I'm new to chat rooms (are they still called that?)

Hello,
My name is Kirk. I'm 41 years old and have been living with crohn's disease for 32 years. I was diagnosed at around 9 years of age. I had a very emotional life after that with this disease. I rarely went to school, and had a tutor come to my house to teach me. I missed out on a lot of my junior high and high school years. I stopped growing, but all my friends kept growing. I sort of checked out of life and now at my age, am finally coming to terms with why I suffer so much from depression as well as this disease. I've had an ostomy pouch since I was 21. It helped with my illness, but created a whole new set of emotional problems for me. I have a wonderful wife who loves me just for who I am and has been a great listener and counselor for me. I'm very happy in my life now, but have a lot of baggage because of this disease. I'm still sensitive when people make short jokes to me, and having this ostomy (which makes all sorts of irreverent noises at the most inconvenient times). I know I'm fortunate as so many in this world have had so much worse to deal with. I don't just want to whine about myself. I guess I'm hoping to find another person out there that has had similar issues with this disease. Most personal stories I've read of other people don't seem to touch too much on the emotional impact of this disease, especially as a child with it.
Thanks for letting me just say what I needed to say.

-Kirk

Welcome Kirk and thanks for sharing your story. Don't worry about anyone calling you short here, we're all the same hieght. I don't have any teeth due to the Crohns and no one makes any toothless jokes or calls me Gumby here. Someone will be along with a story and advice for you.

Hi Kirk,

The only thing we need to know is that your life is impacted by an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We're all here to help each other.

I've gotten great advice and support from folks half my age and from all walks of life.

hi Kirk - welcome to the family

sounds like Crohn's took your life on a whole new direction right from a very early age that must have been quite something to deal with, and i'm not surprised you have 'baggage'.

it's lovely to hear that you have such a fab wife - sometimes we only need a few special people in our lives to counteract all the negative stuff from other folk.

i also have a stoma, have had it for over 20 years now, and yeah it can make embarrassing noises sometimes! i've learned how to regulate my eating and non-eating to time in with where i'm going to be and who with, to a certain extent, so i really haven't had too much to deal with regarding noises in public.. the thing that bugs me about it is clothing - i love wearing jeans/combats/t-shirts, but this is a struggle because most women's jeans etc are now cut to the lowrise fashion.

how is your Crohn's now? did your stoma surgery put you completely in remission?

looking forward to seeing you around the forum - and if you need help with anything here, just let us know!

Hi Kirk
and welcome

glad you found us, we're very supportive and are here for you wheneva!
Having such a great support system with your wife is fab, and it's all that matters, not what you look like. Hope you find inner peace, the strength and confidence to enjoy a happy remission life.
see you around the forum Kirk
lotsa luv
Joan xx

:welcome: Kirk!

You have come to a place where all of us truly understand how you feel. I had symptoms at 15yrs old but didnt get bad until 31. It was hard with a young daughter but she is what kept me going. She is 22 and doing well so it was all worth it in the end. She is 5ft and hates the short jokes, but she is good at comebacks that go over their heads. I don't get why people do that?

It is great you have support because that support means more than anything. I dont have a stoma but I am sure that my still happen down the road and reading alot of the posts here I am not afraid if it comes to that. Enjoy today and everyday, sometimes it is very hard but avoiding stress and depression is a must. We used to have a actual Chat room but it has been deleted. Hope you feel like family here. Take care.

Hi Kirk and welcome!

There are several users here that were diagnosed at a young age. You will find them as you read the threads. Everyone here is very nice and willing to share so I am sure if you send a private message, any of them will be happy to share their experiences.

Short jokes? Do people really do that? How rude. Would it be equally rude to respond with "I"d rather be short than stupid?"

- Amy

hi kirk welcome aboard. we do have some younger memebrs of the forum, one young lad was 8 years old i beleive. i too have a stoma. but i dont make it the most important thing in my life, it tends to get ignored and is just treated like any other part of my body.

Hi Kirk, and welcome. I was diagnosed when I was 13, and believe me when I say I know a little bit of where you are coming from in regards to the emotional effect Crohn's can have. You are very lucky to have a great support system in your wife - they are crucial to surviving and even thriving with this disease.
I wish you the best of health.