Pred wrote:Little Old Man wrote:I've been in and out of hospitals a lot over the past few months, on account of developing/having Crohn's disease. Thankfully, I've not had to stay in overnight once, as all my appointments have been outpatient stuff, mainly consultations with specialists, and tests for the condition.
Though actually at one point a specialist really insisted on admitting me as I was that weak, with the incentive that I'd have the tests I needed (MRI, Barium X-ray, Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy) done within a matter of days, as they could squeeze me into gaps in their schedules. I choose to stay at home and wait for a couple more weeks to get the tests done instead as hospitals still scare me.
And let me tell you: endoscopies are worse than having a colonoscopy, by a long shot. Never want to have one ever again if it can be helped.
Right now, I'm on a few different meds, and it is just a case of going to see consultants every few months as they track my overall condition and also my weight gains, as I lost 3 stone thanks to my condition.
Sorry to hear you've got Crohn's. Sure is a nasty illness.
Reading through your post reminded me of some of the tests I had. Thankfully I haven't had any endoscopies (yet) and the colonoscopies I've had were performed under general anaesthetic. I'd forgotten about the Barium test. That drink was so disgusting.
Thankfully I haven't needed any operations for a while, though I have had two flare-ups in the past six months. They're the only ones I've had since my diagnosis five years ago but enough for some concern. My next clinic appointment is in November so I'm hoping things will stay okay for now.
I lost quite a bit of weight myself and it took me a while to get it back up. I was referred to a dietician but she wasn't very helpful at all. It meant taking more time off school and I'd already been off for long enough before my diagnosis.
Hope things go okay with in the future.
Bugger, forgot to respond to this :p
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah the Barium test was awful, especially since I started passing the drink before they'd completed all the X-rays, which had me rushing into the toilet....lovely stuff.
Things were going well for me when I originally posted here, just at a slow pace. However when I came off my course of steroids nearly a month ago, this caused my first flare up
Spent a week feeling like gooseberry fool, before I got so bad my parents drove me into A&E. Turns out my small bowel has become enflamed (even though I don't even have Crohn's there!), which had left me to become severely malnourished, dehydrated, and generally strawberry floated. Got put on saline and nutrient drips, and a nil by mouth diet for a few days, had 3 blood packs transfused into me, and started on steroids and antibiotics through a drip
Never stayed in hospital before, so it was a strawberry floating scary and lonely experience, though thankfully I got my own room when I got moved to the gastro ward. Anyway, got out of hospital after two weeks of it yesterday, feels fantastic to be home, though now I've lost all the weight I had put back on, and I am as weak as hell
They've stuck me on a godly amount of medication (19 pills each morning, 5 each evening!), so hopefully now with a little luck I can start recovering properly.
Hope everyone else in this thread is as well as they can be....