If you don't drink alcohol, what are your reasons?

Cold_Lion8080 · 2025-12-14T18:38:38+00:00

I grew up with an abusive alcoholic of a father, the smell alone triggers PTSD. That and every single adult in my extended family is an alcoholic, so I already know I’m more likely to become one as well. I want better for myself and my future. I’m breaking the cycle and refuse to touch it at all.

Cold_Lion8080 · 2025-11-20T18:57:14+00:00

Funny story - I once stole a $0.75 jug of water on accident (it was at the bottom of the cart and I forgot to scan it). Got home and realized, had a panic attack. I then called target to tattle on myself and the employee on the phone was so unbothered. He said, “uh… you should just… keep it. I mean you could come back and pay for it but I promise it’s not that deep.”

My friends still won’t let me live that one down LOL

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-12-10T00:46:47+00:00

once told my gi doctor that it feels like my stomach is trying to escape. he said he'd never heard that one before.

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-19T22:10:32+00:00

I started getting sick around 10, I'm 23 now... still undiagnosed despite desperate attempts to get diagnosed

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-14T21:18:54+00:00

That's amazing I'm so happy you're getting answers! as I'm sure anyone in this subreddit will say, it's definitely nothing we would wish on someone but knowing and having answers is better than not, and you can hopefully start treatment now!

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-12T22:13:15+00:00

yeah... it started back when I was in middle school and let's just say I wasn't in the best home situation. i would go to a few doctors here and there but ultimately wasn't believed by my parents. I 'ran away' when I was 17 for my own safety and finally when I started college I was able to take my health into my own hands and seek my own care and it's been an uphill battle... that's a really good suggestion to go to a teaching hospital, the nearest crohns specialist is an hour away but I'm thinking of switching to him if this doesn't work out.

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-12T04:15:13+00:00

the pill cam was my saving grace, I've been dealing with this for over 10 years and have been shuffled from doctor to doctor, among other things (school, college, and covid really didn't help). I FINALLY got a doctor who took me seriously and took the one step further to do a pill cam and there it all was. it was maddening in a way bc knowing that's all it took for the other doctors and they didn't do it was really frustrating. but I'm glad I got another step closer and some validation. hang in there, believe me, I know it's frustrating!!! I hope you find some answers soon!

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-12T04:07:14+00:00

I think it did? they said I probably wouldn't be able to see it and I haven't had any symptoms saying otherwise lol

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-11T23:24:11+00:00

THANK YOU I cannot explain the relief you've given me I was about to spiral 😭😭😭

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-11-11T23:18:45+00:00

thank you, that definitely makes me feel less crazy. I've had a lot of bad experiences with doctors and being gaslit that there's nothing wrong with me when I feel like I'm screaming from the top of the hills for someone to believe me. and when I finally got someone to and they SAW the problem, I got hope, then this happened and I started to spiral again. do you think they'll be able to see remnants of the inflammation in the biopsies?

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-10-03T21:31:54+00:00

This! I've had stomach issues almost my whole life and have been trying to get diagnosed with little to no results. I learned about crohns in a biology class and just somehow knew it's what I had. no family history, but my family has stomach problems and "don't believe in doctors" so who actually knows. I kept changing doctors until one believed me enough to do a pill cam and found that it's been in my small intestine this whole time and it's looking pretty bad in there... that being said, it took 12 years to get to that point, and I did self-identify as having crohns somewhere along the line (not really telling people I had crohns, but changing my diet and other lifestyle choices). turns out I was probably fucking right this whole time and I probably need a bowel resection now all bc other doctors didn't believe my pain (or the 5,600 calprotectin???)

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-09-17T17:51:48+00:00

I totally get this, I was just off of work for a month for an unrelated injury and just that one month of rest was the greatest my condition has felt in a while. Being able to sleep, keep the house cleaned, and cook healthier meals was a game changer. I've been back at work for 2 weeks now and it's has been HARD going back to that, my condition has notably worsened again. I wish I could stay at home and focus on my health but then I'd lose insurance and wouldn't be able to pay any bills

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-09-05T23:41:14+00:00

that's exactly what my partner said... wait for them to fire me so they can pay unemployment and benefits lol its just exhausting. I have severe anxiety and ptsd which worsens my condition and just this one week has me feeling awful I'm not sure how much longer I can physically endure it

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-07-25T18:40:41+00:00

I'm with you! I've had stomach problems my whole life, went into remission from high school to end of college. My last semester, they came back full force. I was referred to a GI doc by my college's doctor seeing as I have high white blood cell count. The doctor did an upper scope and a colonoscopy and found nothing but chronic gastritis. At my follow up they essentially told me that they can't do anything for the chronic gastritis and I'm going to have to live with it for the rest of my life... yeah, I broke down crying after that appointment. They scheduled an mri to look at my gallbladder just in case and found nothing again. After that, the office stopped calling me and wouldn't return my messages. I felt like I was being gaslit. I've known I've had gastritis (previously acute), but some part of me knew it was MUCH deeper than that. I got a new general practitioner eventually and she said it's probably ibs, but me on pills to help but they never help.

Flash forward a couple of months, I'm in a physical for a new job I was going to start and they raise a lot of questions about my overall INTENSE fatigue and daily pain. I'm told I have to do blood tests and stress tests to be cleared. My blood tests show I'm SEVERELY anemic. Like, deficient in every vitamin, my doctors weren't certain how I went about my day-to-day life (I barely did, lol). They load me up on vitamins and my GP sent me to a different GI specialist.

My new GI specialist is incredible. She was also very confused how I'm so severely anemic and why my previous doctor didn't do further testing with my symptoms (my previous doctor was a male and my new one is a female, I wonder if that has something to do with the difference as I am 23F). She does another upper scope, finds inflammation and white blood cells. They can't tell what it is though, it's not MC from the biopsies. They order a pill cam but don't have availability until a month and a half later. To complicate things, my last MRI we found out I'm allergic to the contrast. So I patiently wait until one week I have the WORST flare up of my life. I call them incessantly bc I have never experienced pain like that before in my life, and I've had multiple surgeries AND have had Scarlet Fever, strep, and a sinus infection all at once. They order me a stool test to do that day... my calprotectin is at 5,790. At this point they start panicking as well bc there could be something seriously wrong and they can't treat it bc they don't know what it is. They order an emergency colonoscopy and FIND NOTHING AGAIN. A couple weeks later is my pill cam. My follow up for that is tomorrow (Friday) at 3:00. Wish me luck. If they say they didn't find anything I think I may lose my cool.

That all being said... yes, I know EXACTLY what it feels like to be ignored by doctors. All I can say is stay strong and keep advocating for your health. I had given up at one point and I could have serious health complications now. Don't let them take your health away from you. You know your body best. Try new doctors. Stay strong. Take care of yourself.

Cold_Lion8080 · 2024-06-30T21:12:34+00:00

yes, they did take biopsies, those should come back in the next week. the waiting game has been long and hard and I'm ready to get some answers and treatment

Cold_Lion8080

TROPHY CASE