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Not really new, but wanting to get more involved in Crohn's Forum

So, I've been on this forum for a little while now, but I don't know if I've ever really introduced myself or anything. I'd really like to get more involved in the forum, because you guys have really been helpful for me and it's nice to have somewhere to talk about my illness with people who understand what I'm going through.

I'm Kyle and I was diagnosed at age 19 with Crohn's in my lower ileum. I had been dealing with pains for about a year before that and wasn't really sure what they were, but was hoping to God that it wasn't Crohn's, which I had read was a pretty nasty illness. It wasn't until I had a horrible, probably alcohol-induced flare that I actually went to see a doctor, who diagnosed me with Crohn's after a colonoscopy.

Right now I'm a student at the University of Idaho, studying architecture. It has been tough keeping up with schoolwork while dealing with Crohn's, but I've done my best to make it work. Unfortunately, my grades have suffered because of the illness. In the past year, my Crohn's has been particularly burdensome, as I've dealt with multiple abscesses, a fistula and am currently struggling with a partial obstruction. While I have been able to stay in school, I had to drop to part-time this semester because of the partial obstruction, and am worried that I might not be able to finish the semester.

Being a University student with Crohn's has been challenging, but the school I go to has been very accommodating to my illness, allowing me extra time on assignments when needed, an unstressful testing environment, and they've even given me a 3000 dollar a year scholarship for having Crohn's.

Anyways, thank you guys for providing a place for me to vent and talk about my illness with people who understand exactly what I'm going through. I'd really like to get more involved and will try to give my support and feedback in the future.
 

Angrybird

Moderator
Location
Hertfordshire
Hello Kyle and thank you for coming to share your story :) From your list of meds it looks like the Remi is a new addition? Is the obstruction down to inflammation or scarring? Have things improved at all with the abscesses and fistula?

AB
xx
 
Yup, I just started remicade about a month and a half ago after my doctor determined that, while Pentasa and Mercaptopurine were helping quite a bit in controlling the disease, a significant amount of inflammation was still there. And then I developed the obstruction, justifying the remicade even more.

I'm actually just about to head off to the ER because the obstruction is still giving me troubles, now it's to the point where the pain gets worse each day and the pain medication I'm on doesn't do enough to help.

I just had a CT scan the other day to determine if the obstruction was because of inflammation or scarring, so I'm waiting til Monday when I see my doctor to see if he wants me to have surgery, but it's looking more and more likely each day.

The abscesses were drained and have stopped giving me troubles and the fistula healed up a while back, but those were problems I had about a year ago. Right now the only thing I'm dealing with is the lovely obstruction that won't go away.
 
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