I’m not sure when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. If you get overwhelmed with curiosity and you google it, you’ll find Crohn’s disease is described as a “chronic (lifelong) autoimmune condition that inflames and irritates your digestive tract”. To my college freshmen self, this translated to “diarrhea” All the time. It was humiliating because I would be at college parties with one working toilet and someone was always puking. I would sometimes have to literally sprint to the dorm bathroom, pray I was alone and sit there in shameful silence as I emptied myself.
It got worse sophomore year when I had to share a bathroom with three other girls. The walls were paper thin. I remember after one particularly bad encounter I emerged from the bathroom to find my quadmate and her boyfriend staring at me. It was obvious they heard everything.
My mom took me to the GI where they did a colonoscopy. For those of you who don’t know what a colonoscopy is, they shove a camera up your ass to see any irritation or inflammation in your digestive tract. It’s not as bad as it sounds because you are under anesthesia which doesn’t hurt and actually feels kind of relaxing. But the prep for the colonoscopy is very unpleasant. It either involves laxatives or enemas (I’ll leave the rest to your imagination).
My first colonoscopy came back showing signs of Crohn’s disease. This meant I would have to live under an entirely new diet. No veggies/ fruits (except cucumbers). This also means no salad, which is hard when you are trying to lose weight (and also I actually like salad). No whole grains (oatmeal is my enemy). No caffeine (we all know where I stand on that). I was put on Mesalamine, a drug to help give me a few weeks without a bout of diarrhea.
About a month ago, I noticed my symptoms were getting worse. I was in the bathroom alot and I was losing so much liquid I was frequently dehydrated. I almost collapsed at a street fair. They asked me if I knew why I was so dehydrated but I was too embarrassed to tell them. Since then it’s gotten worse. Sometimes I’d get so dehydrated I’d get chills even in 97 degree weather.
I have a doctor's appointment on Friday with the GI. They will probably do another colonoscopy. After that, my parents are worried they will put me on steroids. I don’t think my body can handle another medication especially one so strong. But we will see. Fingers crossed please! And sorry if I take too long in the bathroom.
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