18 year old Crohns Story and looking for some people to discus things with.

My names Braydon, and this is my crohns story. I am 18 years old, currently living in Toronto and attending my first year of college. It all started a little over 2 years ago, I had my first major flare up, intense pain in the lower right of my abdomen, not knowing the cause or even knowing what the word crohns meant I went to the emergency at the hospital. I was admitted that night and spent two full days on a Prednisone drip through IV and a clear liquid only diet. After those two days my symptoms disappeared, everything dissapeared. Being a 16 year old boy at the time with no prior health problems I was quite nervous to get whatever happened to me checked out, I assumed it was a one time thing, so I never got a colonoscopy done at the time which is what doctors wanted (stupid of me I know). So for 2 relaxing problem free years after that nothing was investigated and I was fine. Until this September. Everything went down hill, I had another flare up, which I ATTEMPTED to deal with on my own for 3 months until December when I said enough is enough and I couldn't take the pain anymore. I got a colonoscopy done in late December and was diagnosed with severe crohns, which was very discouraging to hear, and was immediately put on Pentesa. I took Pentesa for about a month with no relief from this flare up that's now lasted 4-5 months. I then saw a gastrelogiost who told me Pentesa and I quote "was like candy to me". He then put me on Prednisone in mid January and I have been taking it for about 2 weeks now. At first I had some relief from the pain, still suffer from severe cramps, and the sounds my intestines make is unbelievable. 3 days ago the pain came back, worse then ever. I couldn't take the pain anymore so today I went to the hospital emergency again, waited numerous hours to be told almost nothing other then they will fax an urgent appointment to be issued with my gastrelogiost to discus the next step which I'm assuming is stronger medication That's when I decided to join this forum when I got home. I'm just scared to be honest, being an 18 year old active guy, in college, in a demanding physical course like police foundations, I don't know what to expect or do next. It feels like nothing helps me and my flare up is worse then ever and im just tired of waking up every morning for the past 5 months and feeling little to no relief and being prescribed medicine that continuously doesn't work. Sorry for the long post, this is my first one, I just really wanted to share with everyone my story and if anyone has any input or any tips on dealing with the disease please feel free to reply! I would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!

Welcome to the forum

Paging Tesscorm. I believe her son is similar age to you and at university in Canada.

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about you DX but glad you found us. There is a forum for teens and young adults you may want to visit. I have a daughter your age that is also in college. Learn everything you can about the disease and the medications available. Knowledge is power. Do not get scare about everything you read in here, usually the persons who are doing well do not post. Have a close relation with your GI. If the meds they give you do not improve your symptoms, go back to your GI. Sometimes it takes a while to find the ONE for you but once you get in remission things will look better. Request a Vit-D and Vit B test, if you are deficient on those you may feel tired. Feel free to ask any questions. I do hope you feel better soon. Sending support.

Hi araceli that means a lot to hear, I'll be sure to keep researching and educating myself. I try to not let things I read scare me but its hard sometimes haha. Appreciate the support, it means a lot

Braydon,

I want to give you a slightly different perspective to consider for yourself. I commend you for seeking help after only a couple of rough episodes. Many of us here passed our symptoms off as food poisoning or the flu, only to get to a point where it couldn't be given any more shade from truth. By going in at 18 and saying, "I've had it, I need some help," you have bought yourself precious time to attempt treatments and get yourself right. Some of us other scared "newbies" started seeing symptoms at 16 but waited till our mid-thirties to acknowledge needing help and finding the real problem. Take comfort in the fact that you searched for answers relatively early after noticing symptoms. To your asking what you can do to find some relief, my advice would be to start getting your stress level under control now, even by doing things that some consider "silly" like breathing exercises and meditation. Some of us have found that even on really tough days, it makes a positive difference.

Hey Bob, thanks for the supports, it's really nice to hear some encouraging words in this tough time. I'll be sure to try and keep my stress low by doing the simple things, at this point I am willing to try anything that helps. Much love

Hey and welcome to the forum (and Crohns)

Sorry to hear about your story! I'm sure a lot of people with Crohns had similar situations like yours (including me). At first I was unable to get it under control, went through many months of going on and off a liquid diet. Was eventually put on Remicade and it's been a life changer. Also had good success with Shakeology! I'd suggest really cracking down on what you eat. Make a list everyday of what you consume and how it affects you.

Best of luck! There is light at the end of the tunnel

what dose of prednisone are you on for this severe episode?

if your condition is worsening tonight and tomorrow morning and you still have no news from the GI department, dont be shy to call of even go there directly and ask to speak with the nurse or best, your doctor.

Hey DJBHeat, thanks for the support, it's means a lot, I will really start to monitor my diet.

Hi Lady Organic, I started off at 45mg a day for a week, and tapering down by 5mg a day each week, im in my third week so I am now taking 35mg a day. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow with my GI, nervous to see what the next step is.

:goodluck:Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.

Araceli, thank you so much, I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

thats good to ear. if possible, try to meet with other staff such as nurse and secretary of the dept., get their direct phone numbers, its good to know these people who work with your doc because they can really be of great help whenever you are in trouble. I never hesitate to call them when I have a problem and they are always very helpful. wishing you well and good treatment plan for speedy relief.

Thank you Lady, I'll be sure to get their numbers today, in case I am ever in trouble and need them, thank you for the support means a lot

19 here and diagnosed a few months ago so I feel your pain.

I skimmed your story. Has anyone talked to you about Remicade? It's baffling to me that there is no mention of it.

You have severe crohns and have been to the hospital multiple times. IMHO you seriously need to consider Remicade.

A top down approach (stronger medicines first) is becoming increasingly popular for treatment because it may reduce your chance of requiring surgery. Even people with mild crohns are now considering Remicade so since you're severe it's a no brainer (again, just my opinion).

Also, are you open to "herbal" options? Marijuana can really help (both with symptoms and actual treatment), and if you can't access it you may also consider kratom (though it seems to only treat symptoms). These options can give you temporary relief while you wait for other medications to kick in.

I know that personally I would have gone insane without kratom. I was without medicine that worked for months (and unable to acquire marijuana) and it gave me the energy I needed to walk/stand (sad I know), boosted my mood, reduced pain, and reduced BM's from 15-20 to 5-6 a day.

Also, if you want to know I'm currently on asacol (no idea if it helps), marijuana, and remicade. Remicade is key. I went through hell for about 6 months but now I feel pretty good. I know that once things get figured out you'll feel the same. Right now you must endure. Suffer courageously.

Good luck today at your apptmt.

My son was also diagnosed at 16, he's now 20 and doing well. He is also on remicade - while he didn't have many outward symptoms, testing showed inflammation and remicade seems to have lessened (eliminated?) the inflammation.

Something else to consider to help push you into remission is enteral nutrition (EN) - liquid diet. My son did this for six weeks, in place of steroids (but can be used together with steroids or any other med) and it was very successful for him. Certainly not an easy treatment (all food is replaced with a nutritional formula) but no side effects, has healing properties, allows for bowel rest and provides you with necessary nutrition. While it's usually used for 6-8 weeks to induce remission, you may also want to consider using these shakes as meal replacements when you are not well (to ensure you continue getting nutrition). Although my son has been on remicade for two years, he continues drinking one to two Boost shakes every day. He is also away at school and has found the shakes to be a healthier and more convenient breakfast/snack. If remicade is recommended to you, I have also read a study showing that combining supplemental EN with remicade showed considerable improvement in remicade's success rate over a number of years.

Let us know how your apptmt goes. :ghug:

Dontmesswithmrwest, hi there, first of thank you for the reply! It means a lot. No one has really mentioned remicade, I have heard about it, and done quite a bit of research on it. I had somewhat of an emergency appointment with my GI today after my visit to the hospital this weekend, I did bring up remicade in the talk we had, he would really like me to finish my nine weeks of prednisone and see where we are at after all that and take the next step then, whether that be recovering in remission or trying a stronger drug (most likely remicade)

Hi Tesscom its really nice to hear from you, and its comforting having someone like yourself who is the mother of a person with a very similar case to mine to talk to. My mom suggested with go see a nutritionist/dietitian about a diet that will ultimately benefit me overall as I have lost a little wait with this inflammation and my crohns. I would really like to try these boost shakes as snacks/meals because I find the food at school too not be the healthiest to say the least, haha. As of now I am not sure if the prednisone is working, its still early, my GI at the appointment today said that a couple days of pain is not completely normal it also isn't uncommon, he doesn't want to jump to any rash decisions, he would "Rather" see a steady decrease in the situation instead of just some bumps in the road, as of now he still has me on my 9 weeks of prednisone, tapering down by 1 pill each week. I have an appointment at the end of those 9 weeks for an MRI to see how "bad" my inflammation spot looks. We'll see what happens, but I definitely will keep you all posted, thank you so much, for everything, I am so grateful I found this forum.

sounds like a plan! It is true seeing a nutrionnist is always a good idea. Normally you would be able to get a referral by your doctor and see one for free, spécialized in IBD, at your hospital. You can ask the nurse and even if you are not in appointment with the doctor, he can normally still fill a demand. let us know how you are doing.

Many of the maintenance meds take some time to build up to therapeautic levels and are often started with pred or EN so that the pred or EN can kickstart remission while the maintenance meds build up. Once pred or EN are finished, the maintenance meds take over. If your doctor prefers to wait and see how things stand after you finish pred, just do stay on top of your symptoms.

It's unlikely, but not unheard of, that you can stay in remission after you stop taking pred without a maintenance med. Especially as your GI identified you as having severe crohns. Changes in diet can help but mainly in symptom control (ie liquid diet to provide bowel rest, avoiding high fibre during flares, etc.) rather that controlling the factors that trigger flares. I do encourage you to see a nutritionist because diet is absolutely an important factor but be careful going without meds. There are some members who have had success with various diets only - SCD, Paleo, juicing, etc. but, if you try this route, be sure to stay on top of symptoms and testing.

Your GI will likely discuss immunosuppressants (imuran, azathioprine, 6MP) or biologics (remicade, humira, cimzia - although I don't believe cimzia is approved in Canada for crohns yet). (There are also 5-ASA drugs, ie pentasa, but these are usually not strong enough to work.) If your GI takes a bottom up approach, he may suggest starting with an immunosuppressant and only move to a biologic if the immunosuppressant doesn't work. Other GI's prefer to take a top down approach and start with the biologic and stop inflammation in its tracks. (Some use both an immunosuppressant and biologic at the same time.) There isn't a 'right' answer as to which route is best... there are various factors to be taken into account - your disease (severity, location, etc.), GI preference, your tolerance of side effects and risk from the med, convenience and insurance coverage.

My son has never used pred so I don't have experience with how long it should take to work... maybe others with pred experience can help you with that... but, I do remember reading that some people have to slow down the taper if symptoms start to return. If you don't see improvement soon, I would stay in touch with your GI and let him know and maybe push for earlier follow-up with testing and a maintenance med.

Are you having regular bloodwork done (not sure if that's normally done while on pred??)? When my son was in the early stages, ie first couple of years when we were still changing treatments, I requested copies of every test result. Paranoid? Maybe! :lol: But, it allowed me to see when things were improving and when they weren't (and then I could harass the GI's office! :ack Not suggesting you annoy your GI every week but just to stay on top of what's going on with your body and learn to track what works for you, ie some people show inflammation in CRP and ESR numbers (blood tests to track inflammation in your body) but some people find their CRP or ESR do not reflect inflammation.

I've probably left you with more questions, rather than answers! Ask lots of questions here as well... there are some very knowledgeable members here! And do look through the various subforums - treatments, diet, symptoms, etc. - lots more info there!

Let me know if you have any questons...

Hey Braydon. Like someone else mentioned before it's very important to find things to decrease your stress levels while they find something that works, gym always does the trick for me. They always try the prednisone first but don't wait if it's not getting better. Most likely you'll end up on remicade or humira but only after your non rasponsive to other drugs so be patient.

Also make sure you always take copies of your blood work and educate your self with the tests they give you. My hemoglobin once got down to 39 before. Nothing would have been done if I didn't complain of being tired for months and months they should have cought that. Docs are human like the rest of us and they overlook things sometimes so you be in charge of your body.

Hillier96 said:

My names Braydon, and this is my crohns story. I am 18 years old, currently living in Toronto and attending my first year of college. It all started a little over 2 years ago, I had my first major flare up, intense pain in the lower right of my abdomen, not knowing the cause or even knowing what the word crohns meant I went to the emergency at the hospital. I was admitted that night and spent two full days on a Prednisone drip through IV and a clear liquid only diet. After those two days my symptoms disappeared, everything dissapeared. Being a 16 year old boy at the time with no prior health problems I was quite nervous to get whatever happened to me checked out, I assumed it was a one time thing, so I never got a colonoscopy done at the time which is what doctors wanted (stupid of me I know). So for 2 relaxing problem free years after that nothing was investigated and I was fine. Until this September. Everything went down hill, I had another flare up, which I ATTEMPTED to deal with on my own for 3 months until December when I said enough is enough and I couldn't take the pain anymore. I got a colonoscopy done in late December and was diagnosed with severe crohns, which was very discouraging to hear, and was immediately put on Pentesa. I took Pentesa for about a month with no relief from this flare up that's now lasted 4-5 months. I then saw a gastrelogiost who told me Pentesa and I quote "was like candy to me". He then put me on Prednisone in mid January and I have been taking it for about 2 weeks now. At first I had some relief from the pain, still suffer from severe cramps, and the sounds my intestines make is unbelievable. 3 days ago the pain came back, worse then ever. I couldn't take the pain anymore so today I went to the hospital emergency again, waited numerous hours to be told almost nothing other then they will fax an urgent appointment to be issued with my gastrelogiost to discus the next step which I'm assuming is stronger medication That's when I decided to join this forum when I got home. I'm just scared to be honest, being an 18 year old active guy, in college, in a demanding physical course like police foundations, I don't know what to expect or do next. It feels like nothing helps me and my flare up is worse then ever and im just tired of waking up every morning for the past 5 months and feeling little to no relief and being prescribed medicine that continuously doesn't work. Sorry for the long post, this is my first one, I just really wanted to share with everyone my story and if anyone has any input or any tips on dealing with the disease please feel free to reply! I would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!

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Hi Braydon, I am sorry to hear that. I am also 18 - female though. I have had crohns since I was 12, I really feel your pain. It sounds like you haven't been through too many medications yet so you've still got tons of room to heal, don't get down. I personally have my medical marijuana license and it has helped me to stay away from narcotics. I don't know if you are open to this - given what you are studying. Look into it, its the best, and safest way so far for crown's patients to manage pain in my opinion. Too many dismiss it.

Good medications to try would be - biologics (remicade, humira, even off label stellera, or vedolizumab), azathioprine gave me a year of good health, and methotrexate.
Good luck

I got diagnosed in college in 2008. It can be very difficult and stressful between your disease and classes. My first G.I. Put me on steroids along with pentasa and anabiotic's. I hated the steroids and hope to never go on them again. It took me a while and a lot of pain to realize that a basic GI doctor is going to treat you the basic way, by the book. All of our diseases and triggers are different therefore we need to be treated that way. I recommend you find a doctor who specializes in Crohn's disease. I was able to find a team of doctors at Mount Sinai medical in New York City. They were able to get me stay very comfortable for many years and I am working to get there again. (The birth of my daughter cause my Crohns to get increasing worse) On top of having a doctor who understands your disease you need understand your body. Find your major triggers and cut them from your diet. (I'm unable to eat any kind of fruits or vegetables including anything with high acidly or spices) I have a very severe highly aggressive form of Crohns, I received bowel resection surgery in 2009 and my Crohns returned with in 2 months. (All over eating a strawberry). Understand your diet, keeping healthy and finding the right doctor give you your best chance at remission. Also alcohol can be a big trigger. I was on Humira 40mg bi-weekly since 2009 and I have had small flare up here and there (all food related) But recently I have been increased to weekly with the addition of 6mp and I am beginning to feel like my self again. There's a lot more I can say but I don't want to be, long winded. I'm always open to talk to others answering question and asking some of my own. I wish you the best of luck and hope you are able to reach remission.

Thank you all for your posts, I've really been busy with school lately and haven't been on the forum in awhile. I am still currently tapering down on Prednisone but still experiencing the pain and suffering from my crohns, the pain and worsening differs each day, oddly the pain has moved from the lower right side of my abdomen (where it has been for the last 5 months) to an upper right part of my abdomen. It seems like nothing is really getting better but I obviously have to finish the rest of my medication timeline, which is 5 weeks. I just don't know what to do in the mean time, I can't start any new medication because it will have a bad interaction with the steroids I'm currently taking, I guess ill just have to live with the pain and symptoms for another month until I finish and can try something new ... Thank you all for the support and comfort, it means the world to me.

Welcome. I am sorry you are having such trouble.

Sorry you have to go through this at your age. My son was diagnosed at age 12 and he is now 16. I was diagnosed at 17 and my sister was diagnosed at 14, and we are 42 and 44 now so I have seen a lot of this disease. When my son was fist was diagnosed they did the same as you steroids, pentasa, and it was the same method they used for us over 20 years ago. It wasn't working for my son, and knowing it never worked for my sister and I, at age 14 we decided to use remicade for him . It has been 2 years and my son is in complete remission, he had a huge growth spurt being in remission and is now 6' 2" 200 pounds. Remicade sounded scary, but seeing the alternative that my sister and I went through, it was a great decision. My sister has had a dozen surgeries and has had multiple problems over the years . I had surgery 10 years ago that removed part of my colon and small intestines, they were able to remove all of my disease and i was doing great with minor issues for about 10 years. Unfortunately it is back for me pretty severe, and like my son I am going to start remicade treatments. I am encouraged that they have these types of medications now, that were not available when this all started for my sister and I. I hope they get you on something that works for you , best of luck!

Hey there, I'm sorry you're having a horrible time during your flare...
My advice to you would be to seek a 2nd opinion, ask for another colonoscopy, a CT scan, or a Pill Cam test... You need to be properly tested for this awful flare and the doctor needs to redo your medications.
I'm currently on Lialda for my chronic crohn's and I was just diagnosed last week, but have been on Lialda since 02/04. It has changed my life- I was going to the bathroom 15+ times a day now down to 6 and I don't have any cramps, no bloating, and my fever has not came back.
Question- have you only been diagnosed with Crohns in your colon or both colon & intestines? I'm having a pill cam test in April to find out if I have it in my intestines. My doctor explained that people who have Crohn's in their intestines most of the time have a malabsorption problem to key nutrients, vitamins, or might be lactose intolerant... You NEED to be tested if you have not been already, I wish you the best & know you're not alone!

Hi Braydon,
I'm new here too, and thought I'd send you a message. First off, good for you for reaching out for support. I have had crohns since I was 9. I was diagnosed in 1990. Let me tell you, things have changed!! Similar to you, I'm on prednisone. It is the ONLY drug that works for me. that's frustrating tho, because it is a band aid solution. My doc is trying me on imuran (azathiprine) and I've been on it before, but now I'm on a much higher dose. Have you considered remicade, or Humira? Remi didn't help me, but is a miracle drug for a friend of mine. I understand how you feel. I went to school and took primary care paramedic but my body could not handle the shift work. Don't let that discourage you tho!! My advice if you'd like to hear, is get your stress level under control. Sleep lots and get your health in check if you want to be successful. Find a med that works for you. You can have all the dreams you want, but if your crohns is acting up, it will be so much more difficult. And then it turns out to be a waste of time and money. I know from experience. :'( I'm a little bitter. But I look now and see how I could have made it easier for myself. Feel free to rant to me anytime! Any questions about what your going through? Crohns can be really tricky. When I was diagnosed I had the classic pain and diarrhea, but for the last 3 years, I've had no pain, only to find out recently, that I'm in a severe flare up. No symptoms. What the heck, eh? Anyways nice to meet a fellow Canadian here. Take care Brayden, and stay positive!!

Tesscorm said:

Many of the maintenance meds take some time to build up to therapeautic levels and are often started with pred or EN so that the pred or EN can kickstart remission while the maintenance meds build up. Once pred or EN are finished, the maintenance meds take over. If your doctor prefers to wait and see how things stand after you finish pred, just do stay on top of your symptoms.

It's unlikely, but not unheard of, that you can stay in remission after you stop taking pred without a maintenance med. Especially as your GI identified you as having severe crohns.

Your GI will likely discuss immunosuppressants (imuran, azathioprine, 6MP) or biologics (remicade, humira, cimzia - although I don't believe cimzia is approved in Canada for crohns yet). (There are also 5-ASA drugs, ie pentasa, but these are usually not strong enough to work.) If your GI takes a bottom up approach, he may suggest starting with an immunosuppressant and only move to a biologic if the immunosuppressant doesn't work. Other GI's prefer to take a top down approach and start with the biologic and stop inflammation in its tracks. (Some use both an immunosuppressant and biologic at the same time.) There isn't a 'right' answer as to which route is best... there are various factors to be taken into account - your disease (severity, location, etc.), GI preference, your tolerance of side effects and risk from the med, convenience and insurance coverage.

My son has never used pred so I don't have experience with how long it should take to work...

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Good advice. I found that the pred. typically worked quickly when I was having a flare. When I was first diagmosed, I had a hard time getting the dosage right, I'd taper a bit and things would start to flare up again and the dosage would have to be increased. It ended up taking bowel rest, with IV steroids and an elemental diet to get things under control. Once things were under control 5-ASA and Imuran were maintenance meds for about 23 years

Hi Braydon,

Do consider getting a second opinion. I certainly may be wrong but I think if it's taking this long to see improvement with pred, your doctor needs to do more testing??

And, you need to make plans for a maintenance med - as I said, many (but not all) take time to reach therapeutic levels. Even if you reach remission with pred now, if you finish pred and only then start a maintenance med, you may flare again. Having said this, I believe it is usually the immunosuppressants that take a longer time to reach therapeutic levels; biologics may work more quickly.

In the meantime, perhaps consider the exclusive enteral nutrition I mentioned above. I can certainly be done with pred as the formulas used in EEN are not medicinal, only nutritional. There are theories on why EEN works but no one knows for certain exactly how/why it works, however, it is not a 'whacky' treatment. It is often used as the first treatment option around the world (although I've read of lots of adults using it, it may be used more commonly with kids??). It has comparable success rates at inducing remission as steroids. But, also as I mentioned, it's not easy - it means going without real food for approx. 6 weeks. But, you do receive sufficient calories and nutrition! My son did it from May to July - through playing hockey on two teams, being ref in a soccer league, finishing school year, etc. and he had more than enough energy and even gained weight during that period. Our GI put us in contact with CCAC (a medical agency in Toronto) and they covered the cost of the formula, etc.

Something else that can be done is to use cipro or flagyl. These are both antibiotics and, I'm pretty sure??, I've read of them being used together with steroids. My son did a week of flagyl through IV (he was inpatient at the time) and this seemed to help him quite a bit as well.

Just a question, does your GI specialize in IBD/crohns? It may be possible that, while being a GI, his/her experience with IBD specifically is a bit limited?? My son's GI is part of an IBD clinic in one of Toronto's large hospitals - I'm not sure how the medical system works but it may be possible that being part of a hospital IBD clinic allows his GI to have easier/more direct access to a greater number of resources (ie testing, etc.).

I know it's tough dealing with this stuff when you've got classes, assignments, studies, etc. (I hear it from my son! :ack but you shouldn't have to deal with these symptoms endlessly.

Let us know how you're getting on!

Wow it's been too long since I've posted on this forum and updated my health condition. I had surgery on April 4th to remove 5 centimeters of my small intestine, and a baseball size scar tissue mass that had built up over time on the flare up spot. I am finally in remission and have been living a healthy, flare up free lifestyle ever since! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

Hillier96 said:

Wow it's been too long since I've posted on this forum and updated my health condition. I had surgery on April 4th to remove 5 centimeters of my small intestine, and a baseball size scar tissue mass that had built up over time on the flare up spot. I am finally in remission and have been living a healthy, flare up free lifestyle ever since! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

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Same here. Docs pretty certain it's UC and I got my colon removed and waiting for reversal. Aside from the stoma (sucks) things would be great if I wasn't coming off prednisone and opiates. Glad things are going well with you right now too.

dontmesswithmrwest said:

Same here. Docs pretty certain it's UC and I got my colon removed and waiting for reversal. Aside from the stoma (sucks) things would be great if I wasn't coming off prednisone and opiates. Glad things are going well with you right now too.

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I'm glad to hear you're doing good to, glad your surgery went well, coming off prednisone is tough I feel your pain, hope everything goes smooth for you. Always here to talk

Happy for you.

I have a question regarding post surgery. Have you been on maintenance meds, remicade? Humira? Just curious as i had my surgery and my crohns was back in action within 2 months. I guess it figured i missed uts company. By the way are u on a special diet, avoiding foods? How is your energy levels? Vitamin supplements? You able to sleep well? And lastly how are your trips to the restroom? Sorry, im just having a hard time and curious how others are doing.

I had a resection in April of 2010. It seemed like it took a while for things to calm down for me. I found out later my body couldn't tolerate gluten,skin from chicken, potatoes and such. My doctor started me back up on Remicade in November. I had taken myself off because of the expense. Since then, I have had to move to Stelara because of a rare diseases. effect from the Remicade. I have always had an issue with my energy level. Can I ask what issues you are dealing with right now?