My Story

Hello everyone, my name is Dan. I'm 22 years old and was diagnosed with Crohns disease this past July. I was taking Chemistry as a summer course when I started realizing the pain involved in my routine bowl movements. I would always be leaving class to use the bathroom and finding it more and more difficult to hold down food. I was using the bathroom anywhere between 5 and 8 times a day and finding the pain unbearable at points. In March of 2009 I was 260 pounds. After speaking with my father about the pain we decided to get it checked out. Long story short I was diagnosed with Crohns disease almost immediately after my colonoscopy. At this point in time in July I was 230. As I write this now in 2010 I'm 200 pounds. I just seem to be consistently losing weight. Being new to the condition I have a few questions for everyone.

At this moment in time I don't feel quite right. Some day's are better than others while some tend to be a pain. This past week however I haven't really been eating much, and my stomach seems to always be in a knot. I feel pretty cruddy to say the least. What exactly is a flare up and when will I know I'm having one?

In mid-October of 2009 I was drinking during the Angels Yankees series and enjoying myself thoroughly. The next day however....I endured pain beyond anything I had ever experienced. It felt like my stomach was eating itself and I couldn't even stand up straight. I was walking crooked all day, favoring my stomach to subside the throbbing pain swelling up in my left side. I had no idea what was happening and ending up in the emergency room where I was given no real concrete answers. Any input at all? Probably the drinking?

My doctor told me that I could pretty much eat "whatever" I wanted and it was up to me to find out what exactly bothered me because everyone's condition is different. I'm sure this is true, but are their any foods that are notorious for bothering crohns disease patients?

Any information at all would be greatly appreciated.

This forum is a great thing, glad to be apart of it. It's nice to have a place to read about others dealing with the same problems. Thanks.

Welcome Dan Great to have you here!
My first question would be are you on any medication?
Shaz

Ya, probably should have included that. I take 3 800 mg tablets of Asacol daily.

:welcome: Dan!

Sorry you're going through such a "crappy" time (ha - very bad joke, I know).

This is a great place. Take a look around - you're sure to find plenty of answers to your questions.

I guess my first question would be: Are you a Yankees or Angels fan? :ylol:

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum. WE all know how crappy you are feeling and it is not nice. I am surprised your doctor says you can eat what you want... my last surgeon said you can start eating salads again...idiot. Crohnies usually can't eat veggies, and that was my second resection, I dont have much to help with digestion. Asacol is for mild to moderate cases, you make have to upgrade your meds. Alcohol is a no no, in moderation and only on a full stomach. There is a lot of sugar in beer, or alcohol, wreaks havoc on the gut.

From the symptoms you are having, I would go back to your doctor and or Gi and get a small bowel follow through, you could have narrowing and that is painful if you get even a partial blockage. Hope you feel better soon. Keep us posted. Lots of help here, take care.

:welcome: to the forum Dan!! Well....contrary to Jetta - my doc told me to eat no salad, which I did for 7 years - and once I tried to start eating it again - I found that it actually helped my gut. Point there is - it is very true what your doctor said - every Crohnie has to go through the pain in the butt thing of figuring out what helps them and what has the potential to hurt them. I say potential - because according to how active your disease is at any given point in time - what might not bother you one week may be a killer pain wise if your disease becomes active the next. I hope that isn't too discouraging - believe me - we have all been through this cycle of trying to figure things out for ourselves. Keeping a diary seems to help lots of people. You can also search the food section here and find lots of great information. I have found that I can not really tolerate beer (maybe the yeast effects me?) but I seem to be able to tolerate one or two hard liquor drinks IF I'm not flaring. It may be different for you - you just have to become your own little scientist going through the trials and figuring it out.

Did they tell you where your disease is? It sounds like maybe it is in your stomach??? Your reaction to foods can be different according to where you have your disease. Also - Asacol is a pretty weak drug IMO - if you still have disease activity after months of being on it - I agree that you may want to discuss moving up to something more powerful to help keep your disease under better control. Active disease in the end is what can cause scarring which causes narrowing in certain areas - which can lead to the need for surgery later. Keeping on top of the activity can help you avoid surgery.

Let us know if you have any further questions, and we are glad you have joined us!

:welcome: Dan.....It really is trial error for many people as far diet is concerned. Maybe you should Google 'Low residue diets' for a lot of suggestions.

Most of us agree that high fiber foods cause us the most problems/pain. Especially during flares...Things like raw veggies, nuts, popcorn....But, everyone is different. Also check out the Diet and nutrition threads. There are a lot of supportive and knowledgeable people here so ask as many questions as you have.

Hi Dan, I like yourself have only recently been diagnosed so I can't give you a lot of help but I just recently experience an awful flare up at work, I was in so much pain I couldn't walk and I was throwing up all night and have liquid bowel movements (new years eve as well, what fun).
I'm surprised your doctor told you you could eat anything though, have you seen a dietician? I find that a low residue diet does bring my symptoms down. I've lost about two stone in weight now as well but I'm hoping that when the time comes that I do go into remission I'll start putting the weight back on.

Hope you find the help you need and that things start to improve for you soon

need help

:depressed: :ybatty: new to all this and cant figure out how to post my story

Hi Pain in the Butt...If you go to the very top of this thread and click on "Your Story" it is in blue. That will take you to that forum. On the left hand corner, under the add it should say "New Thread". Click on that and you should be all set. Good luck.