Hi, my name is Tana and I am fourteen years old. I was recently diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I had been sick for three weeks with stomach pain and diarrhea, which was apparently bloody, but I swear, I could only see it as brown.
One morning, I was in so much pain. I had already missed school because they wouldn't let me in because I had diarrhea. So, that morning, I was moaning and groaning and it hurt so bad. The pain was tremendously painful.
We went to the ER and a PA there, who looked like a Barbie Doll, said I just had cramps. We tried to explain to her that this had been going on for three weeks, but she still said that it was only cramps. They sent us home with some anti-spazz medication called Hyoscyamine Sulfate. They also gave me a cup to poop in.
No matter how much I didn't want to poop in the cup, when I got home and had to go, my mother told me to poop in the stupid cup. Reluctantly, I did. What I had been saying was brown, was the color of Ketchup. I brought it to my mom and she was shocked. I really only saw it as brown, so she now thinks I'm colorblind and we argue over colors all the time now.
We went back to the ER, where we got a different doctor than that Barbie Doll PA. He said he thought that I had Crohn's Disease and they released us that night. The next morning we would be going to get an ultrasound done of my insides.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a B12 deficiency, so I had been taking Aleve as needed for that. It had gotten really bad with the headaches, so my Neurologist put me on a steroid pack, which I had taken before. My GI thought that was what was wrong with me. I had mixed steroids and aleve, so my stomach probably lacked mucus or something like that and it would get better. I had done that before and it hadn't affected me like that.
My sister, on the other hand, who is extremely smart and a biochemistry major, said that if my poop was the color of ketchup, then it had to be in the intestines because of certain chemicals in the stomach, the blood would be black if it came from the stomach.
I went in and got my ultrasound done. I could barely walk. I had no strength. Since we were in the same building as my GI, we went up to talk to him about all the problems and tell him that my poop was blood, but he was in meetings that day, so they said he would call us when he had time. He had said that before and never called us.
My mom had to start crying and everything before they would even let us talk to a nurse about it. They finally admitted me into the hospital and planned on giving me emergency scopes.
The prep for the scopes was the GoLytely. We weren't allowed to mix it with Gatorade or anything because it messed with something in the electrolytes or something like that. I couldn't drink the stuff so they had to put a tube up my nose and down to my stomach. They were going to give me four liters. My body couldn't keep it down and I puked up at least half a liter.
I learned that night that the GoLytely title lies, that junk does not make you go lightly. All the electricity in my hospital room started to go crazy. My IV monitor thing was beeping and they couldn't get it to stop, I was running (as much as I could) to the bathroom every five seconds, my bed was making this annoying clapping sound, my IV was spitting up my blood, and the call button on the remote wouldn't turn off. There were two nurses and my mom in there trying to fix all the stuff. Once I finished the poop cajole, they forgot to cap my nose tube, so when I went to the bathroom, stomach bile leaked all over the bathroom floor. Apparently, it smelled awful, but I was to dead to notice that. I was more worried that that was such an ugly color. That was a terrible night.
I went to the OR for the scopes where they gave me Anesthesia to put me to sleep. The good thing, they made it smell like grapes. The bad thing, I didn't go to sleep right away. I was awake long enough for the grape smell to go away. It began to smell like those colored smoke balls that you light and throw on the fourth of July and it makes colored smoke. It was terrible. I finally fell asleep.
They found puss in my colon and it was official. I had Crohn's Disease. They put me in a study for the Crohn's disease. They give me twenty-five dollars a year for my blood. I feel like a celebrity. I was finally able to go to school the last week before summer vacation to take finals and tests and see all my buddies.
They have me on a bunch of different medicine. I'm on Amitriptyline, Vitamin D, Iron, Lansoprazole, B12, Hyoscyamine, Prednisone and Azathiopnine. My miracle medicine
I'm still not entirely better, but I'm getting there and hope to be as good as new and shiny again!
One morning, I was in so much pain. I had already missed school because they wouldn't let me in because I had diarrhea. So, that morning, I was moaning and groaning and it hurt so bad. The pain was tremendously painful.
We went to the ER and a PA there, who looked like a Barbie Doll, said I just had cramps. We tried to explain to her that this had been going on for three weeks, but she still said that it was only cramps. They sent us home with some anti-spazz medication called Hyoscyamine Sulfate. They also gave me a cup to poop in.
No matter how much I didn't want to poop in the cup, when I got home and had to go, my mother told me to poop in the stupid cup. Reluctantly, I did. What I had been saying was brown, was the color of Ketchup. I brought it to my mom and she was shocked. I really only saw it as brown, so she now thinks I'm colorblind and we argue over colors all the time now.
We went back to the ER, where we got a different doctor than that Barbie Doll PA. He said he thought that I had Crohn's Disease and they released us that night. The next morning we would be going to get an ultrasound done of my insides.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a B12 deficiency, so I had been taking Aleve as needed for that. It had gotten really bad with the headaches, so my Neurologist put me on a steroid pack, which I had taken before. My GI thought that was what was wrong with me. I had mixed steroids and aleve, so my stomach probably lacked mucus or something like that and it would get better. I had done that before and it hadn't affected me like that.
My sister, on the other hand, who is extremely smart and a biochemistry major, said that if my poop was the color of ketchup, then it had to be in the intestines because of certain chemicals in the stomach, the blood would be black if it came from the stomach.
I went in and got my ultrasound done. I could barely walk. I had no strength. Since we were in the same building as my GI, we went up to talk to him about all the problems and tell him that my poop was blood, but he was in meetings that day, so they said he would call us when he had time. He had said that before and never called us.
My mom had to start crying and everything before they would even let us talk to a nurse about it. They finally admitted me into the hospital and planned on giving me emergency scopes.
The prep for the scopes was the GoLytely. We weren't allowed to mix it with Gatorade or anything because it messed with something in the electrolytes or something like that. I couldn't drink the stuff so they had to put a tube up my nose and down to my stomach. They were going to give me four liters. My body couldn't keep it down and I puked up at least half a liter.
I learned that night that the GoLytely title lies, that junk does not make you go lightly. All the electricity in my hospital room started to go crazy. My IV monitor thing was beeping and they couldn't get it to stop, I was running (as much as I could) to the bathroom every five seconds, my bed was making this annoying clapping sound, my IV was spitting up my blood, and the call button on the remote wouldn't turn off. There were two nurses and my mom in there trying to fix all the stuff. Once I finished the poop cajole, they forgot to cap my nose tube, so when I went to the bathroom, stomach bile leaked all over the bathroom floor. Apparently, it smelled awful, but I was to dead to notice that. I was more worried that that was such an ugly color. That was a terrible night.
I went to the OR for the scopes where they gave me Anesthesia to put me to sleep. The good thing, they made it smell like grapes. The bad thing, I didn't go to sleep right away. I was awake long enough for the grape smell to go away. It began to smell like those colored smoke balls that you light and throw on the fourth of July and it makes colored smoke. It was terrible. I finally fell asleep.
They found puss in my colon and it was official. I had Crohn's Disease. They put me in a study for the Crohn's disease. They give me twenty-five dollars a year for my blood. I feel like a celebrity. I was finally able to go to school the last week before summer vacation to take finals and tests and see all my buddies.
They have me on a bunch of different medicine. I'm on Amitriptyline, Vitamin D, Iron, Lansoprazole, B12, Hyoscyamine, Prednisone and Azathiopnine. My miracle medicine
I'm still not entirely better, but I'm getting there and hope to be as good as new and shiny again!
