New diagnoses

My son, only 11 years old, who has complained of tummy troubles for more than 2 years now, was diagnosed with Crohn's yesterday. He had the endoscopy and colonoscopy at 8am, yesterday morning.

I am heartbroken.  He is a sweet, shy, loving, amazing athlete.

I let other people (doctors, his father, school teachers) tell me his symptoms were psychosomatic for 2 years.  He has some learning issues, most likely from a congenital condition that was corrected just after he was born.  Reading is so hard for him and he hates going to school.  We thought his symptoms were caused by anxiety.

He is smaller than normal. Tiny, skinny, long limbed and bony.  He loves to play soccer and baseball and basketball.  He loves his older brother and 3 younger brother and sisters.  I am a little lost and not sure what to do, now, for him.  I basically ignored his pain and suffering and he has not been growing properly.

How do I ever make up for that?  What do I do for him, now?

 

Welcome NuNusmom - I am so sorry to hear about your son.  I know this is a very stressful time for your family, but try not to be too hard on yourself.  It sounds like you have been trying to get to the bottom of your son's tummy troubles for some time now and for many people here, it has taken years and years for a diagnosis.  As a mother with Crohn's and a large family, I know how hard it is for me to deal with stomach aches and not think, "Oh no, it's a stomache ache, it must be Crohn's!"  Of course, it's in the back of my mind and my husband is always telling me to relax.  How were you to know that it was more serious when doctors etc. were all telling you it was anxiety?

You are blessed to have a diagnosis, and now you can educate yourself and work with the doctors to get your son back to better health.  This is a great site for information and support.  BTW, I have a friend whose son was also diagnosed around 11.  After finding a treatment that worked, which did take some time, he is now a strong, healthy, energetic 15 year-old who has grown by leaps and bounds.  I pray your son will start feeling better soon.

Hi,
I just want to tell you that I also have a son (21 years old) who was diagnosed with Crohn's this month. I took it pretty hard, I felt that it was my fault since I game him his genetic, I must had given him the wrong combination even if nobody in my family has this darn thing. I had done so much reasearch trying to figure out what was wrong, since I could not sleep anyway. After his diagnosis, I started reading this forum and others but I always came back to this one (the best one, in my opinion). MikeB was the 1st person who answered my post and reassured me. To be honnest with you, I think not knowing what was wrong with my son and him losing weight, hair, feeling weak was more scary than finding out what was wrong. During the time they were trying to figure out what was going on, I had a borderline depression, was not able to eat, sleep, I lost 30 pounds in a month. For me, as weird as this may sound, we had a name for what was making him sick and Like MikeB tells you here, once you know, then you could start educating yourself and help him into making the changes that need to be made. As moms, our children need us to be strong and confident that everything will be okay, because only then they believe that they will be okay.

My little sister was diagnosed with crohn's when she was about 11. She had also been having trouble for some time and was small and incredibly thin for her age. Her doctor was able to get her crohn's under control and she outgrew her two older sisters! She went about 6 and a half years after her crohn's was initially brought under control with very little problems at all. She was active throughout middle school and high school, a complete over-achiever! So, I hope this story can give you some hope for your son. Good luck! I hope things go well for you and your family!

Just adding my welcome as well, so sorry you have to be here.

On a hopeful note, many people who have CD in their teens, have delayed growth spurts ( I did, didn't start getting my real height unti nearly 20 years old) so he may actually grow considerably in the future, and not be so small & skinny. Here is to hoping that is true..

Sincerely,
Matthew