Hello,
I am 43 and I was diagnosed with Crohns in 97, but have had symptoms since age 12.
Been on Pentasa (still am), Prednisone, Asacol, 6MP, Humira (still injecting), and a host of other meds. My Crohns was in remission for about a year (98-99) and then spiraled out of control, leaving me with severe pain, diarrhea and unable to eat a whole lot. I have been in and out of the hospital and have made countless trips to the ER for severe flares. Was told I had strictures in my terminal ileum and that I would eventually need to have a resection. Well after another trip to the ER in April, it was determined that I had a severe blockage and would absolutely NEED surgery!
I went to one of the best Digestive Disease Centers in So. Ca. and finally had my Laparoscopic Ileocoletomy on June 14th! They ended up removing 18" of intestine with a portion of colon......my intestine looked like ground up hamburger! IT WAS SO BAD!! Even have color pics! LOL
After 2 days in the hospital, I was having severe "D" and kept asking the Drs. if this was normal and if it would clear up. Was told that it was and that it would eventually clear up. Well almost 8 weeks later........STILL have SEVERE "D"!!! Found out that they took out the Pyloric Sphincter aka The Gatekeeper and now I continually dump!! Was put on Imodium and Metamucil, but that really did nothing but lead to constipation and a Crohns attack! Didn't realize I could still get the severe pain on the right side with the affected part of the intestine gone! SURPRISE! LOL
So now after a visit to my GI, he feels that my Liver is trying to do to much absorbing, since that part of my small intestine is gone.......and now I am Bile Dumping! How attractive is that?! So anyways he prescribed Questran, which comes in 9mg. powder packs and you mix it with juice and drink it on down. It is actually used for people with high cholesterol! Is there nothing out there specifically for Crohns?? Gotta wonder!
Now I play the wait and see game and hopefully my running to the bathroom 15 times a day will slow down considerably. Haven't been able to go a whole lot of places because of it!
Not able to eat a whole lot because nothing sticks and I have lost about 20 lbs. Love the weight loss.......not how I've had to go about losing it.
I can now add 1 more surgery to my growing list.......let's see: 3 Rectal surgeries, 1 gallbladder, 4 spinal fusion surgeries, 1 c-section and a resection!
Think I'm done with hospitals! LOL
I am 43 and I was diagnosed with Crohns in 97, but have had symptoms since age 12.
Been on Pentasa (still am), Prednisone, Asacol, 6MP, Humira (still injecting), and a host of other meds. My Crohns was in remission for about a year (98-99) and then spiraled out of control, leaving me with severe pain, diarrhea and unable to eat a whole lot. I have been in and out of the hospital and have made countless trips to the ER for severe flares. Was told I had strictures in my terminal ileum and that I would eventually need to have a resection. Well after another trip to the ER in April, it was determined that I had a severe blockage and would absolutely NEED surgery!
I went to one of the best Digestive Disease Centers in So. Ca. and finally had my Laparoscopic Ileocoletomy on June 14th! They ended up removing 18" of intestine with a portion of colon......my intestine looked like ground up hamburger! IT WAS SO BAD!! Even have color pics! LOL
After 2 days in the hospital, I was having severe "D" and kept asking the Drs. if this was normal and if it would clear up. Was told that it was and that it would eventually clear up. Well almost 8 weeks later........STILL have SEVERE "D"!!! Found out that they took out the Pyloric Sphincter aka The Gatekeeper and now I continually dump!! Was put on Imodium and Metamucil, but that really did nothing but lead to constipation and a Crohns attack! Didn't realize I could still get the severe pain on the right side with the affected part of the intestine gone! SURPRISE! LOL
So now after a visit to my GI, he feels that my Liver is trying to do to much absorbing, since that part of my small intestine is gone.......and now I am Bile Dumping! How attractive is that?! So anyways he prescribed Questran, which comes in 9mg. powder packs and you mix it with juice and drink it on down. It is actually used for people with high cholesterol! Is there nothing out there specifically for Crohns?? Gotta wonder!
Now I play the wait and see game and hopefully my running to the bathroom 15 times a day will slow down considerably. Haven't been able to go a whole lot of places because of it!
Not able to eat a whole lot because nothing sticks and I have lost about 20 lbs. Love the weight loss.......not how I've had to go about losing it.
I can now add 1 more surgery to my growing list.......let's see: 3 Rectal surgeries, 1 gallbladder, 4 spinal fusion surgeries, 1 c-section and a resection!
Think I'm done with hospitals! LOL
