Hey there, this is probably going to be a little long. I'm a 25 year old male (mainly Irish) who is pretty much convinced he has Crohns. Ive had symptoms for almost 10 years, ii believe i have went into remission a few times, and i believe i am experiencing my worst flare yet which has lasted over a year. In this time I have spoken to many doctors, especially when I was younger but they never really took me seriously. I recently underwent an colonoscopy and an endoscopy this year. i was informed the biopsies came back negative, but my asaphogus stomach and small intestine was inflammed. Told it was ibs, take some prilosec and come back in 6 months. I had been taking prilosec already for over a year, it helps with heartburn.....
So here's my symptoms. I have chronic abdominal pain in my lower right side. About an inch to my right of my belly button and half an inch down. Same spot, everyday. Incredible pain. During my first flare I could barely walk. Nowadays I'm not sure if the pain isn't so bad, or if I'm just more used to it. Chronic diaherrea or watery stools, hemmeroids, occassional vomiting, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers. I'm always tired, its hard to concentrate. I sometimes vomit blood, and my stools are sometimes very dark.
Some things that they say are unrelated, but I notice a trend and my gut tells me nothing is coincidence. I have chronic back pain, joint pain. Every joint I have cracks and pops. My right eye seems to get inflammed to the point where my contacts don't fit right. My tonsils get inflammed a lot, and I get tonsil stones very often. I have done some reading about the stones. Some say it is a collection of white blood cells.
So, I'm now broke. Waiting until after the holidays to push again for a diagnosis. The doctors have laughed at me, said I watched too much tv and saw too many humira commercials. They want to instantly blame it on stress, oh its just ibs, oh its all in your head. I made the mistake of admitting I'm human and stressed, they literally kicked me out of the office and said it will be ok, cheer up.
I guess it is out of their realm of possibilites that my condition could be causing my stress, and that it isn't guaranteed that its the other way around. Why is ibs instantly the first diagnosis they come up with, shouldnt it be the last? I feel like the only way I am going to get a name for this is when they open me up on a table. I know people in my own small little life who have had bowel ressections and are younger than me, so why is it so hard to be taken seriously? Why am I paying premiums and copays to have my blood pressure taken and sent on my way.
So, I know have a Gi, even though I have barely spoke to him. He said he wasn't going to call it Crohns or rule it out. How ridiculous! Tells me to wait and see. I'm going to magically feel better after years of being miserable? I don't even care if I get the wrong diagnosis, i don't care about treatment. All I want is a name, something more than ibs.
Working has become unbearable. I have held the same job for 9 years, but its getting harder and harder to come in everyday, stay everyday and do the work like I am used to. But what can I do without a name? My friends don't understand why I don't want to go out all night anymore, how do you explain without a name? I feel like no one really understands what its like in my life. They crack jokes, or grill me about my health and what I need to do. But it feels like no one stops to really see how hurt I am, how hard I try to just get through everyday. No one wants to help, they just want to talk.
So here's my symptoms. I have chronic abdominal pain in my lower right side. About an inch to my right of my belly button and half an inch down. Same spot, everyday. Incredible pain. During my first flare I could barely walk. Nowadays I'm not sure if the pain isn't so bad, or if I'm just more used to it. Chronic diaherrea or watery stools, hemmeroids, occassional vomiting, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers. I'm always tired, its hard to concentrate. I sometimes vomit blood, and my stools are sometimes very dark.
Some things that they say are unrelated, but I notice a trend and my gut tells me nothing is coincidence. I have chronic back pain, joint pain. Every joint I have cracks and pops. My right eye seems to get inflammed to the point where my contacts don't fit right. My tonsils get inflammed a lot, and I get tonsil stones very often. I have done some reading about the stones. Some say it is a collection of white blood cells.
So, I'm now broke. Waiting until after the holidays to push again for a diagnosis. The doctors have laughed at me, said I watched too much tv and saw too many humira commercials. They want to instantly blame it on stress, oh its just ibs, oh its all in your head. I made the mistake of admitting I'm human and stressed, they literally kicked me out of the office and said it will be ok, cheer up.
I guess it is out of their realm of possibilites that my condition could be causing my stress, and that it isn't guaranteed that its the other way around. Why is ibs instantly the first diagnosis they come up with, shouldnt it be the last? I feel like the only way I am going to get a name for this is when they open me up on a table. I know people in my own small little life who have had bowel ressections and are younger than me, so why is it so hard to be taken seriously? Why am I paying premiums and copays to have my blood pressure taken and sent on my way.
So, I know have a Gi, even though I have barely spoke to him. He said he wasn't going to call it Crohns or rule it out. How ridiculous! Tells me to wait and see. I'm going to magically feel better after years of being miserable? I don't even care if I get the wrong diagnosis, i don't care about treatment. All I want is a name, something more than ibs.
Working has become unbearable. I have held the same job for 9 years, but its getting harder and harder to come in everyday, stay everyday and do the work like I am used to. But what can I do without a name? My friends don't understand why I don't want to go out all night anymore, how do you explain without a name? I feel like no one really understands what its like in my life. They crack jokes, or grill me about my health and what I need to do. But it feels like no one stops to really see how hurt I am, how hard I try to just get through everyday. No one wants to help, they just want to talk.