Coming Clean

Well, here.  I'm going to say it.  Plain and simple.

I have Crohn's Disease.

I don't know who reads this blog really; as I have said in the past, I write it mostly for my own personal benefit.  But I want to copy & paste a passage here I just read in an article, that explains what it is in such an easy to understand way.

I really like this explanation, because it's short, simple, and concise.  I need to memorise it, so I can spout it off to anyone who asks about what I've been sick with.

"Crohn’s disease, a chronic bowel disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract.

The disease ... usually manifests itself between the ages of 15 and 25. No one knows what triggers it, but it causes inflammation of the gut wall. Symptoms typically include diarrhoea, vomiting, weight loss, tiredness and anaemia. There is no cure, and many sufferers will require surgery to remove diseased areas of the bowel at some point in their life.

Weight loss is a common symptom of Crohn’s disease, which is why it is often mistaken for other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, says Dr Ian Shaw, consultant gastroenterologist at Gloucester Royal Hospital."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2100786/Crohns-disease-Doctors-certain-I-anorexic-I-chronic-bowel-disorder.html#ixzz1mdBDrAsZ

So there we go.  

You have a name.  

I have nothing else to hide. 

Initially (like 4 years ago), I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (another Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) similar to Crohn's, but mostly affecting the large bowel, whereas Crohn's is the whole digestive tract from start to finish) but that's changed with my recent bout of sickness - reinvestigation led to rediagnosis... *sigh*

Anyway, I just wanted to write that concise explanation down, just for me to come back to in future, so I can remember it.  :)