Crohn’s Disease, My Story.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July of 2005 after several months of being sick and two hospital stays for bowel obstructions.  This is my story.

It was February of 2005 when my symptoms started with severe abdominal pain and nausea.  I felt like I had the stomach flu and when the rest of my family wasn’t getting sick I knew  something was not right. Most days I struggled to even get out of bed. When I went to my primary doctor she said it was probably a virus.  

Then in April I was admitted to the hospital for my first of many bowel obstructions.  I asked the doctors what could have caused this and their response was it happens sometimes because the intestine can get twisted around. So I left the hospital and continued to have abdominal pain and nausea.

It’s now July and I’m down 20lbs.  I returned to my primary care doctor’s office. This time she decide to run several test. The first was a small bowel follow through.  Let me tell you this it was not a fun test! The test was done on a Friday; the next day, my husband had to take me to the emergency room.  They said I had a small bowel obstruction but not bad enough to keep me. So they sent me home.

They were able to look at the results from the small bowel follow through and tell me they suspect Crohn’s disease.  This was the first time I had ever heard those words and knew nothing about Crohn’s disease.

I spent the whole weekend in severe pain, nausea and vomiting; I was unable to hold anything down.  Then Tuesday, just four days later I was scheduled for a CAT scan next. They were unable to do the CAT scan because I still had the fluid from the small bowel follow through test.

When we left the hospital my husband took me straight to my primary care doctor’s office.  We walked in five minutes before they closed and asked if I could talk to my primary care doctor.  The receptionist said she was getting ready to leave. My doctor heard me and came out from the back. She brought me back into a room and took one look at me she said we needed to admit me; to figure out what is going on.

I was so weak my middle daughter helped me into the hospital while my husband parked the car and a nurse was passing by and grabbed me a wheelchair.  After being admitted they spent the first 24 hours hydrating me. Then I had my first colonoscopy two days later.

After my colonoscopy the Gastroenterologist told me he was 75% sure I had Crohn’s disease.  He was just waiting for the blood work that had to be sent to a lab in California to come back.

So I left the hospital a day later with several prescriptions and a lot of questions.  I would be admitted three more times within the next six months for bowel obstructions even after following a very strict diet.

In January of 2006 I had a bowel resection where they removed my ileum portion of my small intestine as well as a foot of my colon.

After three months my symptoms returned. I wasn’t able to come off the steroids without my Crohn’s flaring up.  My doctor said it was time to try Remicade. So in March of 2007 I started my first treatment; it worked really well for me for nine and half years. I was able to function through minor flares which didn’t last as long.  

In September of 2016 I developed an allergy to Remicade they had to switch me to Humira instead.  Humira has been just as successful as my Remicade was.

More than 16 years now I have learned how to manage/live with Crohn’s disease as well as with medications, doctors and a mostly plant based diet; which my gastroenterologist highly recommended.

Everyone diagnosed with Crohn’s  disease has their own story to tell.  I would love to hear your stories.