Canuck Crohnie

[ChefShazzy]

Hi Everyone;

I've been reading the forums for the past few days, and figured it's my turn to jump in and introduce myself. I would like to see myself being active in these forums, to find support when I am feeling down, and to offer support to others when I am feeling stronger.

I'm Sharon, from Canada. I'm 26, I was diagnosed with Crohn's two years ago. I've had 4 flares since then. I've been having a really tough time lately, it's been very hard to stay positive... but to read everyone's experiences really helps me put things into perspective. It has always been difficult for me to ask for help when I need it, and now I am realizing that I need to inform myself, and play a more involved role in my care and disease management. It's going to be tough but I need to stand up for myself more. My main source of trouble right now is fear about the future.

My main symptoms of a flare are bloody D (10-25 times a day), abdominal pain (esp. right after eating), fatigue (I can barely get out of bed some days), fever/chills, aches, vomiting, dizziness/weakness... Really depressed, too. Maybe it's weird, or not, but when I have really bad D... it never smells!

I've been on 60mg Pred for over a week now and am VERY SLOWLY starting to see an improvement... I'm getting impatient, as it never seemed to take this long in the past. I was in the hospital for a week, but was so miserable and had no one to take care of my dog, I ended up 'faking' feeling better so that I could go home. Maybe not the smartest idea, as I am still dealing with a lot of pain and dehydration... but I am determined to take it one day at a time. I found I was asking for a lot of morphine in hospital - something I don't want to rely on. I'm off work currently, and will be for a few more weeks.

Perhaps the hardest part for me is missing food... I LOVE FOOD!! I'm totally a hardcore foodie... I cook for a living... Now I am starting to question my career choice because of this illness, which is really heartbreaking - I thought I had it all figured out! I have been keeping track of the foods that seem to trigger an unhappy belly... I know I have to completely avoid alcohol and spicy foods... Can't even sneak a little bit!!

I am thankful, though, that I have a great family doctor (she is referring me to different GI doctors, haven't found one I liked yet...)... I am thankful that I'm in Canada, and have good benefits with my employer... I do worry about losing my job, though... but I worry about a lot of things. I don't have family or friends to help out when I am sick, which makes things tough - but not impossible. That's something else I can work on when I am feeling better.

Anyways, I look forward to getting to know you all... Seems like a good crowd here... glad to see people my in my age range, but I guess it's common since a lot of us seem to get diagnosed early to mid twenties...

 

[My Butt Hurts]

Hi Sharon - welcome to the forum!
I have always had good results with the prednisone. Hopefully you will too.
What are you doing to combat the dehydration? Click HERE for a thread that might be helpful to you.
I know that I can't eat spicy food when I am flaring, but when I am in a remission, I can eat it in moderation. (If that makes you hopeful.) I know it's hard when you miss food that you love to eat. You actually have an advantage I think because you can doctor up all your meals to taste good when some of us are just fighting to find something that tastes good.
Hmm... I see a title for you - forum chef! Help us out! Throw some good easy-on-the-belly ideas our way!

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

Hi Everyone;

I've been reading the forums for the past few days, and figured it's my turn to jump in and introduce myself. I would like to see myself being active in these forums, to find support when I am feeling down, and to offer support to others when I am feeling stronger.

I like that sentiment. And to me, that says it all. Bad enough you have to go through what it is you go through, but I firmly believe redemption is there when you commiserate with those similarly afflicted.

You're starting out good. I see a good contributor.

And welcome aboard another Canadian!

 

[markymark19857]

I totally can relate with the fear of the future thing.....I have been very worried and I like to have control, having this disease takes away alot of control - it is a very hard thing to deal with!

 

[mRae85]

:welcome:

Glad to see that you found us, this is the best place to come. I also used to think I had everything figured out, in the past year however, things have seriously turned in a new direction for me. Slowly I am figureing out what I want now for the future, and yea Im 24 been diagnosed a little over a year and so far no luck on finding any perfect meds either. If they are out there, I will find them one day though, till then I am just happy I am here. Even when I dont feel good at all, this place gives me not only a place to find support but like you said , a way of supporting others.

 

[ChefShazzy]

Wow, thanks everyone for the warm welcomes! Glad to have found this site and connect with all of you.

Dealing with this illness on my own has been a challenge... but it's also helped me realise what is important in my life and to put myself first. When I was diagnosed, I was actually married... but my health was too much for my ex to deal with, he couldn't hold a job and we ended up separating in Jan 2008. I couldn't be the sick one AND the supporter!! And to add to the situation, the reason I stopped talking to my family and some friends was because I married this guy they didn't like! Oooops - really burned my bridges on that one! So, over the next few months I have the added stress of dealing the with legal/divorce issues... I'll definitely jump in on any of those threads relating to stress management, and anything about being single and dating with Crohn's!

Prednisone has worked great for my past 3 flares... I only ever needed 40mg and a few days to get a flare under control. This time around, it's been about a month of flaring, started 40mg and it didn't seem to be enough... On 60mg now, and after two weeks it seems to finally be working (still going 10+ times a day, but things are starting to 'thicken up' and no more blood). It was scary for a while, I thought maybe I'm becoming resistant to prednisone... or maybe had a reaction to the 6MP I was just prescribed. Doc said bloodwork looked ok, but I felt terrible.

The side effects of predinisone, however!! Holy cow. On this high of a dose, I'm noticing much stronger effects than before... Perhaps the most annoying is the agitation/irritability/insomnia... I keep getting weird auditory symptoms as well (songs or sound 'clips' replaying in my head *constantly* for days... or, for example, the other night my neighbour's fire alarm was going off... and throughout the next 2-3 days I kept hearing the alarm in my car, at the store, anywhere I was). It definitely plays with my mind. Oh, and the heartburn... the moon face... the bruising... Fun stuff!

Forum Chef, eh?! I do have some yummy ideas, I'll post some in the Food/Diet area over the next few days! I'm a big time Smoothie fan, flare or no flare. I also love to bake, although I'm not celiac I am interested in trying some gluten-free recipes to see if they are easier on my tummy.

 

[GirlFriday]

Hi MsSickandTired (great name btw!) I am only new as well, but welcome - I think this place is great. I'm sorry to hear about your impending divorce. It must be very hard for you dealing with that as well as your disease. I hope this place helps you to feel that you have some support.