Hi, my name is Christina I am 17 years old and I am new to this whole Crohns thing. I was diagnosed in Sept. 2009. I am not on any medication, but most likely in the next few weeks I will be put on something (probably Remicade) Here is my little background story....I think it started when I was in my second year of high school, my health started to decline. In the winter I was always really pale, and had no energy at all. I was not growing very much and I wasn't really gaining much weight, just kind of staying in one place. Then in grade 11, things just got worse. I was tired everyday, and during the christmas holiday I started to get really gassy and have looser bowel movements more frequently. I thought I had just eaten some bad food, or was not eating the right things, and I really didn't think much of it. It went like this for a little while until about July, when I noticed that I was loosing weight much more significantly and I couldn't eat a lot (even for me, I am a picky eater and have never been able to shove food in my face) at one time. I started to get pain and bloating in my abdomen and I had no idea what was going on. During the vacation, it was hard for me to do anything. Getting up was hard, I had no energy, when we drove to Alberta, I didn't get out of the car much because I just couldn't. I had little spasms of pain during the day, that would make me stop and bend over in agony, but I tried to brush it off. During that time I was taking extra iron supplements because I was becoming anaemic.
The pain continued thorughout the summer, and I remember hiking in Banff at a dinosaur tourist attraction and I could barely make it up an incline without being exhausted and bending over in pain. Everytime I ate, lost my appetite quickly and had pain shortly afterwards. I decided to go to the doctor and demand answers about what the heck was going on. In early Septemeber I had the usual tests which were horrible and a first for me. I had the barium swallow, ultrasound (which was very painful) bloodtests, an x-ray, I forget what it was called but I had to drink some clear liquid and then was injected with some dye (which they totally messed up, they butchered my arm!) After the tests they wanted me to come to the hospital, which I thought was like a quick appointment, but they admitted me on Sept. 11th and I was not planning on staying more than a day. They put me on IV for the whole night while I waited to get a room. They starved me for 3 days, ( after not eating for 3 days I was 66 pounds!)thinking I was going to get a colonoscopy soon (which didn't happen right away) so they finally let me eat something, but then they told me I was getting the test done soon so I had to stop and clear my system again which was not cool! I was very scared and every morning they would wake me up and take my blood. I got no sleep in the hospital and was going out of my mind. I hated being there so much, I just wanted to go home. I had just started school (only 3 days in and I was stuck in the hospital) Once the colonoscopy (through throat and bottom, but luckily I was knocked out totally) was done I was diagnosed with Crohns and was immediately forced to go on the NG tube which was horrifying. The first time they shoved it down my nose was awful, and it took forever for me to learn it. I was so frustrated, scared, and angry. All I wanted was a subway sandwich, but anything with bread, meat or cheese would do. I was in the hospital for 2 and a half weeks, which seemed like forever. The worst part was knowing that when I got out I still would have to be on the tube and not eat any solid food for who knew how long. I spent a month and a half on the stupid tube, earning for a morsel of solid goodness( all I could have was chicken soup broth and red gummy bears) During that time I became obsessed with the food network and cooking (or anything to do with food in general) I was cooking food for the family, trying to fill the void of eating. Thanksgiving was really hard for me, but by Halloween I could eat solid food (slowly introducing foods) but was still on the tube. I gained a ton of weight while on the tube and eating together. I had so much energy, and felt really good. No pain or anything. In November I was able to get off the tube and I went to New York to celebrate and could enjoy the American thanksgiving instead! Since then I have been doing good, but slowly I have been loosing weight since May and the pain has now returned, along with not so good bowel movements. My mom is worried and she and the doctor want me to go on something, and I just don't know if I'm ready, I don't want to rush into anything unnecessary and have consequences that outweigh the good things. I am not in terrible pain, but I know that its only going to get worse. I am just terrified of drugs, and after doing some research, and hearing some of the horror stories I am more reluctant to start anything. I don't want to be forced to go on anything that I am not sure of, so I joined this forum to help me cope with this life changing disease and what goes along with it and maybe make me feel better about something. Thanks for your time and have a great day
The pain continued thorughout the summer, and I remember hiking in Banff at a dinosaur tourist attraction and I could barely make it up an incline without being exhausted and bending over in pain. Everytime I ate, lost my appetite quickly and had pain shortly afterwards. I decided to go to the doctor and demand answers about what the heck was going on. In early Septemeber I had the usual tests which were horrible and a first for me. I had the barium swallow, ultrasound (which was very painful) bloodtests, an x-ray, I forget what it was called but I had to drink some clear liquid and then was injected with some dye (which they totally messed up, they butchered my arm!) After the tests they wanted me to come to the hospital, which I thought was like a quick appointment, but they admitted me on Sept. 11th and I was not planning on staying more than a day. They put me on IV for the whole night while I waited to get a room. They starved me for 3 days, ( after not eating for 3 days I was 66 pounds!)thinking I was going to get a colonoscopy soon (which didn't happen right away) so they finally let me eat something, but then they told me I was getting the test done soon so I had to stop and clear my system again which was not cool! I was very scared and every morning they would wake me up and take my blood. I got no sleep in the hospital and was going out of my mind. I hated being there so much, I just wanted to go home. I had just started school (only 3 days in and I was stuck in the hospital) Once the colonoscopy (through throat and bottom, but luckily I was knocked out totally) was done I was diagnosed with Crohns and was immediately forced to go on the NG tube which was horrifying. The first time they shoved it down my nose was awful, and it took forever for me to learn it. I was so frustrated, scared, and angry. All I wanted was a subway sandwich, but anything with bread, meat or cheese would do. I was in the hospital for 2 and a half weeks, which seemed like forever. The worst part was knowing that when I got out I still would have to be on the tube and not eat any solid food for who knew how long. I spent a month and a half on the stupid tube, earning for a morsel of solid goodness( all I could have was chicken soup broth and red gummy bears) During that time I became obsessed with the food network and cooking (or anything to do with food in general) I was cooking food for the family, trying to fill the void of eating. Thanksgiving was really hard for me, but by Halloween I could eat solid food (slowly introducing foods) but was still on the tube. I gained a ton of weight while on the tube and eating together. I had so much energy, and felt really good. No pain or anything. In November I was able to get off the tube and I went to New York to celebrate and could enjoy the American thanksgiving instead! Since then I have been doing good, but slowly I have been loosing weight since May and the pain has now returned, along with not so good bowel movements. My mom is worried and she and the doctor want me to go on something, and I just don't know if I'm ready, I don't want to rush into anything unnecessary and have consequences that outweigh the good things. I am not in terrible pain, but I know that its only going to get worse. I am just terrified of drugs, and after doing some research, and hearing some of the horror stories I am more reluctant to start anything. I don't want to be forced to go on anything that I am not sure of, so I joined this forum to help me cope with this life changing disease and what goes along with it and maybe make me feel better about something. Thanks for your time and have a great day
