Megan's Story

My name is Megan and I'm quite new to all this. I live in Wagga Wagga NSW.

Your website has showed me that I am not the only one!. However, I find that alot of your members are from other countries, which broadens my mind even further. I'm writing to you with my story.

I am 31 and a mother to two boys 6 & 4. I have a permanent ilestomy due to Crohns Disease. I work part-time for an insurance broker. When I finished school I went to university. For the last year of uni and my first year of work I bled. Lots of pain in my lower back and stomach cramps, especially when I wore tight clothes. After cancelling numerous doctors appointments I finally got to see the doctors when I was actually having a flare-up. It took one look up my rear end to discover I had Crohns disease. What was that?

I had been with my husband (then boyfriend) for not even 12 months when I came home with a bowel disease. Not what any 21 year old wanted.

After a coarse of Salazaphyrin & Prednisone I was fixed. Never looked back until 4 years later when I was pregnant with my first child. Lots of medication and attentive care I was basically all right once I got him out (he put pressure on my bowel they told me). After giving birth they told me my placenta looked like I had smoked the whole time I was pregnant. I assumed it was from the prednisone. So next baby two years later I vowed not to touch a single drug and have a sick free pregnancy - which I did.

I basically went into remission for 2 years, until Xmas 2003 when the diarrhoea started. I went on enema's, granules and steroids. I became allergic to sulphur in the process. My crohns had started at 5cm, then to 60cm within a year and by the time they took my large bowel out on 1 October 2005 it has spread to all of my bowel. This was not suppose to happen to me. I accepted the disease, but never in my wildest dream thought my body would do this to me.

Whilst sitting on the toilet the night before my operation I vowed that I would never miss going to the toilet ever again. I was going nearly every hour. I would have literally curled up and died the next day if they didn't operate on me.

I occasionally feel the need to go 6 months after my operation and it still gives me the horrors.

The surgeons decided to leave me a stump for the chance of being rejoined at a later date. I wasn't looking to have an operation anytime soon, so it didn't phase me about the reversal- which was good as the crohns in my stump was that toxic that it exploded under my skin, giving me blood poisoning and cellulitis. After two ultrasounds to try and find the abscess that was causing me grief, nothing showed up. The surgeons must have thought I was a sook.

I couldn't stand the pain anymore and suggested they take my stump out. I really had to convince them that it was what I wanted.

I had been in hospital 4 weeks and had had enough. On October 18 they removed the stump (which the surgeon took photos and showed everyone at a medical conference it was that black) and I now have a permanent ileostomy.

It really doesn't bother me greatly. My stoma is keeping me alive and I had two boys to go home to, which I finally did 5 weeks and 3 days later after leaving them. I'm back at work now and feel great. Yeah, I have my ups and downs, but I'll get to see my boys grow up and I should never have to have another operation ever again.

...Megan

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