Hi everyone - glad to have found this forum.
I'm 44 years old and have had Crohns for 9 years now - first diagnosed after a peri-anal abccess recurred in 2002. Everything has been fairly stable and compared to others I felt lucky not to have too many problems, and I have been managing perfectly well on just Azathioprine for years now. However in March this year my scar tissue re-opened, and along with major acid indigestion and now a constant burning in my stomach I have been told that my fistula is extensive and I am likely to need surgery, possibly an ileostomy. Tests have been going on for months - endoscopy, colonoscopy and MRIs - and I am now awaiting an ultrasound next week to see if the pain in my stomach is gallstones. Oh - and the MRI showed up an Ovarian cyst so that's another added complication to deal with!
In the meantime the burning, gnawing pain continues and the scar tissue continues to ooze and bleed. I am tired and stressed, am sore and have no energy, so while I feel I should be trying to put a brave face on it and carry on with a normal life as best I can, my body won't let me and I'm starting to get on my own nerves never mind other people's! I'm lucky that I am self employed and work from home, but that saying, my work is also starting to suffer as I have no enthusiasm for it!
I know that everything will be sorted eventually - or at least I hope it will - but the not knowing when, along with the large gaps in between appointments, is really starting to get me down. I'm wondering whether a visit to A&E will speed things up but feel guilty about potentially wasting their time.
I know that there are others on here far worse off than me but I'm really glad that I have found somewhere to let off a bit of steam to people who understand - so thanks for listening!!!
I'm 44 years old and have had Crohns for 9 years now - first diagnosed after a peri-anal abccess recurred in 2002. Everything has been fairly stable and compared to others I felt lucky not to have too many problems, and I have been managing perfectly well on just Azathioprine for years now. However in March this year my scar tissue re-opened, and along with major acid indigestion and now a constant burning in my stomach I have been told that my fistula is extensive and I am likely to need surgery, possibly an ileostomy. Tests have been going on for months - endoscopy, colonoscopy and MRIs - and I am now awaiting an ultrasound next week to see if the pain in my stomach is gallstones. Oh - and the MRI showed up an Ovarian cyst so that's another added complication to deal with!
In the meantime the burning, gnawing pain continues and the scar tissue continues to ooze and bleed. I am tired and stressed, am sore and have no energy, so while I feel I should be trying to put a brave face on it and carry on with a normal life as best I can, my body won't let me and I'm starting to get on my own nerves never mind other people's! I'm lucky that I am self employed and work from home, but that saying, my work is also starting to suffer as I have no enthusiasm for it!
I know that everything will be sorted eventually - or at least I hope it will - but the not knowing when, along with the large gaps in between appointments, is really starting to get me down. I'm wondering whether a visit to A&E will speed things up but feel guilty about potentially wasting their time.
I know that there are others on here far worse off than me but I'm really glad that I have found somewhere to let off a bit of steam to people who understand - so thanks for listening!!!