I didn't know how much longer I could go on. It was hard trying to keep my life going on and being in such horrible pain!! Till one day while my mom and I was at the hospital visiting my Grandma. I started to sweat. Then I started quivering and not being able to walk because of the pain. I called up my new GI doctor. Right away she accused me of wanting pain medicine. She even had the nerve to tell me that my pain had nothing to do with my Crohns disease. EXCUSE ME?? You mean I don't know where the pain is??. She refused to even see me!! How could she do this to me?? I'm suffering!! My mom called her doctor. He told her just to take me to the ER at that hospital-Allegheny General of Pittsurgh. This must be a good hospital..after all its where my Grandma is! So down to the ER we went. I was quicky checked over, had blood taken, had a CT scan and a pelvic to rule out anything else that could be going on.

I was admitted to the hospital on May 31, 2000. I met a good GI doctor. While in the hospital I had another CT scan of my abdomen, a x-ray and a SBS (Small Bowel Series). Those tests confirmed I was having a small flare of my Crohns disease. I was started on 20mg of oxycontin every 12 hours. My vein infiltrated 2 times and I had to get new IV's. Oddly enough when the radiologist was reviewing my CT scan, they discovered that I have a mal-fusion of my S1 vertebrae disk in my lower back above my tailbone. Maybe this was where all my back pain was coming from ??? I was in the hospital for 4 days, then I was released. I was started on different meds..again!!! June 9, 2000 I had to go see my gi doctor because of the abdominal pain. My oxycontin was raised to 30mg every 12 hours. I was ordered to have a MRI of my lower back, and then after the results were in I had to go see an Orthopedic doctor. My MRI was scheduled for June 13, 2000. I seen the orthopedic doctor on June 15, 2000. He said that the MRI did show the S1 mal-fusion, but other than that my spine fine. He told me I should see a Neurologist because maybe some nerves are getting pinched causing me the back, leg, and hip pain. The orthopedic doctor started me on celebrex. June 20, 2000 I seen a doctor at the pain clinic to asses the problems that were causing me pain. He wanted to get a better idea about my hip so he ordered a CT scan of it. He stopped the celebrex, and started me on Vioxx 25mg a day to see if it hepled with my back pain.

I made an appointment to see my regular doctor (at the time he was at AGH) on June 22, 2000. I was telling him about my hip problem, and how it hurts so bad sometimes I couldn't even walk. Right away he went and got his partner, and more experienced doctor who was a woman. She ordered me to go have a hip x-ray right away. After the x-ray was complete we were taken back into an exam room where the doctor showed us the pictures of my hip. He pointed out an area in the joint where it looked suspicious. June 30, 2000 I had a MRI of my right hip, and I had another appointment with the pain clinic doctor. He was pretty sure that the problem I was having with my hip was bercitis. When I seen him he talked to me about getting a possible sacroiliac joint injection into my right hip to help the bercitis. I called back at the pain clinic and agreed to have the hip injection. It was scheduled for July 7, 2000.

Continue reading my story (July 2000)

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