How do I have Crohns?

like some things in life, youth is a play now, pay later situation....

John!

You don't want to make your symptoms worse! PLEASE take care of yourself! I know it's hard, but think of the possible outcome if you don't take care of yourself. There is nothing wrong with having a "bag," but if you don't take care of yourself you'll prob blame yourself if you do end up with one. If, in the future, you DO end up with a "bag" at least you'll know that you did everything you could to try and stay healthy. You don't want to look back and say, "If only I didn't do this" or "I wish I would have done that."

Please take care of yourself! I know it sucks, but your body will thank you for it in the future! Trust me, there are times I want to drink with my buddies too, but I think of the outcome and to me it just isn't worth it. Seriously.

I was diagnosed with Crohns when I was 18 years old. I had two pretty big flares then went on to enjoy a 20 year remission without medications. I ate what I wanted and went on with my life. Got married, had kids etc etc. Would I do that again? NO freaking way!! I ended my remission by having a emergency resection and have a foot of intestine removed and another one 3 years later. If I would have taken the Pentasa as my doc wanted and took better care of myself this might not have happened. Even though you go on with your life, Crohns is ALWAYS in there ticking away and doing its damage. I figure we are going to hear from you again sometime soon and you are going to be very ill. I didn't have my first resection until I had had Crohns for almost 27 years. You have already had two and you are in the early years with this disease. I think if you don't start taking care of yourself now you are going to pay a hefty price later on. And a bag could very well be in your future. JMHO

I got Crohn's at 16. I kept growing, albeit much more slowly... but by then I was already 6'. I've added a few inches since then.

Nothing is without its consequences. For a long time after I got Crohn's, I kept drinking Mtn. Dew. After a couple years of non-remission, I decided to quit drinking caffeine. It made a huge difference, though it obviously didn't give me the remission I was after. For me, I was kinda lucky in that I was never the type to drink or smoke or chew, so Crohn's didn't detract at all from my social life in those regards. That being said, alcohol is probably not something you should consume- it has a tendency to screw around with everything in your body, and to interact in strange ways with drugs you might be taking for your Crohn's. Same goes for tobacco. I've heard it can help with the pain, but the whole inhaling smoke thing never seemed like a good idea to me. People caught in fires die of smoke inhalation long before they actually catch fire.

Honestly, if your friends give you crap about not wanting to smoke/drink/whatever, just tell them to shove it (Or get more creative, I won't post what I'd say here, as I don't think its appropriate). If they persist, it might be time for new friends. My friends have never pressured me to do any of that because they know that it would be much worse for my health than it would for a normal person. It also helps that I'm as stubborn as a mule. We don't let that stop us from having fun, though. After all, someone has to be the designated driver. Might as well be me. Plus, if they get really hammered, its nice to be sober so you can remember it and make fun of them later for the stupid stuff they did.

Post Edited By Moderator (FamilyGuy) : 7/21/2008 6:10:24 PM (GMT-6)

I understand what you're experiencing. I'm pretty young too, 24. Knew I had a problem when I was 16, but didn't feel bad after the first bout. Went 5 years feeling great, doing whatever I wanted to do, with no meds. 3 years ago I hit hell, had 4 bowel resections in 6 weeks. I've had blood clots, collapsed lungs, fistulas, horrible drug reactions, and a million other things since then. And it was all because I didn't know how to take care of myself as a teenager and new adult. And I'm paying for it now, dearly. I can't work, my husband had to quit college, and I practically live at the doctor's office. And I don't even really have it that bad compared to a lot of people here. It's so easy to forget how debilitating the disease can be when you feel good. But those kinds of living habits can catch up with you so quickly when your body decides to turn on you. I hope you continue feeling good, but you can still feel good while living cautiously.

It may not seem like it's affecting you now, but those actions will inevitably in the worst possible way.
One of my boyfriend's coworkers was diagnosed with Crohn's yet ate anything he wanted. He felt fine but DID end up with a colostomy bag. He was told that could have been avoided if he had taken better care of himself.
I'm coming on 20(diagnosed officially with Crohn's this past May), and I don't want a bag either. That's why I'm trying my best to stay away from those foods even if I do love them(cheesecake, pizza, takeout Chinese, smirnoff black, etc.). They taste wonderful, but they're not worth the outcome.
I hope you can work something out in the future where you can be satiated as far as food and sex are concerned without harming yourself.
It's difficult but imagine the life you would be giving away in the name of some cigarettes and greasy slices of pizza. Hardly worth it. I should hope so anyway.

To all the college-age folks--I know how hard it is to deal with everything going on in your lives right now. I had the best college experience that included all the things you are talking about. But I beleive it is becuase of my smoking (and a few other things) that my CD presented when it did.

I'm not going to tell you to eat super healthy or to stop drinking (although I will tell you to stop smoking, it's proven you are much more likely to need surgery if you are a smoker). I still don't eat exactly like I should and I still have a few drinks (mainly on the weekends). But I do try to make the healthier choice when it comes to meals. I average 8 hours of sleep at night. I take my meds. Etc.

AND I am one of the lucky ones who has remained in the mild to moderate range. And yes, I do think part of staying in that range is due to the fact that I was diagnosed pretty soon after onset of symptoms, found a good doctor, and take care of myself. But I think part of my being able to get away with eating/drinking some of that stuff is becasue I am mild/moderate. There are many people on this forum who are not as lucky as me and no matter how well they take care of themselves, their disease is worse.

So, take heart my young friends, you can still enjoy your college/young adult lives while taking better care of yourselves than you are right now.