Your Crohn's Disease Stories: May - August 2009

Here are your Crohn's Disease stories for the middle part of 2009. These are contributed by those suffering from Crohn's and their friends and families. If you have a story to share, go here afterwards:

Share your Crohn's Disease story here

You can also post comments and questions on our Crohn's Disease Forum.

August 2009

"it was feb 2008 i had pains in my stomach quite like contractions after contacting my out of hours gp surgery i had to wait for a nurse to contact me,After telling the nurse about how much pain i was in she told me that it sounds as though i have a 48 hour virus and to drink plenty of fluids.

After visits to my gp surgery and 4 visits to a+e my husband rushed me to a+e september 26th 2008 had to be rushed for a life saving operation as it was a perorated bowel,i had peritinitus.After being out cold for over a week on life support i was on intensive care for 2 months it has been an absolute nightmare not just for me but my children hubby and family being told from one minute to the next that i might not survive.

My old gp should of done alot more sooner but didnt that is why i am taking it further from february 2008-september 2008 i had suffered tremendous pain but nobody was doing anything about it,through this i have to have a colostomy.but waiting on a date for reversal i am just so glad to be here to tell the story it was a very scary ride.

We're glad you are able to share your story with us.

May 2009

"Hi i have had Crohn's Disease for 3 years now but i have only been diagnosed with it for 2 years. i went through years of agonising pain, constantly running back and forth to the toilet and constantly sleeping. i was frightened to eat as i knew what the consequences were going to be, due to this i became an anorexic that only weighed 2-3 stone.

Before i was diagnosed with my crohn's i suffered from erathema-nodosum (lumps underneith the skin) and Reuhmatic fever. due to these i wqas unable to walk and lost a lot of blood. Also at the age of 15 i had a heart attack due to the stress my body was under. After years of tying out different medications we have now found the 3 that are best for me (azathioprine, Pentasa and Infliximab). and i am really great for the hospital team for bringing my life back to normal (without them i fear i would have died).

I am now a 17 year old girl who is recovering really well, i do have off days but not as bad as what i used to have. I would reccomend anyone who is still looking for the right treatment to mention to their consultanys the infliximab treatment. Trust me it works wonders. i am greatful for all the hard work that the Dewsbury District hospital have put in for me.. and would like to say Thank-you to all those in Pontefract who are helping me now..... THANK-YOU!!!!!

Thanks for sharing your story with us.

"I was very sick growing up. I had gotten the stomach flu twice in one month, and the second time that i had gotten it was seven days of vomiting and having diarrhea. After that, it had taken a tole on my body. I was later diagnosed with acid reflux disease at the age of 7.

I had 2 different medications i was put on, one which was my favorite because it tasted like bubble gum! I stopped that at age 11. Since then, i started playing basketball, and being very active. In 10th grade i got the "kissing disease" Mono...I can remember being at a basketball game and looking at one of the girls and telling her "i just don't feel right, i feel like im upside down". My mom took me to the hospital and my blood results showed my liver enzymes were elevated, and my mono test was negative. They sent me on my way and that was that.

3 weeks later of suffering and not being able to sleep because the pain was so bad, my mom finally took me back to the hospital and told the doctor something is wrong with my daughter! she keeps choking every time she falls asleep. Before sending me to the infectious disease doctor, my mono test finally came back positive...8 tests later. After i recovered from that, i really never got better.

It was senior year when my life turned the opposite way. I was always so tired...i couldn't eat, and was always have diarrhea. The pain was so bad, i felt like at any second i could pass out. I was diagnosed first with colitis... then with ulcerative colitis. Then finally, with crohns. It was hard being young and excepting the fact i had crohns... Especially because i was only 18. All my friends wanted to party and drink, and with my condition, it was hard...yet i still did, resulting in bad results. I weighed about 115 pounds... within a month, i dropped to 88 pounds.

I couldn't eat, and it basically led to me calling off work to go to the ER because the pain was so bad. They put me on ASOCOL...i was on that for awhile, and really...it only made me sicker. So i stopped. I'm 20 now, about to be 21, and decided, since there is no cure to crohns disease, im going to live my life as normal as possible.

So here i sit, writting my life story out, and not doing so bad with having crohns. I eat what i want, even if here and there, it makes me sick. I have my monthly flare ups where i cant eat, but i always gain my weight back the next month after having the flare ups. I give my heart out to everyone that has it, and even people that have stomach issues. It's not easy...but you know what? We'll live.

Thanks for sharing your story with us. :)