Four Years of HELL!

I probably need to go back a bit with my story...when i was 32 i was probably drinking a bit too much and my diet was suffering a tad. i started get little stabby pains low on my right side, i thought was appendicitus. a specialist visit and barium top and bottom showed nothing much. i slowed the booze and ate better and it seemed ok. then at 44 i started getting painful cramps low down about an hour after eating my evening meal. this went on for a while and the cramps only lasted a few minutes then seemed to go away till next night.
then i got what i thought was a tummy bug, and diahrea. however the diahrea didn't go away, weeks led into months and colonascope showed no problems. then it went away...sort of. i gave up smoking for three and a half years and no irratable bowel symptoms...(My Specialist diagnosis)
anyway this stupid man..me..took up smoking again. the so called irratable bowel returned..it wasnt bad but as time went on the 'bouts' grew closer together and after a while they were only days apart. then four years ago things changed. the diahrea was still there but my stools were no longer thick and large when i was working normally...they were thin and i seemed to be constantly bloated and suffering strong cramps. some days my energy would be so low i would walk dragging my feet! the trips to the doctor gave me no joy as i had irratable bowel...even though i told of my big changes in bowel movement... no further investigation.
i ended up so ill my work and business suffered, resulting in my selling my house..i would sleep no more than an hour a night and when i did drift off was wishing that my heart would stop while i slept to end the pain. then the dry wretching started...these bouts really scared me as they would last for 15 minutes or more..and the PAIN! Trip to the doctor and home with a prescription for anti depressants...they nearly killed me..my stool dried up and i couldnt get out of bed or a wretching bout would start. colonascope showed nothing wrong in my large bowel. over the four years my weight had gone from 85 kilos to 58 and falling.

i suffered a minor heart attack in january of this year 2011. i was put on 2000 pills for my heart and they caused me so much pain in my belly that i knew i had only a short time to live! doctors prescribed laxatives which gave me more pain!

on february 5th i suffered a bowel bleed and was flown to a major hospital. i was diagnosed with Crohnes on the 10th.

on february 15th my small intestine perferated and i was in surgery having 90cm of my small intestine removed, and a stoma formed..i was on the bag.

on march 21st they resectioned me as i had big probs with the stoma..my food would only take a few hours to pass through, largely undigested

i am now recovering at home after spending 66 days in hospital.

i still cry some nights when i think about the past four years, how many doctors shrugged their shoulders mumbling irratable bowel. sending me home to suffer in silence..the long painfilled nights...getting out of bed in the morning unable to straighten up due to pain, unable to walk upright. most of all i think of the pain! constant 24/7...ranging from ouch to extreme...i cry when i think of the home i no longer own, and the business i lost....if you get diagnosed with irratable bowel MAKE SURE THAT IS WHAT IT IS! DON'T BELIEVE ANY DOCTOR/SPECIALIST UNTIL THEY HAVE CHECKED EVERY PART OF YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM FROM MOUTH TO ANUS!!!!!! sleep on their doorstep if you have to!

well thats my story...i have no idea what my future is..but i have no pain now, i can even snuggle in my bed and feel good as i drift off to sleep for the first time in four long years. :ysmile:

Philip.

Well done Philip - glad you survived, and have a chance for happiness.
Not sure why some of us go through this kind of hell in life....makes no sense to me. One thing I know that helps me at times is that the pain of the past is actually only a memory. Even a really strong memory fades with time and you get to move on from it - freedom from the past really.
I hope you get some prolonged peace there! You've certainly done your time.
All the best.

Good on ya Philip for getting here or to where you are now.

Life IS a bitch mate and i have a story that would open a lot of eyes too.

I wish you all the very best of good fortune and health for the future mate, you can get through this chapter in your life, that i assure you.

I will tell ya why mate, because if you have come this far then you are a stronger person than you ever thought you would be.
For example if i walked into your hoiuse or place of work 5 or 10 years ago and told you what was gona happen to you and your business etc you would have said "no way" or in the aussie language "no bladdy way mate ". . . . haha

But you ARE here and you HAVE got this far on (at some stages ) pure determination.

So hold that chin up mate and put ya shoulders back, you are a b etter man than a whole lot of others thats for sure.

Kindest regards

Bruscar

Hiya Philip
and welcome

Thanks for sharing your story, and it's a sad one, but with a happy ending, well done!
I do know how you feel, 15 years of a dx of IBS and my old quack wouldn't refer me to a gastro, said I was neurotic and had mental health problems. Well I did end up mental and screamed the place down and nearly strangled him, but I got my dx and I'm quite sane now, sort of!
Hope you find comfort and support here with us Philip.
lotsa luv
Joan xxx

Hello Phillip and welcome!

I'm glad you're feeling better now. It must of been rough when you knew it was more than IBS!

Yes, thinking about the past pain and suffering is upsetting. I think it's important to try and come to terms with what's happened to you though so you can try and move on in a positive way. Otherwise it just consumes your life and you always end up feeling depressed. I feel so much happier since I did it!!

Welcome, Phillip. You've been through so much and have learned a lot along the way. Thank you for sharing your story and very important message. You are right; we need to learn to trust our gut. Like you, many people are misdiagnosed for years, which does not helped their situation at all. It is important to find a doctor who is not quick to dismiss you and your symptoms, and who wants to get answers as much as you do.

I am sorry it took so long for you to get your diagnosis and the help you need. After 66 days of being in the hospital, I hope you resting comfortably at home and are feeling a little bit better. Hang in there!

Thanks

thanks people for your thoughts and support. i have found only one good thing about crohnes, it is that it makes us better people. i don't know if its the pain of the disease or the constant smell of poo..:rof:, but i know it changes you emotionally, for the better. you gain a steely resolve to get better no matter what the disease throws at you.

i met some amazing people in my 66 days in the gastro-intestinal wards, both young and old. they all had the same resolve, and its infectious. i know that my crohnes may return, but i'm ready for it as i know its credentials now!:biggrin: