Courageous Stories
Share your experience of living with a digestive disorder – it can be therapeutic for you as well as others who suffer. Share your story.
Searching
For many persons, a functional bowel or motility disorder involves a seemingly endless search for answers. Parts of life may be lost as adjustments are made in response to symptoms. It takes time, thought, and courage to keep sorting out and searching for ways to best manage the condition.
I felt so touched by reading another person's story that I can't stop crying. I did not think there was another person feeling the same way I do.
I have been diagnosed with gastroparesis, and I am also lactose intolerant. My main problem, besides nausea when I eat, is that I feel so bloated that I tend to isolate myself from others. This is definitely affecting my marriage. I feel sick, uncomfortable, unwanted and hopeless. The medication I'm taking is not doing anything for me, and the other options are either not yet approved to be sold in US or have too many side effects.
The only thing that keeps me going is that I want to have beautiful kids with my loving husband one day. I love my hubby so much for understanding me and caring about me. Some day I will find the medication that will make me feel better.
– Name withheld by request
March 28, 2008
Perseverance
Hirschsprung’s disease is a condition that people are born with. It occurs in about 1 in 5,000 births and is treated with surgery. But as expressed in this courageous story, the interventions or amount of suffering experienced does not correlate with getting along in life.
I was born with Hirschsprung's disease in 1970, but it went untreated until I was 13 months old. I was born in rural southwest Virginia and this disease is so rare even today and at that time no doctor could diagnose it properly. My local doctor back in 1971 diagnosed the symptoms of vomiting and blood in the stool as a minor surgery. I ended up having to undergo emergency surgery and they used pull-through technique; half of my bowel was removed. After the surgery, I was in very critical condition and almost died. What should have been a 2 or 3 day surgery turned into a fight for life over a 3 week period. My parents never left my side – my mom didn't even go outside for 2 weeks straight! My dad could not afford a hotel so he slept in the hospital's janitor’s closet beside the boiler! They did everything they could to treat my disease.
I am now 37 years old, and married with 2 healthy little girls. However, I have struggled all my life with this disease. Just recently I had a very bad pain for about 10 days in my left abdomen. The local doctor sent me to the ER, who performed an ultra sound, chest x-ray and took blood. All results were fine. I was given Vicodin and sent home. The next day, I was still hurting. I sought a second opinion and was given a CT scan, blood work, and a 24 hour urine test, and a small bowel x-ray which I'm still waiting for the results.
I read literature from IFFGD and one of the symptoms of living with Hirschsprung's disease is that you could be hurting and all the sophisticated equipment in the world will show nothing. This has explained a lot that has happened to me over the course of my life. I have been in trouble with teachers and even my parents when I told them I was hurting and the doctors could not find anything wrong. So parents and teachers, please listen to your kids with this disease when they say they are hurting. Trust me, the pain is very real.
I have never met anyone with Hirschsprung's disease and never even heard of anyone having it. If there is someone else out there, I would love to hear from another person that understands my pain and struggle. Thanks.
– Anthony Blair Smith
May 30, 2007