Hi, I'm Suzanna. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in May of 2007. I was 15 and a sophomore in high school. I experienced severe abdominal cramps several times a day for about 8 moths prior to the official diagnosis. By March, I was having diarrhea up to 10 times a day, including at night, and I lost almost 25 pounds. I woke up at night with cold sweats, had an itchy rash on my arms and legs, erythema nodosum on my legs, and pain in my major joints. I was nauseous and had to use the restroom after eating, and ended up not eating very much because it always hurt. I was sleeping all the time and I couldn't participate on my school's tennis team or take my AP tests.
I didn't tell my parents I was sick until it started getting really bad and I couldn't go up and down the stairs without crying because my joints hurt and I was too tired. My mother took me to the doctor and I had the usual blood and stool tests. I was anemic and vitamin-deficient, and had blood in my stool. My pediatrician referred me to Children's Hospital, and I had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy in May. I learned that I had ulcerations in my colon, ileum, and esophagus. They gave me prednisone pretty quickly, and after a few relapses over the summer, I started 11th grade relatively healthily. I currently take 75 mg of azothioprine. I'm still anemic and I haven't put on much of the weight I lost, even after 3-4 months of prednisone.
So that's basically it in a nutshell. My story is pretty similar to everyone else's but I thought I'd go ahead and share anyway just so I don't seem like a complete stranger.
This forum seems like an awesome place for support and general Crohn's conversation. I'd like to be an active member because I would love to have people to talk to who know what I'm going through!
I didn't tell my parents I was sick until it started getting really bad and I couldn't go up and down the stairs without crying because my joints hurt and I was too tired. My mother took me to the doctor and I had the usual blood and stool tests. I was anemic and vitamin-deficient, and had blood in my stool. My pediatrician referred me to Children's Hospital, and I had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy in May. I learned that I had ulcerations in my colon, ileum, and esophagus. They gave me prednisone pretty quickly, and after a few relapses over the summer, I started 11th grade relatively healthily. I currently take 75 mg of azothioprine. I'm still anemic and I haven't put on much of the weight I lost, even after 3-4 months of prednisone.
So that's basically it in a nutshell. My story is pretty similar to everyone else's but I thought I'd go ahead and share anyway just so I don't seem like a complete stranger.
This forum seems like an awesome place for support and general Crohn's conversation. I'd like to be an active member because I would love to have people to talk to who know what I'm going through!
