Hello Everyone,
I just want to start of by saying that some of the threads in this forum have helped me realize that I am not the only one to have gone through the hoops and hurdles trying to figure out what is going on.
I have been dealing with digestive issues all my life. Although, it was not bad enough to see a Dr. so I was not to worried about it. About 3 years ago I got pregnant with my first child. My daughter was born in January 2010. The day after giving birth to her I started noticing stomach pains. After everything that I ate or drank I would buckle in pain. I thought it would go away. Well it didn't. Over the next year I was in and out of the Dr.'s office each time them telling me it was either irritable bowel syndrome or acid re flux, and then trying every prescription under the sun for IBS. During that first year I ended up having all kinds of blood work, an EGD and a colonoscopy. All resulted in no results. I was loosing weight, all of my clothes were falling off, I felt exhausted all the time, I felt weak, dizzy and I was starving. I started thinking it was all in my head, or was just the postpartum depression. So the Dr. prescribed an anti-depressant.
Over the next year I tried cutting out dairy, gluten and taking my anti-depressant. Which didn't work... at all. I asked my Dr.to run some more blood work which ruled out Crohn's disease and Celiac's disease. I was at a loss, my relationship with my husband was strained and I felt like I had missed a lot with my daughter. One day I ended up in the bathroom for the millionth time, but this time there was a lot of blood. I called my Dr. and he suggested we do another colonoscopy and EGD as soon as possible. My husband was out of town so I was a little hesitant, but did it anyway. While I was still a little groggy the Dr. came to show me the pictures that he took during the procedure. He pointed out the ulcers all throughout my small and large intestines and said they are usually associated with Crohn's. I wanted to cry, I felt so alone. I met with him the next day to go over the pathology report. Hi instincts were right, I had Crohn's. My Dr. prescribed Asocol, and after being on the medication for 2 weeks I didn't notice a difference in how I felt. I had already been on prednisone for something else, so we knew that was not going to work. So I was put on Entocort ED 3mg. I have been on this combination of meds for about 2 weeks and thought it was working. I think I got my hopes up a little to soon. I know this does not even cover everything, but just had to introduce myself and tell a little about my journey to diagnosis.
After reading some of the other threads I don't feel like I have gone through near the feat some of you have, but it is nice to know that I am not alone.
Thanks for listening and I am looking forward to learning all I can and hopefully helping some others as well.
Thank you
Diagnosed with Crohns, October 2011
I just want to start of by saying that some of the threads in this forum have helped me realize that I am not the only one to have gone through the hoops and hurdles trying to figure out what is going on.
I have been dealing with digestive issues all my life. Although, it was not bad enough to see a Dr. so I was not to worried about it. About 3 years ago I got pregnant with my first child. My daughter was born in January 2010. The day after giving birth to her I started noticing stomach pains. After everything that I ate or drank I would buckle in pain. I thought it would go away. Well it didn't. Over the next year I was in and out of the Dr.'s office each time them telling me it was either irritable bowel syndrome or acid re flux, and then trying every prescription under the sun for IBS. During that first year I ended up having all kinds of blood work, an EGD and a colonoscopy. All resulted in no results. I was loosing weight, all of my clothes were falling off, I felt exhausted all the time, I felt weak, dizzy and I was starving. I started thinking it was all in my head, or was just the postpartum depression. So the Dr. prescribed an anti-depressant.
Over the next year I tried cutting out dairy, gluten and taking my anti-depressant. Which didn't work... at all. I asked my Dr.to run some more blood work which ruled out Crohn's disease and Celiac's disease. I was at a loss, my relationship with my husband was strained and I felt like I had missed a lot with my daughter. One day I ended up in the bathroom for the millionth time, but this time there was a lot of blood. I called my Dr. and he suggested we do another colonoscopy and EGD as soon as possible. My husband was out of town so I was a little hesitant, but did it anyway. While I was still a little groggy the Dr. came to show me the pictures that he took during the procedure. He pointed out the ulcers all throughout my small and large intestines and said they are usually associated with Crohn's. I wanted to cry, I felt so alone. I met with him the next day to go over the pathology report. Hi instincts were right, I had Crohn's. My Dr. prescribed Asocol, and after being on the medication for 2 weeks I didn't notice a difference in how I felt. I had already been on prednisone for something else, so we knew that was not going to work. So I was put on Entocort ED 3mg. I have been on this combination of meds for about 2 weeks and thought it was working. I think I got my hopes up a little to soon. I know this does not even cover everything, but just had to introduce myself and tell a little about my journey to diagnosis.
After reading some of the other threads I don't feel like I have gone through near the feat some of you have, but it is nice to know that I am not alone.
Thanks for listening and I am looking forward to learning all I can and hopefully helping some others as well.
Thank you
Diagnosed with Crohns, October 2011