- Joined
- Apr 20, 2016
- Messages
- 2
Hello forum!
It's funny, I have all sorts of things I do online but I've never reached out for my health before... but today was a really hard day so here I am, and I'm hoping to learn and be a positive force here where I can.
My mom has told me that I've always struggled with bowel issues - loose or constipated ever since I was a baby, without ever really having a healthy middle ground. But I've always had a lot of issues going on, some of which made such a fuss that I couldn't see the others for what they were right away. We suspect I had endometriosis (I was required by insurance to have treatment before they'd allow for the testing we would have preferred) so cramping and bowel issues were often attributed to that. I also don't tolerate gluten, though I didn't test positive for Celiac's. Heavy periods caused anemia early on, which is something we assumed was a problem again later but led to the realization that no, in fact, I had Crohns and bleeding from that.
I got very, very sick in 2004 (missed my junior year) and spent really the next ten years trying to answer "what's wrong with me?" - the answers were many: Fibromyalgia, Bipolar Disorder, Chronic Fatigue, Interstitial Cystitis, Anemia and most recently, Crohns. I'm on an unfortunate lot of medicines, and still learning how to survive.
The fact that I'm no longer in a ball of misery on my bed, that I can actually go out for a few hours a day and do things, that's tremendous and I try to remember that I have come a very long way, though I still have a long way to go.
As of my last colonoscopy, my Crohns was mild and confined mostly to my colon and just the start of where it joined my intestines. I've been treated with Delzicol (mesalamine) - my current treatment, in fact, though I'm also on Omeprazole, and was on that even before I was diagnosed with Crohns. I'm also on Ondansetron as needed for nausea, and other medications for the variety of other things I'm dealing with.
Currently, my big issue is that I believe my new medication for Bipolar is amplifying my nausea, and unfortunately it doesn't work without eating a minimum of 350 calories with it. I've been sick and my system has rather thoroughly purged itself, so now I have a bunch of Ensure Plus sitting in the kitchen to get me through, as my throat and gut both feel raw after today. There's also an abundance of joint pain and my back has been terrible for weeks.
I guess, to be honest, I've been guilty of trying to ignore that this could be a really big deal (my cousin has Crohns and had to have surgery at least once that I know of) and I'm hoping, now that I'm here, I'll have opportunity to learn more and try to get better.
Thanks for welcoming me, and having such a positive space.
It's funny, I have all sorts of things I do online but I've never reached out for my health before... but today was a really hard day so here I am, and I'm hoping to learn and be a positive force here where I can.
My mom has told me that I've always struggled with bowel issues - loose or constipated ever since I was a baby, without ever really having a healthy middle ground. But I've always had a lot of issues going on, some of which made such a fuss that I couldn't see the others for what they were right away. We suspect I had endometriosis (I was required by insurance to have treatment before they'd allow for the testing we would have preferred) so cramping and bowel issues were often attributed to that. I also don't tolerate gluten, though I didn't test positive for Celiac's. Heavy periods caused anemia early on, which is something we assumed was a problem again later but led to the realization that no, in fact, I had Crohns and bleeding from that.
I got very, very sick in 2004 (missed my junior year) and spent really the next ten years trying to answer "what's wrong with me?" - the answers were many: Fibromyalgia, Bipolar Disorder, Chronic Fatigue, Interstitial Cystitis, Anemia and most recently, Crohns. I'm on an unfortunate lot of medicines, and still learning how to survive.
The fact that I'm no longer in a ball of misery on my bed, that I can actually go out for a few hours a day and do things, that's tremendous and I try to remember that I have come a very long way, though I still have a long way to go.
As of my last colonoscopy, my Crohns was mild and confined mostly to my colon and just the start of where it joined my intestines. I've been treated with Delzicol (mesalamine) - my current treatment, in fact, though I'm also on Omeprazole, and was on that even before I was diagnosed with Crohns. I'm also on Ondansetron as needed for nausea, and other medications for the variety of other things I'm dealing with.
Currently, my big issue is that I believe my new medication for Bipolar is amplifying my nausea, and unfortunately it doesn't work without eating a minimum of 350 calories with it. I've been sick and my system has rather thoroughly purged itself, so now I have a bunch of Ensure Plus sitting in the kitchen to get me through, as my throat and gut both feel raw after today. There's also an abundance of joint pain and my back has been terrible for weeks.
I guess, to be honest, I've been guilty of trying to ignore that this could be a really big deal (my cousin has Crohns and had to have surgery at least once that I know of) and I'm hoping, now that I'm here, I'll have opportunity to learn more and try to get better.
Thanks for welcoming me, and having such a positive space.
