A teen sad Story.....
Around November of last year I started experiencing some digestive issues, namely loose stools (but at a completely normal frequency – never more than once a day) and stomach rumbles throughout the day. At first I thought nothing of it as I’ve almost never been sick in my life and thought it’d go away after a week or so, but it didn’t. After 2 or 3 weeks I started feeling completely exhausted and dizzy all the time. My whole body felt weak, working out became torture, I stopped progressing and my sleep became extremely heavy, but I still felt just as tired as before even after sleeping 9 or 10 hours.
Like a lot of people I hate going to the doctor so I waited too long and finally went to see my GP at the end of december. By then I had done a lot of reading up (not just the WebMD-your-small-headache-means-you-have-cancer kind of reading up) and Crohn’s became the most likely explanation for my issues as the kind of fatigue I experienced is apparently very common with auto-immune diseases. So I explained my symptoms to my GP and said I was afraid it might be that. He pretty much laughed and said my symptoms would be much worse if that was the case, that I might be stressed out (I wasn’t), prescribed me some kind of stomach disinfectant and probiotics and sent me on my way. I was relieved because I trusted him and thought myself stupid for thinking it was something so serious. I was confident it’d go away with the medication.
Only of course it didn’t so I went to see him again 3 weeks later. Again he said it was probably stress but gave me a prescription for some blood tests and told me to call him once I had the results. Everything was normal including iron levels, crp (so low it was undetectable) and blood cell counts. He then basically said it was all in my head and even suggested I might be a hypochondriac.At this point I was pissed and went to see a GI without even getting a referral. I thought, finally! someone who’s going to take me seriously!
So again I explained everything and showed him my blood tests. He listened to me, took his time and explained everything in detail but he said my symptoms were not worrisome. That in all his career he had never seen a Crohn’s patient with a crp so low so it wasn’t that. I believe he prescribed something to slow down my digestion as well as some more blood tests, this time checking for thyroid issues and other stuff. He also performed an echography which showed nothing abnormal. Once again the tests came back normal (CRP was detectable this time but still extremely low, 0.8) and the medication did nothing. When I went to see him a second time, he said that it might be IBS and that the fatigue was probably caused by something else which I’d have to figure out with my GP. Which from what I’ve been reading everywhere is completely ridiculous. I asked for a colonoscopy so I could be sure once and for all but he refused, saying that there was always a small risk with such procedures, and that he was so sure it wasn’t IBD it wasn’t worth taking it. He prescribed me some more pointless medication and that was it.
So here I am. It’s been 6 months and I still feel like shit. My symptoms have neither improved or worsened. I know I have to find new doctors but a lot of GPs are just straight out refusing to take new patients where I live (not in the US), and even if I find one that does, at this point it feels almost unlikely that they’re going to take me seriously. I know my symptoms are quite mild compared to others (no weight loss, no blood, no mucus, no feeling of urgency, no full on diarrhea, very little pain and only some discomfort in my belly at times) but I still feel terrible. You know the first 5 minutes after waking up with a terrible hangover? That’s how it feels like, except it’s all day long. I can’t concentrate and I just generally feel dumb.
I also forgot to mention that one big reason why I believe it to be Crohn’s is that I finished a course of accutane 6 months before this all started, which is a drug that has very often been associated with Crohn’s, though no link has ever been officially proven.
I’d appreciate reading your thoughts. Many many thanks if you’ve taken the time to read all of this!