Your Crohn's Stories - 2012
Following are some Crohns Disease stories that you've shared with us this year. If you're reading this and would like to relate your own story, whether you have the disease or know someone who does, just visit the link below:
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You can also post comments and questions on our Crohn's Disease Forum.
January - June 2012
"I do not have Crohn's Disease, but I suffered for many years with ulcerative colitis and was finally cured in 2010 by following the advice of someone who cured himself of Crohn's Disease in 1998. Here is my story!
In 1996, after a stressful period in my life, I began to exhibit signs of ulcerative colitis. My mother had UC for 10 years while I was growing up until she had an ileostomy, so I was familiar the disease. For 11 years, I would have flareups every 1-1/2 yrs, was treated with Asacol & Prednisone for a few months each time until the UC went into remission and then I would remove myself from medication until the next flareup.
In 2007, I had another flareup and I started to see a different gastroenterologist that refused to prescribe Prednisone, but instead treated the condition with a double dose of Asacol (12 pills/day). It took me 2 yrs to go into remission. 6 months after I went into remission and I was still taking Asacol, I had the worst flareup ever to where I developed major food & medication intolerances, lost a 1 lb/day for 50 days, became anemic, had low potassium, & lost a significant amount of calcium from my bones.
I went to a naturopathic doctor and she recommended I get a food allergy blood test thru a specialty lab. So I did just that and when I received the results two weeks later and started to eat foods the tests showed I had little or no reaction to, I did not have a bowel movement for 12 hrs, whereas for every day for the previous 3 months I was having a bowel movement at least 12 times/day.
For 8 months, I controlled the flareup to a certain degree with selective eating. It was not until I personally had the opportunity to meet Jordan Rubin and followed his advice that I was able to speed up the healing process to the point of having a colonoscopy 6 months later that showed no active colitis. Jordan is the author of 20+ Holistic Healing Books, including Patient Heal Thyself, Restoring Your Digestive Health, & The Maker's Diet.
Google Jordan Rubin to read how he almost died from Crohn's Disease and how he cured himself. I have been in remission for well over a year now and I take NO prescription medication!!
Glad to hear you found a solution.
"I was diagnosed with Crohn's in January 2007 at the age of 27. For about 8-9 months prior to diagnosis, I was having extended bouts of abdominal pain that would last from a few days to a few weeks. In August of 2006, I was hospitalized with a blockage but since I was uninsured at the time and was essentially a charity case the doctor's didn't do much.
Soon after, I started a new job with benefits and less than 2 months after getting my benefits I was hospitalized again with a blockage. After a CAT scan and an exploratory lapriscopy, the doctor's gave me the diagnosis. Everything was good for the next year, year and a half as I gained some weight back and was feeling ok taking pentasa. But I started feeling sluggish again in the summer of 2008 and began losing weight fast. I was in the process of getting treament when everything seemed to collapse on me.
In early October of that year, my grandmother passed away and the resulting stress put me over the top. About five days after her burial, the pain was too much for me to bare anymore and went to the ER. What followed was the worst ER experience one could imagine. Eighteen hours later I was admitted and spent 13 days 'inside'. It was determined I had an abcess in my small bowel that they hoped to kill with antibiotics, but several weeks after getting out of the hospital I was back in when the abcess came back right before Thanksgiving.
Ten more days inside and I was told I needed surgery, which I had in January 2009. All was good for a year or so but all the symptoms came back and have been fighting them since. This disease has done nothing but negatively affect my life. It has affected me personally and professionally, cost me thousands of dollars and has drastically changed my view of the world in a negative way. I'm weak, fatigued, am an emotional wreck and in pain much of the time. My weight is down under 150 lbs (180 used to be normal)and I'm not getting any solid answers from doctors.
Professionally, it puts me in a no win bind because not only is my company iffy about promoting me to another position despite the fact that I have worked my butt off for them, I am the longest tenured person at the bottom of the pecking order and barely making enough to get by. This only exacerbates existing stresses and depression I regularly feel because of this condition. My condition has me scared of losing my benefits and, as a result, scared of taking any chances professionally. At the same time, work and stress completely sap me of all my energy in the evening, preventing any productivity.
I'm single and live alone, so emotionally I'm on my own as well. My family lives nearby but, to be honest, they are not the best at emotional support and bringing my issues up to them just makes me feel worse about my life than I already do. All I want is to be able to enjoy life again but at this point I feel that I am destined for a life filled with pain, depression, and loneliness while struggling to accomplish anything.
We're sorry you're feeling this way and truly hope that things get better for you. You might want to try a support group to help get you through the tough times.
"Hi all, I was diagnosed with Crohn's about 4 months ago after a colonoscopy. I have had diarehea and abdominal cramps and bloating off and on for years. Many times almost didn't make it to bathroom.When they told me this is Crohn's, I was shocked. My Mom and sister both have ulcerative colitis. So, it is a family thing. I believe stress affects mine too.
The first Dr. put me on asacol and it did absolutely nothing. The new Dr. said to continue on entocort after the first Dr. put me on that. The entocort seems to help but I still get sick in the stomach all the time.I get headaches everyday for over a year. The new Dr. told me now my b12 is too low, so I have to give myself injections every week for a month and then once a month.
I am always tired anymore and don't understand why. I sleep 8 hrs. a night usually with help from a tranquilizer. I also am taking an antidepressant because I had cancer and was upset by that 2 years ago. But, that is gone thank God.
All I can tell you is I pray and trust God to get me through this and talking to others who have it helps too. I am joining a local support group as I find myself getting upset the more I learn about this. That's my story anyway. By the way I'm 54 and that's old to be diagnosed!!! God Bless.
Thank you for sharing and we hope the support group is helpful!
"Hi, I'm a 23 year old girl in Australia and I was diagnosed with Crohn's almost 5 years ago. I don't remember much of being diagnosed, as I was dealing with alcohol addiction at the time. I do remember being rushed to emergency in unimaginable pain, but the next few weeks after that are all a blur because of the pain medication i was given.
My family thought i had an eating disorder, because my weight had plummeted, I couldn't eat because it caused me too much pain, and when i did eat, I would end up just throwing up anyway. I was told that my Crohn's is unusual in that i have it higher up in the small intestine. This means that I don't suffer so much with blockages or constipation, instead my symptoms include chronic nausea, vomitting, fever, and of coarse, cramping and pain.
Since being diagnosed, I've been hospitalised six times. The first time i was prescribed steroids, which ended in an episode of psychosis. It was an absolutely horrific experience. Since then, i have refused treatment with prednisolone or any other steroids, which makes it very hard to find a treatment that works. In 2009, I fell pregnant and had a beautiful baby boy. Pregnancy really agreed with me, and for the first time in years i was pain free. It was wonderful.
After giving birth, my symptoms slowly returned, and are the same now as ever. Basically, I've just had to slowly accept the fact that this is my life now. I take everything day by day. Some days i wake up and feel human. Other days, I'm bed ridden. It makes me angry, because i want to get up and play with my son and i can't, and i feel lazy when i am so fatigued I can't move. I would say that the emotional toll that having Crohn's takes on me is just as bad as the physical.
It's definitely tough but stay strong and positive for yourself and your son.
"Hi there,I am 47 and was diagnosed with Crohns in 2004.Before I go any further though I want to add that I believe I have had it most of my life. When I was a baby I was always getting sick, you name it..I got it.
Firstly my mum was told I was lactose intolerant and to keep me away from milk products.That didnt seem to help at all.I was either constipated or had the runs...no happy inbetween..Even as a kid I knew that wasnt right.But nobody listened. Since being an adult and trying to get doctors to listen to me about how sick I felt all the time and the reason why I couldnt gain weight or why I wasnt growing up like the other girls.I had a few who did a blood test or someother small test.Your ok,nothing wrong..Go home.Still nobody listened to me.
Woke one morning at the age of 16yrs and 4 mths in agony in the tummy region.Got the house mate to take me to hospital..Long story short.Appendix..Acute.Cut here.Woke up the next day..same pain as well as the one from the op.Ask doctor why.."Someone else is seeing you this afternoon as Im off on holidays".3 days later I still hadnt seen anyone.Still in so much pain..I ended up walking out on them.Seems I had infected ovaries..that was the test result from the next guy..
Now,in my heart I know. Next was not even 12mths away.This time my hospital visit lost me a chunk of my small bowel.With that hospital loosing all record of me ever being there.So I have no idea what was wrong or even what they did to me. 18mths later, again I woke in agony.This hospital visit cost me more bowel.An obstruction I was told.Still not one test done on me to find out why this is happening..
Many yrs later I was put on Codiene to slow my bowel down..It worked like a charm I had a new lease on life. 2004 I had already made 2 trips to the ER at Cairns Base to get a morphine shot for the pain.3rd trip they could see the pain and yet still with no tests done were quite willingly going to send me home a third time.Nature took over.My bowel exploded into my stomach and I was in a coma for 3 weeks.
My 16yr old daughter was told to organise things as I wasnt going to make it.Guess they didnt know the fight I still had in me.Cause all the time I was out..I was dreaming and looking for my ph to call my girl and let her know I was ok and coming home soon.And I did. Now my dramas are all from doctors nelect and misleading talks.I have been put on Azathioprine..7yrs now.
As of today I refuse to take them anymore.If they had told me that these pills bring on skin cancers!!! Never in a million yrs would I have taken them..Now I am fighting them off.I have them all over me..up my arms my legs,face..and im not going any further there.So to anyone out there even thinking of taking them..please weigh up the pro's and con's before you do.Doctors are not always right.Now I sit back and look at what my life became because NOBODY WOULD LISTEN.Thanks for letting me share.
Thank you for sharing...that's quite a story!
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