I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It is incredibly hard to come to terms with the full impact that Crohn's disease will have on your life and hard also due to your age.
At the age of 16 there will be big changes in your life and of course Crohn's can be a painful stumbling block for you to overcome. It is painful as you may well know and can have an erratic impact on your life, certainly hampering your life at work as well as your social life.
There is no cure at this time for Crohn's disease so if you can develop the mindset of being able to manage it, you will be able to cope better with the frustrations. Always seek medical advice if your symptoms grow worse and seek out the support of other sufferers and enlist the support of family and friends who can help you through any bad times.
There are not just physical side-effects though. you may well find yourself having a wide range of emotional responses including:
Denial
Guilt
Anger
Fear
These are normal responses and as time progresses, you will find that you are able to cope much better than you may think possible. There is support out there for you and the doctor may recommend counseling as well and this is something for you to consider.
There is a lot that you can do to help yourself:
Keep a journal that maps your eating habits and your symptoms
Eliminate or reduce as much stress as is possible in your life. Stress can be a trigger for a flare-up
Watch your diet and try to avoid those foods that can take a lot of digesting.
Reduce alcohol and avoid smoking.
Fatigue is a big issue with Crohn's sufferers so rest when you can and exercise and live a normal life in between bouts.
The good news is that it is likely that your disease will feel as if it has gone into remission at some point -although 'when' is an individual response. Some people go years with very little pain or discomfort. Flare-ups are common though and as I said, there is no cure yet.
The trick is to try to accept it and live with it. It's not always easy but you will have some really great days when life goes back to normal.
Has any other person encountered the disease in their teenage years? It would be good to hear from you.
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