18 and Diagnosed with Crohn's

I'm 18, and just got diagnosed. I just started my first semester of college and its so stressful with finding out about this disease as well. All the changes are absolutely miserable and I miss classes because I feel so sick all the time. I am on so many medicines and my immune system is weakening. I just don't know how to get up and go to class anymore.

I have been having diarrhea for about 2 years, with pains that would come and go. I was tired all the time and just wanted to sleep. Anything I would eat would cause me so much pain.

I have been having severe abdominal pain, to the point where it makes me very nausea and about to puke.
Any ideas why?


I am on:

Pentasa- 3,500mg capsules 2 times a day
Entocort- 3mg, 3 times a day
Iron- 324 mg, 1 a day
Folic Acid- 1 mg, 1 a day
Hyoscyamine- 0.125 MG, below tongues for pain, 3 times daily, if needed

I am also hypothyroid and have been since I was born.

I just wanted to say hello, and welcome to the forum. I wish I could help you. Do you have a regular Gi doctor you could see. I have been told by my doctor that those episodes of nausea and vomiting can be due to obstruction or partial obstruction. It sounds like you need to have some testing done to determine what is going on now.

I know it is hard to start college while feeling so crappy. Try to take care of yourself.
-Lisa

Welcome to the forum Unfortunately it can be along time before you get any better and a lot of it can be down to trial and error until you find something that will work for you.

I suggest you check out your diet to see if anything is causing you pain. Personally I cannot tolerate caffine, some fruit and veg, corn nor wholemeal products. In the diet section theres a whole list of what people can and cannot tolerate (different for everyone of us)

A good way of finding out what can cause problems is to keep a diary of what you ate/drank, how you felt that day and how many times you went to the toilet (there are phone apps like GI monitor that may help).

Stress can be a factor in flaring. Try and keep the tress to a minimum (avoid when can, or learn to deal with stress better)

You may find some herbs may help reduce the pain and bloating (ginger, tumeric, peppermint tea) and I use tiger balm (made from menthal) which helps cool the area and eases the pain. Remember not to take any NSAIDs (ibuprofen etc) as this can irritate the gut even more.

You may see some words underlined in posts. Clicking these will take you to our own Wiki page which will give you more info on that subject.

Apart from that, I know how you feel as I was like that too (had to take a couple of years out of my degree as I was too ill), its a bugger but all you can do is look after yourself as best as possible and make sure you are informed enough that you are informed as much as possible and know all the options for treatment etc for when you go see your doctor.

Good Luck

Hey Rissa, I know what youre going through with college and crohns. I just graduated but had to deal with crohns all 4 years. And it sucked. Just wait till youre 21 in college with crohns, hah.

When's the last time you saw youre GI? Maybe its time to change up some meds since youre not doing well. I've been on so many diff medications because of them not working.

Anyways I hope you feel better and can go through college normally. And p.s. my friend lives in Indiana PA, nice place.

Hi Rissa, I'm in Pittsburgh, pretty close to IUP! Anyway I definitely think you need to be seeing your GI and trying some different medications since it sounds like your Crohn's is not under control with Pentasa and Entocort. It's important to get your Crohn's under control for success in school, at least that's what I've found. There's plenty of other options ahead of you, Imuran, 6-MP, Methotrexate, Humira, Remicade... It's trial and error until you find what works. I hope you start feeling a little better and that your GI will give you more options!