21 Y.O Australian

Hi All,

I am a 21 Y.O male from Victoria, Australia and have been diagnosed with Crohn's for the past 5 years.

When I was first showing symptoms, I had lost a large amount of weight, constantly vomiting and was lethargic all of the time. I was lucky (I guess) that my Grandfather also had Crohn's and as a result, it was something that my parents said to the specialist doctors. They quickly diagnosed me with the disease.

I am a pretty positive person, and as a result I never let the disease define me or what I am able to do. When I was diagnosed, I was in High School (year 10) and whilst it was difficult some days, I just used to make jokes about my situation, especially with my close friends, whom all were really supportive of me anyway.
I still play competitive sport (Australian Rules Football) for my local team, am able to have nights out with my friends, work full time and really, live a normal life.

Unfortunately in Australia, it was not possible for a person under the age of 18 to be prescribed Humira, and so for 2 years I had tried countless medications, some needing me to take time off school and sit in a hospital for hours to receive the medication via IV. I have also had surgery to remove part of my bowel. None of this worked, and once I turned 18, my doctor put me on Humira straight away and my life has been great ever since!

Of course there are the frequent trips to the toilet (as I am sure that you are all aware) and I have to think about what I consume, but these have all just become a part of my regular life style now.

What I hope to be able to to in the future is to be able to pass on my story to other people who have been diagnosed at a young age and let them know that everything will be fine, hopefully I can start doing this via this forum.

Hi and welcome.
You experience will be a great asset.

Hi Spud and welcome to the forum.

I don’t have Crohn’s but both of my kids do. My daughter is 22 and was diagnosed at 14. My son is 21 and was diagnosed at 17. They each have had a bowel resection but have been fortunate in that they have remained in remission since their respective surgeries.

Do you use anything to lessen the trips the toilet?

It is good to hear that Humira is working well for you and long may that continue! Good luck!

I hope you stay around Spud as no doubt your experiences will be invaluable to others. :thumleft:

Dusty. xxx

Hi Dusty,

Seems as though your children around my age, so I am sure that you would be able to relate to a lot of what I have gone through. I hope that they are not letting the disease get in the way of their lives to much!

As for anything to lessen the toilet trips, not really. I mean, I definitely plan my meals around activities, so if I plan to go for a run or have football training, I'll make sure I stop eating around 3hrs before the session. It's not ideal, as food is fuel, but it works for me.

I surely can Spud.

They are both at uni and both will finish their studies this year. Woohoo! :lol:

The legacy of surgery has them both carefully planning their days around eating. It sucks but they no choice, just as you don’t. My son plays soccer and he too holds off for a few hours before the game or training.

My daughter had a far more extensive surgery than my son as she was undiagnosed and so had emergency surgery. From Year 9-12 her eating patterns were far from ideal due to school and an after school job. Poor love would eat late and then be up half the night. It sucked. Anyway she moved away to Sydney for uni and found that she couldn’t continue the way she had so she tried psyllium husks. They aren’t a magic cure all for it but they do make a significant difference to the amount of times she has to go.

If you are interested have a look at this thread:

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=13856

Loads of experiences with trying it, just start out small if you do give a try. My son also uses psyllium.
You can also get a script from the doctor for Questran Lite. It is a powder and psyllium works the same way it does.

Dusty. xxx

Oops! I am assuming you have had a small bowel resection?

DustyKat said:

Oops! I am assuming you have had a small bowel resection?

Click to expand...

Yeah I had a small bowel re-section.

Ill look into the psyllium husks and see if they work for me. Thanks!