The simplest thing to do is to copy and paste a letter to Fleur: Hey, Back from the doctors. I don't have IBS. My symptoms don't fit with it, and besides, the colonoscopy wasn't normal for a 24 year old. Most 24 year olds don't have polyps in their bowel. or have decreased blood supply. IBS is an 'illness, not a disease'. I have a disease. Heh. That makes it sound like I'm dying. This is a GOOD email, not bad. So, to put it simply, there is a generic term 'collitis' - meaning inflammation of the colon. I have indeterminate collitis. There is an umbrella of diseases named Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which Crohn's and Ulcerative Collitis falls under. There's 25% of people who fall under this umbrella, but fit somewhere in between the two. I am in this 25%. My disease has no name, but has exactly the same treatment as Crohn's. I've been started on prednisone - a steroid that reduces inflammation. I'm on this for a month, and then I go to some kind of 'maintenance' treatment. Why is all this good? Because all my life I have felt as though everything in my body was screwed. As if all the parts were just falling to bits, and if I was a car, I'd be written off. Not worth the upkeep to keep it on the road. BUT. What if all my life, there hasn't been everything wrong with me - instead, just ONE thing - THIS. THIS is what has caused the pain for the last 10 years. The kidney stones can be related to this. Even depression is related to inflammatory conditions in the body. And I can get BETTER. I can have a normal life! I don't have to be in pain anymore! I feel as though someone has given me a second chance or something. As if I've been waiting all this time to find an answer, and now I can turn the corner and the REST of my life lies ahead of me. It blows my mind, Fleur. I am so jumpy and I want to tell everyone - they figured it out! I haven't been making it up! I know this is probably all insane, and I should wish that it was IBS instead of this. But it's not, and it's treatable. I may have flare ups throughout my life, but I may not. It's a much better option than having pain 3 weeks out of 4. So I know these last 6 weeks have been shit, but it could all be over now - for the REST of my life! I know that perhaps I'm getting prematurely excited. We have to wait and see if it actually works, first. Sorry, I just had to get that out. I had to write it down. Love Lara
