Hi guys,
I am a 35 year old UK born british asian male and i'm currently under 'so-called' investigation for possible Crohn's Disease and it is really starting to worry me.
I've suffered digestive problems since my teens but nothing too major before, but then at around 25 years old, I started getting daily stomach issues and problems with my bowels, I initially put it down to IBS and just tried to manage the symptoms best I could. Then in 2011, I had a major flare up where I had an immensely massive pain on the right side of my abdomen and had to be taken A&E, which after spending the night there and being administered a lot of pain killer, it seemed to ease off.
Since that incident, I have had both an endoscopy & a colonoscopy in which the consultant found some ulceration indicative of Crohns yet the biopsy results came back as non-conclusive and therefore when another new consultant whom had taken over my case took at look at the results, he put it down to IBS. I then missed the following up appointment due to work commitments and didn't bother going in again.
Over the past few years, I've been dealing with the often daily pain thinking that i've just been suffering from IBS and trying to make changes to my diet as my family and wife are from an Indian background and we tend to eat a lot of curries at home. But the pain and uncomfortable colicky cramps, spasms have caused me take quite a few days off work. I am a teacher at a local secondary school.
Recently I took a week and a half off work during term time and I felt really bad about it, general feelings of letting my team down etc… I visited the GP again with severe discomfort and abdominal pain and even the GP thought that I may have Crohns and therefore gave me an emergency referral to the hospital but as those of you whom may live in the UK, an emergency referral on the NHS can take up to 8 weeks, so I am impatiently waiting for the letter to arrive so I can try and get this all sorted out.
My main concern is the fear of having surgery and being labelled as having a life threatening disease, especially with so much stigma in the asian community. I only recently got married and have had a new born whom is only 1 month old. I am scared that this disease will end up taking away my ability to work and provide for my family and that is already making me feel so embarrassed and frustrated inside! I want to be healthy and experience my child growing up, I want to work until retirement age, I want to enjoy everything else that others enjoy!
I have read somewhere that the majority of individuals diagnosed with Crohns end up having some form of surgery at some point? Is this correct? Any opinions on this guys? Can Crohns be managed without surgery?
Anyway, i've finally decided to join this forum and stop being in denial about my condition.
I am a 35 year old UK born british asian male and i'm currently under 'so-called' investigation for possible Crohn's Disease and it is really starting to worry me.
I've suffered digestive problems since my teens but nothing too major before, but then at around 25 years old, I started getting daily stomach issues and problems with my bowels, I initially put it down to IBS and just tried to manage the symptoms best I could. Then in 2011, I had a major flare up where I had an immensely massive pain on the right side of my abdomen and had to be taken A&E, which after spending the night there and being administered a lot of pain killer, it seemed to ease off.
Since that incident, I have had both an endoscopy & a colonoscopy in which the consultant found some ulceration indicative of Crohns yet the biopsy results came back as non-conclusive and therefore when another new consultant whom had taken over my case took at look at the results, he put it down to IBS. I then missed the following up appointment due to work commitments and didn't bother going in again.
Over the past few years, I've been dealing with the often daily pain thinking that i've just been suffering from IBS and trying to make changes to my diet as my family and wife are from an Indian background and we tend to eat a lot of curries at home. But the pain and uncomfortable colicky cramps, spasms have caused me take quite a few days off work. I am a teacher at a local secondary school.
Recently I took a week and a half off work during term time and I felt really bad about it, general feelings of letting my team down etc… I visited the GP again with severe discomfort and abdominal pain and even the GP thought that I may have Crohns and therefore gave me an emergency referral to the hospital but as those of you whom may live in the UK, an emergency referral on the NHS can take up to 8 weeks, so I am impatiently waiting for the letter to arrive so I can try and get this all sorted out.
My main concern is the fear of having surgery and being labelled as having a life threatening disease, especially with so much stigma in the asian community. I only recently got married and have had a new born whom is only 1 month old. I am scared that this disease will end up taking away my ability to work and provide for my family and that is already making me feel so embarrassed and frustrated inside! I want to be healthy and experience my child growing up, I want to work until retirement age, I want to enjoy everything else that others enjoy!
I have read somewhere that the majority of individuals diagnosed with Crohns end up having some form of surgery at some point? Is this correct? Any opinions on this guys? Can Crohns be managed without surgery?
Anyway, i've finally decided to join this forum and stop being in denial about my condition.
