Hi everyone :)

Hellow everyone. My name is Raquel, i'm 24 years old and this is my story:

Around 2001, when I was 16, I started suffering from constant diarrhea, abdominal and feeling weak. This sittuation when on and got worse and worse everyday for two years. I've been to alot of different doctors, hospitals, done medical exams and everyone said what I had was psycological, that I was probably depressed (and yes, I felt awfully strenghtless and with not willing to live). The abdominal pain and diarrheas got worse and in 2003, I was on hollidays in France, I had what I call the worse phase of my desiese, cause I didn't know what I had and I was (literally) dying with the pain. After of a week in this sittuation I went to the hospital and they diagnosed Crohn's and also a small (tiny) rupture of the intestine. They never cut me open, I came back to Portugal the day after (they medicated me that night) and I started a treatment with corticosteroids for 14 months, hence my actual weight. I had no information about the condition, what I should/could eat, which medication I should take and/or for how long. After all this time I'm still learning and I'm hoping I learn alot more from this forum, and that my experience may help someone in any way.

hiya Raquel, & welcome to the forum. if you have a long lurk through past threads on diet, you'll probably get a good idea of what suits most Crohns sufferers, and what doesn't. however, we're all different.. so bear that in mind.

generally speaking, unless you're flaring, a near-normal diet is achievable, but with some ground rules such as avoiding hard to digest foods, & those that cause a lot of gas etc..

when flaring/in pain most people turn to a different diet such as low residue, which basically means easily digested foods such as mashed potato, strained soups, or even a liquid meal replacement diet if you're really having a bad time with any solids whatsoever.

are you not under the care of any GI specialist right now? if not, it would be an idea to get a referral to one, from your GP - & then hopefully you'd have access to the right advice on diet/meds etc.

Hi There,

I was diagnosed in 1999. It took my Doctor over two months to diagnose because he spaced my scopes and x-rays out so far as he was busy. Meanwhile I was in severe pain. I found out it was in my ileum. He also prescribed Prednisone. Then we tapered down. I hope you did that. There are other meds out there to keep you in remission. Prednisone is first line of defense and I am on it right now dreadfully. I have the chipmunk cheeks and hate them but they will go away once taper to nothing and start remicade transfusions next month.

In between flares I am normal. I did go five years without Doctors and that was a mistake I am told. Secretly it was arelief as my only symptom was "D". I had no pain. Current Dr lectured me on the importance of keeping up on this disease.

He warned me if I let it go (I have a severe case) I can get blockages, fistulas and etc. Luckily I did not but I did get real sick in Nov. If you are like me you resist all the drugs needed to keep in remission.

I hope you find a nice Dr. and he can help you stay well. You will likely stay well if you have access to great medical care. If not CD can be unpredictable and uncontrollable. Some people have one flare and nothing more. Most of us have it come back when we least expect it. Good luck Another great website is www.ccfa.org and Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic are also good resources.

welcome Raquel:smile:

Howdy Raquel.

I've been diagnosed for 19 years, and I'm still learning!

More than happy to help out a fellow Crohny!

Hey Raquel, glad you have found us. There is a ton of good info here to pour over.
Good luck, hope you feel better, and ask away if you like.