Keep Calm... Fight Crohn's

If you are reading this and you have Crohn's Disease, you can probably skip a few lines. If you are reading this and have just been diagnosed, or a loved one has recently been diagnosed, then perhaps don't skip the next few lines.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease a little over a year ago, just a couple of months after graduating from the University of Rochester with my bachelor's degree in Psychology. In celebration of this momentous occasion, my family took a trip to Italy immediately after I received my diploma. Then I started to feel "funny". I was having extreme stomach pains after eating most things. I needed to go to the bathroom often. I felt tired (I was always a very athletic, active person, so by tired, I mean out of the ordinary, lethargic). I tried to hide most of these symptoms, figuring I had some sort of bug, or that my body was just adjusting to both being in a new country as well as not drinking every night for a straight week, which is what happens before graduation. My family thought I was having some extreme heartburn....

For some reason, I didn't think heartburn would cause you to have to stop in your tracks and take a breather until the pain went away.

It wasn't until weeks after my return to the States, and about ten pounds of weight lost that I finally went to the doctor. My 22 year old self was ordered a colonoscopy, and by July it was announced that I had Crohn's Disease.

You may be wondering why I've waited a year to write about this experience. Call it naive. Call it hope that this wasn't going to be a permanent burden. Either way, it's taken me about a year to realize this problem is not going to subside in one foul swoop of over the counter meds.

When first diagnosed, I was told my colon looked fairly bad, but that they were going to attack it with medicines, and hopefully that would help with the inflammation. I was put on Enticort, Imuran, and Remicade. One steroid, and two heavy duty immunosuppressants - one in pill form, one IV treatment every 8 weeks. It wouldn't be until recently that I discovered that these medicines are actually some of the best treatments found for Crohn's. Because up until recently, these medicines seemed to have been working just fine.

This blog is to serve whomever can get anything out of it. In writing it, I know it will help me work through the ups and downs of being a "Crohnie". And if you happen to stumble upon it, perhaps you will gain something from it as well, whether you are a Crohnie too, or know one, or just have some weird fascination towards this awkward disease to discuss.