Hi everyone ,I was diagnosed back in 2008 @ the age of 12 , the first signs where frequent toilet trips pretty much as soon as I had finished eating. Sometimes I would have to stop eating a meal to use the bathroom, my parents noticed this and after dozens of trips to my local GP for constant bloody diarrhea, vomiting,chronic fatigue and often fainting my mum drove me to the hospital where I was seen straight away by a specialist in crohns. He diagnosed me within 10 minutes of meeting me (I get that my GP wasn't a specialist but I mean come on, when is it ever "just a bug" if I'm being put on a drip everyday and passing out from lack of nutrition") the specialist was really concerned and let my parents know that it's very possible I could have / might die , my organs where shutting down and basically choosing not to absorb any nutrition at all. I had lost weight rapidly 30 KGS in just under 2months, I was diagnosed also with anorexia and anemia. The first medication I remember taking was prednisone (we all hate it/love it) it didn't do the trick. I was then put on a liquid diet (I had a naso gastric tube and was fed by a machine for 22hours a day) I was not aloud to ingest anything but clear liquids for 7months , the naso gastric tube really knocked my confidence and got me down a lot of the time, crohns is easy to hide physically but not when I had that thing, I was rearing to get back to school and my class was amazingly accepting of my illness and how different I looked. I don't recall anyone from my class saying anything cruel to me so I was safe while in lesson but around the school I felt exposed and everyone kept asking am I going to die and if I have cancer (at this point a lot of my hair had fallen out and I wore a bandanna), I would go into the office at lunch time so I could avoid the other kids.
After the 7 months was up and my last naso gastric tube was removed I started feeling a lot better, I was introduced to food at a very steady pace going from liquids to solids gradually. It felt amazing that I could eat again (my jaw ached all the time !!!hahah) just going out with mum and being able to get something to eat for lunch (even if it was baby-like food) was a feeling I can't describe! Some months down the line I flared and was on prednisone, pentasa, Humira and some others which I have long forgot (azathioprine or similar) they worked again for a few months but I flared again and was put on a whole concoction of drugs which were beginning to take over. I remember being on methotrexate injections and feeling sick and light headed everytime I even spoke about them because when I did the injections I often threw up from the side effects. I decided enough was enough! At the age of 16 not being able to get out and do what I wanted, living with this disease that none of my friends even know what it is ,that no one really understood, I stopped all my medications (except pentasa) and I now take double the amount of tablets with no nasty side effects because I take all natural tablets now. I feel 1000000 times better than I ever have , my hair is stronger my skin is improving my over all appearance is HEALTHY a word I have never used to describe myself in a long, long time! I am sorry this became so long but crohns will be with me forever and I can't make it into a shorter version because it has been a huge part of me and my life! .CROHNS DOESN'T CONTROL ME ANYMORE .
After the 7 months was up and my last naso gastric tube was removed I started feeling a lot better, I was introduced to food at a very steady pace going from liquids to solids gradually. It felt amazing that I could eat again (my jaw ached all the time !!!hahah) just going out with mum and being able to get something to eat for lunch (even if it was baby-like food) was a feeling I can't describe! Some months down the line I flared and was on prednisone, pentasa, Humira and some others which I have long forgot (azathioprine or similar) they worked again for a few months but I flared again and was put on a whole concoction of drugs which were beginning to take over. I remember being on methotrexate injections and feeling sick and light headed everytime I even spoke about them because when I did the injections I often threw up from the side effects. I decided enough was enough! At the age of 16 not being able to get out and do what I wanted, living with this disease that none of my friends even know what it is ,that no one really understood, I stopped all my medications (except pentasa) and I now take double the amount of tablets with no nasty side effects because I take all natural tablets now. I feel 1000000 times better than I ever have , my hair is stronger my skin is improving my over all appearance is HEALTHY a word I have never used to describe myself in a long, long time! I am sorry this became so long but crohns will be with me forever and I can't make it into a shorter version because it has been a huge part of me and my life! .CROHNS DOESN'T CONTROL ME ANYMORE .
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