- Location
- Canada
Hello all!
I am a 20 year old female who was recently (sort of) diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. My trouble all started about a year and a half ago when I had excruciating pain in my stomach. I thought it might be gas pains so I did not see a doctor about it. Every now and then, I would get the pain. I also noticed that I had a fissure and I would notice blood on the tp whenever I had a bm. This freaked me out so I seen my doctor. She referred me to a general surgeon to get a colonoscopy done. I seen him, and he told me he would book me for a colonoscopy. About 6-7 months went by and I still did not have an appointment. By this time everything had gotten WAY worse. I developed diarrhea quite often. I would get the diarrhea sometimes after eating, sometimes when I get scared/worried/stressed, and usually when I got the bad pain in my stomach. How fast everything progressed was surprising. I went back to my family doctor to see what was up and why I didn't get an appointment yet.. it turns out the surgeon didn't even put me on the waiting list. It was his mistake. So, I was put on an urgency list and got my colonoscopy done a week later. The doc said he seen some inflammation in my small intestine and that he removed a polyp. He told me it looked like crohns and he gave me a prescription for Asacol which did not help me or do anything. I got referred to a gastroenterologist. She told me my symptoms didn't sound like Crohn's, more like IBS. So she sent me to get an MRI. (Also, I will add that the general surgeon did not even put on my file to the gastro doctor that he removed a polyp, I had to tell her about that). So, I got the MRI and she called me and told me there is DEFINITELY inflammation. And she said "we need to take care of your crohn's." So I guess now she apparently thinks it is crohn's disease. She prescribed me Imuran. So far I have been on it for one week. I start out taking one half of a pill for two weeks, then one pill for two weeks, etc. Until my dose is high enough. I also have to get blood work done every 2 weeks. So far, this drug is not helping at all. I get such excruciating pain in my stomach that I cannot walk. It is normally concentrated around the belly button but mostly below the belly button. Sometimes it feels like I am digesting tennis balls. Often, I will need to go to the bathroom and will have diarrhea, but not always. My stomach is also normally so extremely bloated that I look like I am 4 months pregnant. I have a lot of gas, I get really bad knee pain and middle back pain. I also sometimes deal with constipation. In addition, I ALWAYS feel hungry! I may eat the biggest meal ever and feel hungry a half an hour later. It is so annoying.
Sorry this is so long guys, just wanted to give you some back story. Do any of you know anything I can do to help this pain? It is just horrible when I get an attack, I can't talk, walk, or do anything besides hold myself and hope it will go away. Also, do any of you have similar symptoms or do you think this sounds like crohn's? Sometimes it is hard to get straight answers from my doctors. I decided to come on this forum to talk to people who understand. My parents, boyfriend and friends all feel bad for me but never truly understand the pain and misery I go through. When I say "bad stomach" they do not realize I feel like I am dying LOL!
Any advice or comments on anything I just ranted about would be so greatly appreciated!.. Thanks!
I am a 20 year old female who was recently (sort of) diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. My trouble all started about a year and a half ago when I had excruciating pain in my stomach. I thought it might be gas pains so I did not see a doctor about it. Every now and then, I would get the pain. I also noticed that I had a fissure and I would notice blood on the tp whenever I had a bm. This freaked me out so I seen my doctor. She referred me to a general surgeon to get a colonoscopy done. I seen him, and he told me he would book me for a colonoscopy. About 6-7 months went by and I still did not have an appointment. By this time everything had gotten WAY worse. I developed diarrhea quite often. I would get the diarrhea sometimes after eating, sometimes when I get scared/worried/stressed, and usually when I got the bad pain in my stomach. How fast everything progressed was surprising. I went back to my family doctor to see what was up and why I didn't get an appointment yet.. it turns out the surgeon didn't even put me on the waiting list. It was his mistake. So, I was put on an urgency list and got my colonoscopy done a week later. The doc said he seen some inflammation in my small intestine and that he removed a polyp. He told me it looked like crohns and he gave me a prescription for Asacol which did not help me or do anything. I got referred to a gastroenterologist. She told me my symptoms didn't sound like Crohn's, more like IBS. So she sent me to get an MRI. (Also, I will add that the general surgeon did not even put on my file to the gastro doctor that he removed a polyp, I had to tell her about that). So, I got the MRI and she called me and told me there is DEFINITELY inflammation. And she said "we need to take care of your crohn's." So I guess now she apparently thinks it is crohn's disease. She prescribed me Imuran. So far I have been on it for one week. I start out taking one half of a pill for two weeks, then one pill for two weeks, etc. Until my dose is high enough. I also have to get blood work done every 2 weeks. So far, this drug is not helping at all. I get such excruciating pain in my stomach that I cannot walk. It is normally concentrated around the belly button but mostly below the belly button. Sometimes it feels like I am digesting tennis balls. Often, I will need to go to the bathroom and will have diarrhea, but not always. My stomach is also normally so extremely bloated that I look like I am 4 months pregnant. I have a lot of gas, I get really bad knee pain and middle back pain. I also sometimes deal with constipation. In addition, I ALWAYS feel hungry! I may eat the biggest meal ever and feel hungry a half an hour later. It is so annoying.
Sorry this is so long guys, just wanted to give you some back story. Do any of you know anything I can do to help this pain? It is just horrible when I get an attack, I can't talk, walk, or do anything besides hold myself and hope it will go away. Also, do any of you have similar symptoms or do you think this sounds like crohn's? Sometimes it is hard to get straight answers from my doctors. I decided to come on this forum to talk to people who understand. My parents, boyfriend and friends all feel bad for me but never truly understand the pain and misery I go through. When I say "bad stomach" they do not realize I feel like I am dying LOL!
Any advice or comments on anything I just ranted about would be so greatly appreciated!.. Thanks!