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New and Confused

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teamgo

Guest
Hi everyone. I've been reading the posts on this board, and everyone seems so great.

I am 28 years old, and I have had stomach problems for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, they insisted it was a food allergy until all the tests disproved that theory. Finally, at age 16, after losing a lot of weight and passing blood and puss, and after having a colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with UC and put on Asacol. I also changed my diet drastically by eliminating meat, caffine and a lot of fatty/spicy foods that I cannot tolerate. The Asacol and diet change improved my health drastically.

At age 19, after feeling better but still suffering from diharrea. a new doctor did a sigmoidoscopy and did not see any ulcers, so he changed my diagnosis from UC to IBS, and took me off of Asacol.

Once I was diagnosed with IBS, I stopped going to the doctor's b/c I didn't see the point, since there aren't medicines to really help with that. During the past 9 years, I have had times where I feel ok, and then times where I get really sick -- fever, vomiting, nausea, watery yellow diharrea w/puss, etc. Usually after a few weeks of going on a liquid diet of Ensure and vegetable stock, those symptoms will subside.

After losing a lot of weight during my last "flare up," which lasted for almost 2 months, my husband finally convinced me to see a GI again. My blood work is normal (and I am also feeling a bit better), but he suspects Crohn's based on my symptoms, as well as recurrance of mouth sores and aches in my joints. I have a colonoscopy scheduled in a few weeks.

I know everyone's symptoms are different, but when I compare myself to my brother who has had Crohn's since he was 13, I feel bad for complaining about my stomach problems. He has had several surgeries, hospitalizations, and was living off of a feeding tube for years. He is sick every day; I am not.

If you have gotten this far and suffer from Chron's, do you have periods where you feel ok? Or is the pain there everyday? Do you always have diarrhea, or are the stools formed sometimes?

If I have Crohn's, I think I am fortunate to have a minor case (as well as a high tolerance for pain). Thanks for reading!
 
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teamgo

Guest
Thanks for the welcome Pen. I dread going through all the testing I went through when I was younger. It seems like there is a lot of guessing involved when it comes to getting a diagnosis. My GI said even if the colonoscopy doesn't show Chron's, which he acknowledged is very possible, wants to treat me with some Chron's meds (he didn't specify) to see if those help.
 
Hiya Teamgo,
All of us have different symptoms. Some of us can have quite long periods of remission. Even if you are diagnosed with Crohn's, don't compare yourself with your brother. You are still going through your hell.
But in saying that, I really feel for him. What he has gone through is horrendous.
:voodoo:
 
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Natasha

Guest
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum, living with Crohn's disease for +- 9 yrs now. I'm not always sick, in remission sometimes for quite a while at a time, but when I do have my flare ups, I feel like death. I also dont always have loose stools they are actually formed most of the time.
I'm starting a new treatment today though because I've gotten ill again and nothing seems to be working this time round.
 
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