Colitis or Chrohns in College

Scott, 21

My name is Scott and I'm a 21 years old and am going to be a senior in college. After a trip to Cancun Mexico in 2004 I started experiencing frequent dumps and this went on for a month or so and then I started getting blood in my stools. There was a lot of blood. I started doing tests and I was diagnosed with IBD in February of 2005. I was put on a couple of medications and after a month went by with no improvement I was put on stronger medications. Right before Spring Break (Mazatlan) I hadn't improved so they put me on Prednisone and Colazal. I was not happy about going on the steroid but I guess I had to do it. I improved for most of the week in Mexico, but I think that is because I didn't eat hardly anything because I didn't want to spend money. By the time I was on my way back, I was suffering again.

I kept going in for checkups about every month with no improvement except when I bumped up the Prednisone. Before leaving for my job on the other side of the country for the summer, my GI doc prescribed Azasan. I have been taking that now for 2 1/2 months and see no improvement yet, but the Azasan isn't supposed to kick in for 3-6 months. So it is a waiting game for now. I am taking 40 mg of Prednisone a day still and I keep trying to step it down, but every time I do, I meet trouble. I work 80 hours a week which some people would say is crazy with this disease. I do have my problems and it gets me off schedule with work, but I'm learning to accept the problem and work through it.

I have never experience a great deal of pain from this disease except for in the rectum on days where I have to dump 10 times. But luckily those don't happen more than once a week or so. I have noticed that since I've been on the Prednisone, my teeth have been extra sensitive but I don't know if there is a connection. I still get blood in my stool on the days after I miss one pill of Prednisone but I getting better about that.

I haven't heard of anyone who has lived for a long time without having flare ups, but I would like to hear from anyone who has done that, just to give me a little hope. I don't want to be on Prednisone forever because I don't think the Osteoperosis drugs will work forever.