The Start of My Symptoms

Looking back at my college years, I think I’ve always had some sort of stomach issues, but they definitely got worse the night of our wedding (which was over 15 years ago). My husband jokes that he is the cause of my stomach issues since the pains started on our wedding night. He is an amazing husband and definitely not the cause of my issues. Weddings are stressful and busy, so I didn’t really eat much that day and had a couple of drinks. I was on an antibiotic for my acne, but since the day was so chaotic, I forgot to take my prescription until right before we went to bed. I’ve taken this prescription many times before and never had any issues. This time however, I had severe stomach pains that lasted all night long and a couple of days after the wedding.

My stomach pains continued to get worse and more consistent over the next couple of months, regardless of what I ate (healthy foods, eating out, home cooked meals, etc). Stomach pains can be different for everyone, but the pains that I was experiencing were so bad that I would curl up in the fetal position and cry. It felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing me in the stomach. In addition to the horrible stomach pains, I would have the urge to go to the bathroom and it was always diarrhea. There were times where I didn’t think I would make it to the bathroom in time, which made me not want to go anywhere or do anything. I kept thinking these issues would eventually go away or improve, but they did not.  This wasn’t the life I wanted to live, especially at 24 years old. I decided it was time to visit my doctor to get some answers.