Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum, and have been told today from gp that I might have crohns disease.

My symptoms are horrible, and I have had these almost a year now, although they have been getting worse since about christmas.  I have had diarreah constantly, really bad stomach cramps, pain when doing the toilet and passing wind, ulcers, piles, high temperature, feeling really tired and just not feeling myself at all.  I cant remember the last time I felt properly well.

After numerous blood tests, stool tests and doctors appointments with my gp, I finally saw another doctor today who has told me he thinks it is crohn's disease. The doctor I had seen previously had already referred me to the hospital for a colonoscopy, and now the one I have seen today is again writing to the department to tell them I need an appointment urgently, and to put me on the list for any cancellations.  I have complete faith in this doctor, as he helped my sister when she had skin cancer, when no other doctor took my mother's fears seriously.  He has also prescribed me Prednisolone to see if it helps any in the meantime.

So yes I dont know whether or not its definate, but reading up on the internet makes me think so.  Im only 22 years old, and really quite scared about all this.

My apologies for coming on here and blethering on. I just needed someone to talk to I guess


Kelly x

Hi Kelly, it is good that you have found this forum, it helps to let of steam with people who know what it is like and how it feels.  I understand you must be feeling a bit scared right now but at least once you have a proper diagnosis you know what you are dealing with.  I have been on Pred (tapering off) for a few months now and it certainly helped with the stomach probs, it does have side effects  but everyone is different (I had trouble sleeping) and to be honest to be free from the loo and bloating was wonderful.  Am in the process of changing drugs at the moment so my stomach is a bit unsettled but try to be positive.  You can ask anything on this forum, there is always someone who has been through the same thing and there is never any embarassment about 'toilet' talk !  Whilst waiting for your tests try a very low fibre diet, it is boring but helps. Good luck

Hey Kelly...thats my name too sorry couldnt help myself....
Dont be scared about it, i was 12 when i was diagnosed, im 18 now. I was given prednisalone and it was a huge help, the only downside is if your on a high dosage you tend to balloon up. Watching what you eat will be a huge help, theres certain foods i cant eat coz they trigger a bit of a flare up. Try and keep a food diary, if your not well one day, look back on what youve eaten and it may be that thats causing you to feel unwell, this is once your stabilised of course. As Linney said, theres no embarrassment here about 'toilet talk' and we all know what your going through so understand. I always feel embarrassed about talking about my illness, its not easy for people without the disease to understand, cause lets face it, some of the symptoms and treatments arent the nicest! Ive been on methotrexate for 2 years and have been fine since, apart from a couple of minor flare ups. If you have any questions, or would like to talk, just comment back, or if you want i could give you my email address...its up to you. And dont apologise for blethering on lol.Good luck!xx