Hi everyone, my name is James.
I am a 16 year old from New Zealand, not a very big country and not many people that I know or have heard of have Crohn's disease. So I was searching the net and stumbled across this forum.
Not to sure if anyone is interested but I'll give it a shot.
I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease almost two years ago when I was 15, but the symptoms were evident long before that. Ever since I was around 13 years old until not to long ago I had the pleasure of entertaining tiny mouth ulcers and inflamed puffy gums that made eating, drinking not the funnest thing to do. They had their ups and downs, but no one would have ever thought it would be Crohn's disease.
I was treated for gum disease and gingivitis and many other things including having my wisdom teeth removed for no reason as I was told there is a chance infection could be underneath. I was going from doctor to dentist to surgeon to specialist and back to the doctor again, no one had any answers or any clue what was going on. During those two years until my diagnosis I also had what was thought to be Hemorrhoids, which I was told was normal because various family members had suffered from them before. Closer to my diagnosis I also developed sore stomachs and constant diarrhea until the stage where I was on the bathroom all the time even if it was just liquid being excreted. All I wanted to do was lay down on the couch and sleep all day.
Finally one day when I was around 14, an oral surgeon I was seeing for over a year at the time said there was another specialist that was starting to work at his practice and I can't remember exactly what she was specialized in but she spent almost an hour with me and my mum (or mom if you're American), going through all symptoms I had other then the mouth and collating all the information I could give her. There were even things I didn't realize had happened like I dropped from 96kg's down to 89. I told her about the Hemorrhoids and everything I felt, when at the end of the appointment she said, "how do you feel about getting a colonoscopy" at first I was against the idea but my parents convinced me into getting it done. Well long story short I had severe ulceration and was almost 100% guaranteed Crohn's disease, and was referred to another specialist which I have been with ever since and I am pretty sure I'm in remission to this day, just like everyone else I have the odd sore stomach and tired day but I am not letting that effect me one little bit.
I'm 6 ft and 4 inches, way around 220 pounds and row for Auckland rowing club in New Zealand, I play rugby and go to the gym.
I know I am not that old but the best advice I can give to anyone is to not let it effect you as much as you can, don't let it stop you from doing the things you love, eat what you want when you want as long as you do regular exercise. I have never said no to a single food (just don't drink or smoke) just because I have Crohn's or let it stop me from doing anything my friends do. As soon as my rowing season finishes I am going to start getting more serious at the gym and try and get that 6 pack everyone wishes they had
.
You can sit and think about how you are going to live the rest of your life or you can make a difference and continue to do the things you love because at the end of the day you make your own decisions, not any specialist or any doctor or person who tells you that you can't do that or you wont be fit enough or energetic enough anymore. You yourself the person seeking answers and cures, the best cure you have at the moment is good health and looking after your body. Remember you are not alone, I have gained inspiration from many sufferers that have made complete transformations just like Bobby Parker, sorry couldn't paste a link to his story and diet.
If you have got this far, thank you for reading about me and feel free to leave comments. (p.s sorry if there are any mistakes or typos)
I am a 16 year old from New Zealand, not a very big country and not many people that I know or have heard of have Crohn's disease. So I was searching the net and stumbled across this forum.
Not to sure if anyone is interested but I'll give it a shot.
I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease almost two years ago when I was 15, but the symptoms were evident long before that. Ever since I was around 13 years old until not to long ago I had the pleasure of entertaining tiny mouth ulcers and inflamed puffy gums that made eating, drinking not the funnest thing to do. They had their ups and downs, but no one would have ever thought it would be Crohn's disease.
I was treated for gum disease and gingivitis and many other things including having my wisdom teeth removed for no reason as I was told there is a chance infection could be underneath. I was going from doctor to dentist to surgeon to specialist and back to the doctor again, no one had any answers or any clue what was going on. During those two years until my diagnosis I also had what was thought to be Hemorrhoids, which I was told was normal because various family members had suffered from them before. Closer to my diagnosis I also developed sore stomachs and constant diarrhea until the stage where I was on the bathroom all the time even if it was just liquid being excreted. All I wanted to do was lay down on the couch and sleep all day.
Finally one day when I was around 14, an oral surgeon I was seeing for over a year at the time said there was another specialist that was starting to work at his practice and I can't remember exactly what she was specialized in but she spent almost an hour with me and my mum (or mom if you're American), going through all symptoms I had other then the mouth and collating all the information I could give her. There were even things I didn't realize had happened like I dropped from 96kg's down to 89. I told her about the Hemorrhoids and everything I felt, when at the end of the appointment she said, "how do you feel about getting a colonoscopy" at first I was against the idea but my parents convinced me into getting it done. Well long story short I had severe ulceration and was almost 100% guaranteed Crohn's disease, and was referred to another specialist which I have been with ever since and I am pretty sure I'm in remission to this day, just like everyone else I have the odd sore stomach and tired day but I am not letting that effect me one little bit.
I'm 6 ft and 4 inches, way around 220 pounds and row for Auckland rowing club in New Zealand, I play rugby and go to the gym.
I know I am not that old but the best advice I can give to anyone is to not let it effect you as much as you can, don't let it stop you from doing the things you love, eat what you want when you want as long as you do regular exercise. I have never said no to a single food (just don't drink or smoke) just because I have Crohn's or let it stop me from doing anything my friends do. As soon as my rowing season finishes I am going to start getting more serious at the gym and try and get that 6 pack everyone wishes they had
.You can sit and think about how you are going to live the rest of your life or you can make a difference and continue to do the things you love because at the end of the day you make your own decisions, not any specialist or any doctor or person who tells you that you can't do that or you wont be fit enough or energetic enough anymore. You yourself the person seeking answers and cures, the best cure you have at the moment is good health and looking after your body. Remember you are not alone, I have gained inspiration from many sufferers that have made complete transformations just like Bobby Parker, sorry couldn't paste a link to his story and diet.
If you have got this far, thank you for reading about me and feel free to leave comments. (p.s sorry if there are any mistakes or typos)
