Newly Diagnosed

crohn's itself wont shorten your lifespan it just makes life harder. you have to know where the bathrooms are and you will have to modify your diet. the only thing is there is no specific diet to follow. keeping a food diary helps becasue you can see what foods work for you. sometimes i can tolerate some foods though and other times i cant so its a crapshoot. but you will get thru it. i know how scared you are. when i was first dx'ed i was really scared too. sometimes you may need to go to the hospital and you will probably be on meds to contril it for the rest of your life. but it will become routine for you. i promise. the only thing i can offer is that it does get better. the meds can bring you into remission, i had a good long time where i had no symptoms at all when i was on remicade. at some point they may need to change your meds, sometimes that heppens too. but try not to be too scared. you will be able to live your life, do what you want to do, just maybe a little differently.

it will be ok. coming to healingwell is a great decision. there are so many knowledgable people here and so many that offer you the support you need. and you can tlak about anything! poop, pain, or even just to rant , get advice or just to talk. welcome, im sorry you have to be here but welcome to the community.

i hope this helps

bunny

When I was first diagnosed I both loved and hated this site.  Loved it because there was so much info available.  Hated it because it scared me.  Some of the folks on here have had much bigger problems with their Crohn's than I have so far.  I started to worry about all the possibilities.  I think it's important to know what to look out for, but try not to stress about it.  Is my life different now?  Yes.  But my quality of life is good.  I'm tired, but I can work.  I can get out and run errands and take care of things around the house.  I don't always want to, but let's be honest- who does?  Sometimes things are a little harder and I need some help.  But generally speaking, my meds let me live a pretty normal life.  Hopefully, you'll get there, too.

As for alcohol- check your medicines carefully.  Flagyl is an antibiotic commonly prescribed for us.  You DO NOT want to have any alcohol while on it.  You'll be miserably, violently ill.

Well I have lived with this disease for over 30 years. No is doesn't shorten your life span, as stated above it does make for some bumpy times though. As long as you aren't on super strong meds as mentioned above its okay to have a drink now and again (when you are healthy, not in a flare). I had two flares in the first 4 years after I was diagnosed, then enjoyed a 20 year remission. During that 20 years I barely even thought about Crohns. I have 3 grown daughters, 5 grandchildren and been at the same job for almost 18 years. You can have a very normal life with Crohns. I have since had 2 resections to remove diseased bowel, and do have to watch my diet very closely now, but life is still good most of the time. Each Crohnnie is individual with their disease. Some can eat things, that others can't. Some meds work well for some, others it doesn't. Just be sure to keep a food diary and stay away from foods that bother you and you should always be on some kind of maintenance med, that will help to keep the flares away. Hopefully you are on your way to remission now.

God Bless,
Gail *Nanners*

Hi Kerry and Welcome to HW a place to learn and be apart of a great forum where people are very caring and supportive, we need all the CDer's we can get. We are always here for each other so if you have any questions ask and people do there best to help. lol gail

Kerry,

Welcome to Healing Well -- I'm new too.

You and I have some similarities. I am 44, and was diagnosed last month ago after an 8 day hospitalization (same as you). I'm still not really all back together yet and am a little stunned to find myself in this forum! But, everyone has been very nice and welcoming and there is a lot of information here. I find myself trying not to read certain threads that go into details I'm not ready for.

I'm much better than I was a month ago, but have been frustrated that I still can't eat normally (low fiber, no dairy, no caffeine etc), am feeling very worn down (have iron and vitamin deficiencies) and am alternating between D and C. I've developed some internal "hemmies" as they call them here and back pain. Also, having side effects from the Prednisone. So, not a perfect recovery, but I'm back working full time and doing okay. I like my GI doctor (he's known for being a "low" medicator which fits my style for right now) and have my next appt in two weeks.

I hope you continue to feel better and better and finish with your "flare" soon,

Jeanne

Thank you both for your replies, perhaps I was just feeling sorry for myself more than I should be! I am beginning to feel a bit more positive each day though. I am not in any pain anymore so I think that means my flare is almost over. I see my consultant next week, and then I will have the barium enema and the colonoscopy!! I am sure that will be fun.
Hope to chat more on here as you are all so great.
Kerry

Greshna,
Sorry to hear about your new CD diagnosis, we all feel your pain, trust me. When I was first diagnosed in March 2006 I hadn't even heard of CD before so I did a lot of research online, which scared the c**p out of me, all the talk about fistulas, fissures, resections, etc, it was overwhelming! I thought, "is this what my future holds?" It still scares me very much, although I have been luckier than a lot of people with CD, no fistulas, fissures or surgeries (yet!). One thing I can tell you is that it definately changes your quality of life, many of the things I enjoyed before I got CD I can't do now, such as enjoying a nice meal, or any activity which takes me out of range of a bathroom. I don't bother eating out anymore knowing that I will either end up throwing it up or having terrible abdominal pains. I eat small meals throughout the day, that helps me a lot, no heavy meals anymore, my stomach won't allow for that.
My advice to you is research, read as much as you can, it is scary at first but the more knowledge you have of the disease the more in control you will feel. Take care newbie!

Marci
DX with CD March 2006

I was just diagnosed in april and let me tell ya....to me it seems there is so much info to soak up.  My brain feels like mush...and am very tired (have 3 young kids to take care of--5, 2, and 1 yrs old)  I can see why you are scared.  I am still scared.  I know that i will be ok but i guess it's the fear of thinking ahead..."well what will happen next...."   Just rely on the support of family and friends...it helps.   hang in there...i'll be hangin in with ya

God Bless,

christina