Being Diagnosed with Crohn's - My story
Hi everyone, hope you are having a good day. Today's blog is about when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.
I was diagnosed with Crohn's Diesease in January 2000 at the age of 11, I first start display symptoms after having Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Henoch-Schönlein purpura is when the immune system is triggered to produce a type of antibody known as IgA which targets and attacks the blood vessels. This causes the blood vessels to become inflamed, a condition called vasculitis.
It took 3 months and for my weight to plummet to 4 1/2 stone before doctors diagnosed me with Crohns, everytime I went to my GP they said the abdominal and diarrhoea was due to stress but after 2 and 1/2 months I finally found a GP that agreed with my parents that there was something else going on.
Within a week I was in hospital undergoing tests, I had blood tests, a barium meal, colonscopy and endoscopy. The results of the tests showed I Crohn's from top to tail, I was then put on to mezsaline and course of steroids but after being on the medication for 6 weeks and getting my steroids down to 10mg I was then put onto azathioprine as my Crohn's was starting to flare up. I finally managed to stop taking steroids a few weeks later but I continued to take mezsaline and azathioprine for the next 3 years. By the time I was 15 I was in remission and I stayed in remission for 4 years.
I was diagnosed with Crohn's Diesease in January 2000 at the age of 11, I first start display symptoms after having Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Henoch-Schönlein purpura is when the immune system is triggered to produce a type of antibody known as IgA which targets and attacks the blood vessels. This causes the blood vessels to become inflamed, a condition called vasculitis.
It took 3 months and for my weight to plummet to 4 1/2 stone before doctors diagnosed me with Crohns, everytime I went to my GP they said the abdominal and diarrhoea was due to stress but after 2 and 1/2 months I finally found a GP that agreed with my parents that there was something else going on.
Within a week I was in hospital undergoing tests, I had blood tests, a barium meal, colonscopy and endoscopy. The results of the tests showed I Crohn's from top to tail, I was then put on to mezsaline and course of steroids but after being on the medication for 6 weeks and getting my steroids down to 10mg I was then put onto azathioprine as my Crohn's was starting to flare up. I finally managed to stop taking steroids a few weeks later but I continued to take mezsaline and azathioprine for the next 3 years. By the time I was 15 I was in remission and I stayed in remission for 4 years.
Disclaimer - I have no medical training the information in these blogs are from knowledge I have picked up over the years and my personal own experience of Crohn's Disease
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