Hey all,
After finding this site and reading a lot of the useful stuff on it, I wanted to take part and share my story. Will try to keep it as short as possible! (I am new to forums in general so it's all a learning experience!)
I'm originally from the UK and was diagnosed in April 2002 after nine months of to-ing and fro-ing, with the doctor trying to convince me and my mum that I just had irritable bowels. I lost so much weight and could barely eat anything... in the end a helpful consultant gave me a colonoscopy and made the diagnosis. (I was 22.)
Started taking Asacol, Azathioprine and prednisolone, which sorted me out a treat Then in 2005 i started getting a few pains from the scar tissue in my narrowed colon. So in April 2005 I had surgery - a strictureplasty to open up the narrowed parts.
I came round in the recovery room with a temporary ileostomy. Urgh. It took a couple of months for my colon to heal, but they couldn't fit me in to reverse the ileostomy for NINE MONTHS. So I was walking around for the rest of the year with my 'poo pocket' (a name coined by my then-boyfriend
) Luckily I eventually got in for the op and got it all sorted.
Anyway, was in remission for ages, taking Asacol and Azathioprine. Moved to Dubai in May 2008, found a new consultant, all going well.
Then last Sept I developed a peri-anal abscess and an annoying skin tag. Luckily it healed quite quickly, but developed into a fistula. Since then I've developed another two fistulas, which don't cause too many probs, but I'm starting to feel my general symptoms flaring up and I am worried about the long-term prognosis.
My consultant suggested both Remicade and Humira, but neither are covered under my Dubai health insurance (and would cost me up to $4,000 a go). So at the mo I'm feeling quite down. The short-term symptoms don't seem too bad, but I still have at the back of my mind the memory of my ileostomy, and the realisation that at some point I may end up back there again.
I feel I've had it quite easy up to now and have managed to deal with everything the disease has thrown at me. But I also realise I've had reasonably mild symptoms compared with some of the guys on this forum. Looking back, even my bad stomach pains somehow seemed easier to deal with than the problems of abscesses, fistulas and so on... and it looks like i might be now entering the territory of more serious, hardcore problems.
Hence why I sought out this forum for information, advice and a friendly ear!
After finding this site and reading a lot of the useful stuff on it, I wanted to take part and share my story. Will try to keep it as short as possible! (I am new to forums in general so it's all a learning experience!)
I'm originally from the UK and was diagnosed in April 2002 after nine months of to-ing and fro-ing, with the doctor trying to convince me and my mum that I just had irritable bowels. I lost so much weight and could barely eat anything... in the end a helpful consultant gave me a colonoscopy and made the diagnosis. (I was 22.)
Started taking Asacol, Azathioprine and prednisolone, which sorted me out a treat Then in 2005 i started getting a few pains from the scar tissue in my narrowed colon. So in April 2005 I had surgery - a strictureplasty to open up the narrowed parts.
I came round in the recovery room with a temporary ileostomy. Urgh. It took a couple of months for my colon to heal, but they couldn't fit me in to reverse the ileostomy for NINE MONTHS. So I was walking around for the rest of the year with my 'poo pocket' (a name coined by my then-boyfriend
) Luckily I eventually got in for the op and got it all sorted.Anyway, was in remission for ages, taking Asacol and Azathioprine. Moved to Dubai in May 2008, found a new consultant, all going well.
Then last Sept I developed a peri-anal abscess and an annoying skin tag. Luckily it healed quite quickly, but developed into a fistula. Since then I've developed another two fistulas, which don't cause too many probs, but I'm starting to feel my general symptoms flaring up and I am worried about the long-term prognosis.
My consultant suggested both Remicade and Humira, but neither are covered under my Dubai health insurance (and would cost me up to $4,000 a go). So at the mo I'm feeling quite down. The short-term symptoms don't seem too bad, but I still have at the back of my mind the memory of my ileostomy, and the realisation that at some point I may end up back there again.
I feel I've had it quite easy up to now and have managed to deal with everything the disease has thrown at me. But I also realise I've had reasonably mild symptoms compared with some of the guys on this forum. Looking back, even my bad stomach pains somehow seemed easier to deal with than the problems of abscesses, fistulas and so on... and it looks like i might be now entering the territory of more serious, hardcore problems.
Hence why I sought out this forum for information, advice and a friendly ear!
