Newly Diagnosed

Hello everyone.


Just joined this forum and I was diagnosed with Crohn's yesterday (for the second time). Back in July 2020 I got very sick for 10+ days and ended up having an ulcer in my large bowel. After having a CT scan, my first doctor diagnosed me with Crohn's and put me on Mesalamine. My next appointment I told him I still didn't feel well and he wouldn't do anything about it and said it was the other medications I was on and to talk to my primary care doctor. I didn't like this answer and his general attitude and how I had to pry information out of him so I decided to find a new doctor.


Before I get to that, I just wanted to explain that most of my life I have had stomach issues (I'm 37 now). I can't say it was Crohn's for sure, but in first grade I used to go to the nurse's office all the time because I didn't feel well. After nothing happened I eventually stopped talking about it and just lived with it. I was a very shy and timid kid and didn't push the subject with my mom (my father wasn't really in the picture). I also didn't have health insurance. In college I eventually just self diagnosed myself with IBS. I decided this because while my bowel movements were usually soft, I never really had bouts of diarrhea that were out of the norm, so I didn't think it could be IBD. I'd also like to point out that I used to suffer with anxiety/depression. While it's still something that is kinda there (more anxiety than depression), I wouldn't say I "suffer" from it anymore. This lead me to start using opiates, first oxycodone/oxycontin and later heroin. One of the reasons I was hooked so easily is that it helped with my stomach pain/issues. I have been on methadone for a few years now without a relapse, although I wouldn't say I'm clean because of the methadone use. Anyway, enough of this tangent 😀


So, I found a new doctor, had another colonoscopy w/ biopsy done and the doctor said everything looked fine. That threw me off because I didn't feel fine. I got an MR Enterography and then bloodwork and a stool sample and my sed rate/C reactive protein/calprotectin were all elevated while infectious bacteria cultures were negative. I was pretty sure my first diagnosis was correct and I was just waiting for my appointment to go over the MRI and bloodwork. This brings me to yesterday and my second diagnosis of Crohn's.


I took my first dose of prednisone this morning and my doctor is working with my insurance to get me approved for Humira as I also think I have psoriasis. The idea of finally getting treated for something that has made me feel awful for a lot of my life is amazing. I already knew I had something that was going to affect me the rest of my life, so while Crohn's isn't a good diagnosis, it's still a diagnosis, and I can start treatment. I feel hopeful for the first time in quite a while. I may even be able to get off methadone soon.


I apologize for the long post, I know everyone on here has a story with similarities. I just wanted to introduce myself and hopefully we can help each other get through the bad times and enjoy the good. Thanks for listening.




Rob