What age were you diagnosed?

[cheeky]

hey all,

wondering how old you were when you first learned you had IBD? vs how long you were experiencing symptoms for.


for me, i was diagnosed at age 29 (so just a few months ago), but changes in my blood work and other symptoms began around 2002... so I was probably around 22/23 when i think the crohn's began.

 

[fenway1971]

Diagnosed at 31. Reflecting on it, I knew something was wrong as a child. I just suffered in silence.

 

[Ms Cordelia]

My husband started getting sick when he was 33. He was diagnosed a year later. I knew what it was, but the Dr's didn't. Go figure..

 

[mharvey90]

i was only 9 years old when i was diagnosed with crohn's! i'm 19 now. i can remember having "poop" problems and stomach aches basically for as far back as i can remember...i was always constipated and could never go to the bathroom, and i was severely underweight. a CT scan showing enough stool in me to fill an elephant (so said my dr. at the time) and a colonoscopy and bloodwork confirmed crohn's!

 

[GirlFriday]

I was diagnosed at 25, but I too have had this on and off since I was a child - looking back now it is really obvious, but I guess at the time I just thought it was normal or something? I probably wasn't the brightest kid.. Lol

 

[Sparky]

I was diagnosed at 33 - sudden onset of symptoms, never had anything gut related prior to that.

 

[AIjen]

Diagnosed at age 33. Wasn't even looking for anything - just a routine c-scopy. No diarrhea and had just started minor bleeding about 3 weeks prior to c-scopy. Talk about a shock! I have had constipation issues my entire life. I remember being about 4 years old and having suppositories shoved up my butt. Fond memories...............lol!

 

[mharvey90]

haha AIjen, I can relate! I was always constipated too when I was really young, and after a suppository/enema or two, I tried to keep it a secret! Which made it a lot worse of course.

 

[NatalieMT]

Diagnosed at 17, had symptoms about 2 years prior I guess. It started with just pain and then about 6 months prior to diagnosis it got a lot worse, got more D and bleeding, plus weight loss etc. The whole lot!

 

[ErinDF]

Got sick/was diagnosed at 13. My doctors figured it out pretty much at the first onset of major symptoms.

 

[RHOV]

diagnosed at 15.
first symptoms at 13.

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

Diagnosed post-surgery when I was 27. Probably had the symptoms five years previous.

 

[Procyon]

I was diagnosed at 9. My digestive system did funky things before that, but nothing that would really indicate Crohn's.

 

[Mark33180]

I was diagnosed at 21 and it was after major bleeding and massive pain. I had 3 holes the size of quarters in my lower colon. Talk about some pain and major infection.... but odly enough no fever at all

 

[farm]

dx at 18. Hospitalized for "stomach pain" at age 5 the first time.

 

[forum contributor]

Last year at 27yo.

 

[Mazen]

Diagnosed at 26. Since teens I had stomach pains due to stress but nothing else. 3 months before diagnosis I started having severe cramps and fevers....

 

[Cookie]

I was diagnosed at 30, but like so many others, I had digestive problems my whole life. When I was 30, the horrible bouts of D started and I developed a fistula, which led to my diagnosis.

 

[bwightman]

I was diagnosed at 27...spent my 28th birthday in the hospital because of Crohn's. However, I was also diagnosed with a pilonidal cyst at 17, and despite multiple surgeries it never healed. Come to find out (after the Crohn's diagnosis) that it was actually an anal fistula! Aside from the fistula, I had no other symptoms for 10 years.

 

[forum contributor]

I was diagnosed at 27...spent my 28th birthday in the hospital because of Crohn's. However, I was also diagnosed with a pilonidal cyst at 17, and despite multiple surgeries it never healed. Come to find out (after the Crohn's diagnosis) that it was actually an anal fistula! Aside from the fistula, I had no other symptoms for 10 years.

Hey, BW - just noticed you're not too far from Jerman and myself - we're both from MA as well

 

[kirkland]

Crohns Diagnosis

I was diagnosed at age 34. Had weight loss, nausea, and blood in stool, for about three months, but no real pain anywhere. It took a few trips to my GP before having my colonoscopy scheduled. I remember my GP telling me, there is no way you have crohns your not in enough pain! Good call doc. After colonoscopy was told I had mild crohns. Currently I am taking Asacol two pills three times a day.

 

[Katiepede]

first symptoms 16.... diagnosed 25 (aka now)!

 

[Katiepede]

My Mum says I always had a 'dodgy tummy' though!

 

[cheeky]

yeah it's funny my mom's first reaction was like 'well you've always had problems digesting your food, ever since you were a baby'... she says i always had a hard time keeping food down, but i think that might've been typical baby problems.

i've always had weird eating habits though... just don't remember any ongoing pain issues or other crohn's symptoms before the age of 22.

 

[mommy1st]

I was diagnosed at 10, symptoms started probably a year before this.

 

[Agent X20]

I was diagnosed at 16. I went into hospital about age 10 with stomach pains... they thought it might be my appendix, but it wasn't. Had some strange itchy blotches on my legs from about age 14, then I stopped eating (completely), had a lot of D... and lost dangerous amounts of weight. Started getting better after large doses of pred

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

Yeah, I too had periodic appendix "false alarms" from about 12 years old and up. Almost a yearly event to the ER. Finally came out the same night I had the resection and gall bladder removal.

 

[danman]

Diagnosed at 16.
Symptoms since 12-13.
36 now.

 

[Becky]

diagnosed at 28 but had issues and was told it was IBS for about 10 yrs prior

 

[JillianB82]

I was diagnosed last year at 26, but I had symptoms most of my life, just not all together

 

[daisy_dueller]

I was diagnosed with CD almost 4 years ago, at 23. I was diagnosed with IBD at 12 after multiple tests revealed nothing...but had horrible symptoms since I was 12 related to CD.

 

[dayng1016]

I was diagnosed at 32, symptoms started at 31 only approx. 7mos prior. No symptoms or hints before then.

 

[acuisle]

Diagnosed at 40. Had symptoms slowly developing for about 3 yr before that. Had arthralgia in joints in my teens, though, and off & on during early adulthood. That's not uncommon -- pain that mimics arthritis but without the swelling, in young CD patients.

 

[merrywidow]

i was 28

 

[ITSMEAGAIN]

always had stomach problems. was out of school for two months when i was 13 with bad Diarhea, doc said i had mono. LOL. went to the er with bad stomach problems 2 years ago was told i had Diverticulitis. and needed to see a specialist who wanted to do a colonoscopy. He calls me at home on a sunday night (who gets a call from a dr. on a sunday night??) and tells me he is referring me to another specialist he thinks i have IBD. Was finally confirmed with Crohn's April 2008.
Seems sometimes Dr's just don't want to take you seriously when your telling them how you feel.
I'm now 38 yrs old.

 

[forum contributor]

always had stomach problems. was out of school for two months when i was 13 with bad Diarhea, doc said i had mono. LOL. went to the er with bad stomach problems 2 years ago was told i had Diverticulitis. and needed to see a specialist who wanted to do a colonoscopy. He calls me at home on a sunday night (who gets a call from a dr. on a sunday night??) and tells me he is referring me to another specialist he thinks i have IBD. Was finally confirmed with Crohn's April 2008.
Seems sometimes Dr's just don't want to take you seriously when your telling them how you feel.
I'm now 38 yrs old.

LOL mono??????

(Not laughing at you, just your dr.)

Double edit: Wow, looking back at this post from earlier, it just hit me that they thought I had mono too. Didn't remember earlier!

 

[DanSJVDavis]

I was diagnosed at 16. I've had it for around 22 years now. I was diagnosed with Chronic Epstein Barr maybe a year or less before that (I did indeed have it). I've since had a perforated bowel that nearly killed me when I was 24 and the resulting ileostomy removing a few inches or so of ileum (that bit that absorbs B12) and reversal, a second surgery removing a little more of that area and some scar tissue from the previous surgery (but no ostomy that time), and a fistula removed. I learned a lot on my own as to what I can and can't do through my own research and paying attention to what my body is trying to tell me. All in all, for 22 years I'd say I'm not doing too shabby, knock on wood. Could I be doing more to help myself? Sure, but I'm not quite ready yet to cut out the rest of what I enjoy and stop living my life.

 

[imisspopcorn]

I was DX at age 27. It took approx 6mos to get the correct diagnosis. In my early 20's I was having Rrght lower quadrant tenderness but thought it was related to my ovaries. After pelvic laproscopic surgery (which came back normal) was performed my OB/GYN referred me to a GI doctor. I had No insurance so I never went!! I wasn't having any other symptoms at the time so I doubt it would have mattered.

 

[nashwa4]

I've had Crohn's symptoms since I was 10, but got diagnosed when I was 11. It was the last month I was ten so I was in the hospital for my birthday

 

[bradraz]

I was diagnosed when i was 14, On Martin luther king day i started showing symtoms of a stomach ache etc, and it all went downhill from there. So symptoms of crohns begain 1/21/09 and i was diagnosed 3/20/09. and it sucked cause my b-day is january 29th so i was rly sick for it.

 

[kenny]

I was 42 by the time things started to go so wrong that I could not go on. My mom says it was always hard feeding me and they had to use Soya formula. It surprises me that there was even such a thing back in the 60's!

I wish I had of gotten this taken care of earlier though. Nobody ever decided to do anything about this until I was in risk of perishing form septic shock because there where holes in in my bowel

 

[teeny5]

28 years old for me. Just when I was thinking of starting a family and just started a management position finally.

 

[Lunitik AP]

Diagnosed a month ago, I'm 24.

 

[forum contributor]

Diagnosed a month ago, I'm 24.

Welcome, Lunitik

 

[forum contributor]

Hey! I was 2 when diagnosed with IBD. At 12 it was changed to UC, and at 20 finally realized to be Crohn's. I'm 23 now.

Your dx went from UC to Crohn's? I was dx'd with Microscopic Colitis, then UC, then unknown Colitis... which is where I am now. Not sure if Ulcerative or Crohn's. :confused2:

 

[misscris]

Diagnosed March 2009 after my unexpected resection surgery at the age of 30. In fact, just a little over a month past my birthday.

 

[Christiebird]

I got diagnosed at 25 but I'd been having tests since I was 19/20 and I've had symptoms all my life. I had my first bowel resection 9 days before my 30th birthday. My mum is a nurse and has always said she thinks I have crohns but it took years to actually diagnose.

 

[Wiles]

I was diagnosed when I was around 16, but had been experiencing symptoms several years before that.

 

[Colt]

I was 18. Of course I got dragged through the medical system for a couple years before it was diagnosed. As far as symptoms it was an issue at least since my pre-teen years. It simply got so bad that it couldn't be dismissed by my doctors as an upset tummy anymore.

I got disdiagnosed at 25 because after 6 months of high dose prednisone I wasn't showing any signs of crohn's. Well.. except the chronic inflammation and erosion of my stomach and as far down my duodenum as they could get. But, as one of my doctors said "We don't really want to talk about that."

 

[Colt]

I got diagnosed at 25 but I'd been having tests since I was 19/20 and I've had symptoms all my life. I had my first bowel resection 9 days before my 30th birthday. My mum is a nurse and has always said she thinks I have crohns but it took years to actually diagnose.

I'm curious. Why 5 years of tests? I'd think they'd have done everything there was to do by the end of the first.

 

[kello82]

diagnosed just days before or after (dont remember) i turned 9.
symptoms began the week before my 4th b-day. up until then i was a normal happy toddler. my mom said it was like a switch was flipped and one day i was just different in mood and behavior and began having stomach pains.
i am 19 now...but closer to 20 i like to see it

its amazing how many of us have had either a diagnosis, hospitalization, or major procedure ON or close to our birthdays! how weird...

 

[Agent X20]

That IS weird. I remember my 16th birthday very clearly. I was in hospital with a "mystery illness". On the morning of my birthday I was actually allowed to get dressed and walk around a bit. Then a couple of hours later, I was rushed back into bed and put on an iron infusion. Diagnosis and pred followed shortly after!

 

[CentaurCEO]

Started having serious symptoms at 19 years old (2003). Got diagnosed on June 6, 2005 (the day before my 21st birthday). I use to be constipated all the time when I was young and that stopped when I started sports and I was super healthy until I stopped running track in college.

 

[misscris]

diagnosed just days before or after (dont remember) i turned 9.
symptoms began the week before my 4th b-day. up until then i was a normal happy toddler. my mom said it was like a switch was flipped and one day i was just different in mood and behavior and began having stomach pains.
i am 19 now...but closer to 20 i like to see it

its amazing how many of us have had either a diagnosis, hospitalization, or major procedure ON or close to our birthdays! how weird...

That is interesting. Helps to remember the days that way though. I first felt the lump (abcess) on Feb 23rd, and my birthday was Feb 14th. hmm

 

[cheeky]

I was diagnosed when i was 14, On Martin luther king day i started showing symtoms of a stomach ache etc, and it all went downhill from there. So symptoms of crohns begain 1/21/09 and i was diagnosed 3/20/09. and it sucked cause my b-day is january 29th so i was rly sick for it.

yeah, i should've been sick on my birthday too, cuz my most severe symptoms began in mid december 2008 (my b-day is december 30th), but it was so weird, miraculously i felt better on my birthday and was able to eat.... so strange... then the next day, right back to hell.

 

[dany.italy]

I was diagnosed at 22

 

[bphenn]

I was diagnosed at 19 but I think I showed very little hints around 16.

 

[dthales]

I was diagnosed with Crohn's 11 years ago at 29 but had been diagnosed with IBS 4 years earlier. When I was 4-5 years old I had intestinal problems and I remember taking strange medicines that made me pee blue or orange. I went to the doctor and the hospital many times but was never diagnosed with anything back then. It eventually stopped before I turned 6.

 

[shazamataz]

Diagnosed (last month) at 38 after admitting myself to hospital with serious pain/fevers.

have had 'problems' fro years though with fatigue and bouts of pain and the big D after dinner a couple of times a month.

Barium enema five years ago showed nothing and was told I had the old IBS.

Interestingly, as others have mentioned it, I had glandular fever (mono) at 17 and then again at 26 and never really recovered from that - ALWAYS tired - I wonder if it is a trigger for IBD?

Still in the place where it kinda sucks but at least now I have a REASON to feel this way - I am NOT mental!!! :applause: Well, okay, maybe a little bit :yrolleyes:

 

[autumn_rose]

Well, I was told that I had it when I was 22, but I'd suffered from it for probably about 3-4 years, although my new doc, when learning about when I had to have my gall bladder out because of gallstones when I was 17, said that I probably had it back then, too, something about the two being related? He didn't go into details.

 

[gibby]

Hey,
Remember clearly my first experience of blood loss, thinking something wasnt right, and i was 8, was in january 1991 and my mum thought i was making it up at first, then was a year of my mum fighting with our rural doctor and then the hospital to transfer me to a sick kids hospital in Glasgow so i could be seen by a specialist, as soon as that happened i was diagnosed with Crohns, then later swtiched back to UC.

Spent most of my high school years hiding in the toilets at breaks with fantastic excuses as to why, as spent that whole period in denial only taking my meds when i was sick. Really really silly thing to do! i'm now a Sick Childrens nurse and have an interesting perspective on that when i care for kids not taking their meds!

 

[Cog]

Diagnosed when I was 26 and that was nearly 25 years ago nearly half my life - scary

 

[judylynn]

I first starting having symtoms (abdomial pain, d and blood) when I was 19, waited 2 or 3 months before telling anyone (hoped it would go away - :lol: ), Was diagnosed with UC. February of 2008 had a Colonoscopy and was "re-diagnosed" with Crohn's.

I remember as a kid always having stomach problems. (tummy achs). I absolutly LOVED chocolate but everytime I would eat it I would throw it back up. Nothing ever to "out of the ordinary" just a kid with a weak stomach. hahah

 

[bella_sky]

age

DX 24, began months ago. God bless living so close to Johns Hopkins where you can get an accurate diagnosis in much less time it takes most doctors. I highly recommend GI specialists there if you are within three hours driving distance!!! If you need a number please IM or email me, I'd be happy to refer you!!