I told every nurse who visited me that I have a high pain tolerance and I had delivered my children drug free and naturally, so I understand the amount of pain that involves but THIS was so different. I needed pain medication because I could barely breath or talk. After a couple of hours of monitoring me and baby and making sure that I was not in labor, I was able to have some pain relief.
The next 36 hours were very blurry as I underwent several ultrasounds, tests, scans, etc. I think I had 4 ultrasounds on the baby, one to check my gallbladder, a cat scan (which showed intestinal inflammation-but could barely bee seen because my uterus and baby were huge) and also a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia because I was having issues breathing due to the pain. I never cried through this whole ordeal, even though I am very emotional. It just hurt bad enough to talk and breath, so crying was out of the question. By Thursday night, after exhausting all other options, my OBGYN (whom I love) had spoken with a General Surgeon and decided our last option was to to a laparascopy to see WHAT was going on in there. This was dangerous as my uterus was in risk of rupturing, I am 34 weeks pregnant, and they have no idea what they are looking for, but they could see something intestinal on the CT scan. During the lap, the saw inflammation and stress of the intestine but could not diagnose anything without further testing at the time. A staff of NICU and maternity nurses were with me in the operating room. If anything were to go awry with the sedation or the surgery, my baby would be born via emergency c-section then and there and I would have woken up not pregnant anymore. Thankfully, when I woke up, my first question was "Where is my baby??" and the kind nurses assured me that he was still in my womb. It was then that the Surgeon and OBGYN, along with a GI specialist that they had called in during surgery, said that I may have just had an intestinal infection that led to the pain and contractions since everything all of my organs were so tight in my abdomen OR there was a small chance of Crohn's disease. I was put in heavy IV antibiotics and by the next day was feeling better and able to at least walk again.
I spent a week in the hospital due to complication with the baby and my own further healing. After four more weeks of lots of testing to ensure the baby was ok, we spent a few more night at the hospital, which was extremely difficult with two other children to take care of as well!! Our first son, Elias was born at 38 weeks, healthy and happy via c-section. Through my prior surgery he did fine, but he had his cord wrapped around his neck so tightly that is was a danger for me to delivery naturally as intended.
I had to wait for my 6 week recovery period after delivery and immediately started testing with my GI specialist, the Dr. who had seen me during surgery and in the hospital originally. After concluding that the testing showed inflammation and symptoms were confirmed, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I am an otherwise, healthy young Mom of three and wanting to continue on with my life as symptom free as possible. I began taking 1g of Pentasa twice daily and have started to notice some change in symptoms and I am also beginning a diet shift.
I just wanted to introduce myself and share my story in the event that there are any other young Moms like me who are going through this while also taking care of their family. Obviously, besides the complications of my pregnancy, my symptoms remain fairly mediocre for now. We live a holistic and natural lifestyle so it was difficult for me to begin taking pharmaceuticals daily, but at this point, prolonged remission is better than risking more time in the hospital and missing out on life with my family.
So, lots of love out to you all. I'll be on here from time to time looking for advice and a sense of community in living with this disease.
