Posted 4/7/2013 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,
I'd like to just share my story. I like to hope that it'd give people hope or insight but I'm mainly doing it just to tell people everything. Please excuse if i spell a lot of the medical terms wrong.
I was 18 when i started PR bleeding. This started off rare and quickly became a constant thing. Shortly after it became constant the pain started. I actually did not tell my parents (who are both in medicine) for quite some time stupidly because i knew they would freak out. Lesson one, get help asap. No matter how embarrassing you think it is. Eventually the pain when going to the toilet got agonizing so i went to hospital with my parents.
I was treated in the emergency room. I was given some pain killers there, they took bloods, explained my white blood cell count was down and I probably had IBS. I was sent home. This doctor was inexperienced and just out of university. I don't blame him for anything
A week later i couldn't even get off the toilet, screaming in pain. Had to get an ambulance with a hell of a lot of morphine to the hospital. I had a endoscopy, and we found my bowel was perforating. I had to go for emergency surgery to have a total collectomy. I signed the wavers while in the clouds on morphine and had no idea what was going on. Before i knew it, i was in an operation theater.
I woke up with a colostomy bag and freaked the hell out. I was told i must have three surgeries, and that was the first, and then i would be rid of it. I stayed in hospital for another month after this until i was finally discharged, and went on to live life as per normal, attempting to hide this fact from everyone. I was embarrased and ashamed. which i know now was stupid. All my friends found out eventually and were all fine with it. It's interesting more than gross.
I had the next surgery about 8 months later, and the final one about 6 more after that. inbetween those 6 months before the last one my ank spon started. It started fast and hard. Before i knew it i couldn't even sleep or leave my bed, i had trouble doing basic things like dress myself. I also managed to get psoriasis, all over my body. I went and saw a rhuemy and this woman was practically my savoir. She managed, after a couple of months, to get me on an immune system repressing drug named infliximab (given via IV). I had my first infusion of this a month or two before my last surgery, and within a week, i was back to normal. It was amazing. I could run around and do whatever, and my psoriasis had nearly gone, I still have some on my scalp, but theres meds for that.
I'm now almost 21. I have nothing left to show except a couple of scars. I have a full time job i enjoy, a house and a great girlfriend. It was 2 years I'd like to not re-live, but i got through it eventually. Currently I'm taking infliximab infusions every 6 weeks. My pain comes back a little on the last few days of each 6 week period, but nothing I can't handle.
Thanks for taking some time to read my little story. I hope all of you here manage to find the light at the end of the tunnel, if you haven't already. If you've got any questions, i will answer of course.
-Steve, 20, Australia