Hi everyone. I recently found this forum and think it's wonderful.
I'm a 22 year old male and I've had Crohn's since I was 11 (diagnosed at 13). I barely remember what it's like to live without Crohn's. It started with difficulty eating and abdominal pain. I got to the point where I was so skinny my ribs actually caused my sides pain. I was 4'11" and only weighed 60 lbs. Fortunately I was diagnosed shortly after and received proper treatment. It brought some normalcy back to my life.
Fast forward a few years to when I'm and 18 and in college. At the end of my freshman year, during spring break, I'm hospitalized and forced to drop out. An abscess had formed alongside a portion of my small intestine. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks on medications to try and shrink the abscess. There were very minimal results but my doctors felt I was well enough to continue the treatment at home. So I went home with a PICC line and treated myself intravenously for about a week and a half. Then the real fun began.
Everything seemed to be going well until the bleeding started. Now, I'm sure you're all very familiar with bouts of bleeding, both this was ridiculous. I went to do my business and was shocked at the amount of blood. Every time I went to the bathroom I expelled no less than a liter of blood. This happened every couple of hours. Needless to say I rushed back to the hospital. If I had waited much longer I wouldn't be here to post. Ever see a nurse turn white after seeing your stool?
I was transfused with 3 units of blood. About a day and a half later the bleeding somehow stopped. The doctors never figured out how it started or where it came from and were completely confused when it stopped. After that incident we decided surgery to be the best option. The total hospital stay was close to 4 months with a few days out here and there. I had 8 inches of bowel removed and have been doing well ever since. :thumright:
I'm currently taking 1.5g of Apriso and 100mg of Imuran a day.
I'm a 22 year old male and I've had Crohn's since I was 11 (diagnosed at 13). I barely remember what it's like to live without Crohn's. It started with difficulty eating and abdominal pain. I got to the point where I was so skinny my ribs actually caused my sides pain. I was 4'11" and only weighed 60 lbs. Fortunately I was diagnosed shortly after and received proper treatment. It brought some normalcy back to my life.
Fast forward a few years to when I'm and 18 and in college. At the end of my freshman year, during spring break, I'm hospitalized and forced to drop out. An abscess had formed alongside a portion of my small intestine. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks on medications to try and shrink the abscess. There were very minimal results but my doctors felt I was well enough to continue the treatment at home. So I went home with a PICC line and treated myself intravenously for about a week and a half. Then the real fun began.
Everything seemed to be going well until the bleeding started. Now, I'm sure you're all very familiar with bouts of bleeding, both this was ridiculous. I went to do my business and was shocked at the amount of blood. Every time I went to the bathroom I expelled no less than a liter of blood. This happened every couple of hours. Needless to say I rushed back to the hospital. If I had waited much longer I wouldn't be here to post. Ever see a nurse turn white after seeing your stool?
I was transfused with 3 units of blood. About a day and a half later the bleeding somehow stopped. The doctors never figured out how it started or where it came from and were completely confused when it stopped. After that incident we decided surgery to be the best option. The total hospital stay was close to 4 months with a few days out here and there. I had 8 inches of bowel removed and have been doing well ever since. :thumright:
I'm currently taking 1.5g of Apriso and 100mg of Imuran a day.
