Hi! My name is Julie and I'm a 35 year old female. I began having issues in August 2009 with loose stools and passing blood. Things kept getting worse and my general practitioner kept telling me to give it time...after much urging, her finally refered me to a gastro and I was diagnosed with Colitis and was put on Prednizone. We went through a myriad of different drugs all of which would work for a few days and then things would backslide again. I ended up in the hospital in November after passing large amounts of blood. They got me stabilized and we tried more treatments...none of them successful. In January, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and started taking Humira in February. Again, things were better for about two weeks and then deteriorated again. I have never had any pain with my Crohn's and things start getting bad so gradually, that I don't always know how sick I am until I'm really sick. I ended up in the hospital again in late April after passing more blood. I was given 2 units of blood and 4 liters of fluids to get things back on track. I had a colonoscopy at this point and had developed fistulas and severe irritiation in the bowel and my gastro decided it was time to talk to the Mayo Clinic. I was released from the hospital after eight days and checked into Mayo on the 9th day. After my 2nd colonoscopy in one week, I had a loop ileostomy on May 7th and things went extrememly well. I felt better immediately. I am currently on Azothiaprine and Remicade. My health has been great all except for some skin issues with the flange. I switched to a non-adhesive appliance and have had great success. Now, I am waiting for the call to go back to Mayo to see if I'm ready for my reversal. They wanted me to wait 4-6 months and I was shooting for five. I have been blessed with some really incredible doctors, nurses, and surgeons on this journey and am excited to see how it all goes! I'm also excited to be among all of you. Thanks for reading!
Julie
Julie
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