My Crohns Diagnosis.

I was 24.

Recently moved in to a new house with my boyfriend, planning holidays, and life in general. Work was going well, life was great.

That whole year I had not felt 100%, for the first 6 months I felt extremely tired, and not in the sense that I had not been getting enough sleep, or had been up all night long! This was a new level of tired. Zombie mode.

So I decided to see a doctor, and pushed for a blood test, in the back of my mind i thought i was diabetic, and that it was related to blood sugar? This continued until around August time, the results were always OK. So I stopped going, even though I still did not feel right.

October came around. New Symptoms.

Stomach bug? Lasting about 3 weeks? Surely not. That is the only way that I could describe how I was feeling. I felt sick, my appetite was reduced, no energy, feeling tired and vomiting. So towards the middle of November I went back to the doctor, who proceeded to tell me there was nothing wrong, and to ride it out.

I remember vividly that when I came out of that appointment and stepped out of the surgery, I cried, HARD.

What is wrong with me? Am I making this up? Am i being Dramatic, a hypochondriac? Surely this is more than a stomach bug?

I then told myself to be strong, stick to my guns and march myself back in there. I did, and I demanded a second opinion and to see another doctor as soon as possible.

So I explained everything again to this new doctor, who again ordered blood tests. That was better than before , right? Anyway, I had them done and went home.

The following morning at 8:30 am (I only remember as it was the time I started work) I got a call from a doctor, Doctor Mike. He told me to get to the surgery as soon as possible to discuss my blood results. I Sh#T myself (luckily at this point, not literally).

So off I went, where he let me straight in. I was with my Step mum too. Doctor Mike explained to me that my CRP levels in my blood had come back very high, and following an examination of my abdomen, he thought that my appendix was going to burst. There was a consultant waiting to see me on a ward at the hospital to discuss treatment or surgery. Great. An answer. F#!k this is scary.

So off we went to the hospital, up on to the ward, where they started to run tests, urine sample, more bloods etc. Drips attached to me, IV Fluids and steroids for the next 24 hours, to try and reduce the swelling. The rest of that day was a blur.

Day 2 - The first morning in hospital.

I hadn't seen a doctor on the morning rounds, I was still attached to a drip and I had no answers and I was alone. My parents has gone home. Boyfriend was working, and if I am honest, I didn't want to trouble anyone.

And then out of nowhere, a porter came to my bedside to transfer me to the maternity wing??? Obviously i was asking him questions that he quite clearly didn't have the answers for.

Am I pregnant? Is it my ovaries? What on earth is going on?

When we finally reached the ward, I was met by a new consultant who asked for a nurse to come and sit with me whilst he talked to me. " Crohns Disease".

He explained that the stomach pain I was experiencing was the disease being 'active' , the fatigue was a long standing symptom and that the steroids were going to reduce the swelling and he was going to help me through this.

I knew NOTHING about Crohns. I asked him some pretty dramatic questions.

Am i going to die?

Will my life expectancy be reduced?

Is there a cure?

Will I be on tablets for the rest of my life?

Can I still have children?

Is it contagious?

Did i cause this?

Long story short. My world crashed around me.

I was put on steroids for the next 3 months to fight the active disease and hopefully put me into remission. That was the goal. Following that, i would see a consultant in his clinic, where I would be put on medication, to maintain remission. For the rest of my life.

This was the beginning.