How often do you think about your Crohn's?

[Dmarks70]

I seem to think about it all the time. I don't always have many symptoms either but worry about it getting worse. I am always thinking things like should I go on to Humira? and every time I have a slight stomach pain or not a nice bm I think is this it? Is it going to get worse now?....Is this normal?!

 

[scottsma]

It's always at the back of my mind too.I worry if I "go" to often,and worry if I miss a day.I worry if I have an early appointment or if I need to go shopping.And if I'm going on a car journey,or have made arrangements to go out with friends.And if I have a pain or niggles.I think the nature of crohns and the possible embarrassing consequences of having an "accident" dictates that worrying is normal for us.I think most of us do it.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

I also think about it continuously but I think that is mainly because I have mild symptoms frequently like fatigue (although endoscopically I am much improved)

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Yes, I think that's totally normal. I also pretty much constantly have my illness on my mind. It's almost always at least in the background if I'm not actively thinking about it. Every little pain or symptom also worries me. And when I'm feeling well, I can't seem to fully enjoy it, because I'm always wondering when the next bad belly day or the next flare will come along.

I will say that the one time that I'm able to forget about my illness for a bit and feel like a healthy person is when I'm exercising, especially when I'm lifting weights. It's almost like a form of meditation for me. In the gym, it's just me and my music and my muscles. My mind is full of things like paying attention to my form and counting my reps and focusing on my breathing - it's like there's no room left in there for me to have thoughts of illness. I love it, that's the only time I feel healthy and the only time I can ignore my illness. If you can find a similar activity where you can ignore your illness, even for just a little while, I definitely encourage you to pursue that. It's been extremely helpful for me.

 

[Linds89]

Daily, but I was only diagnosed a year ago and am still struggling to understand and accept my condition. Also struggling to find a medication balance so I'm constantly obsessing over symptoms trying to figure out if its a side effect or the disease or something else.

 

[ronroush7]

I think about it pretty regularly.

 

[Lizzie]

I think about it a lot, many times a day, but less than I did for the first two or three years, when I thought about it almost all the time. Sometimes my thoughts are just about the practical stuff, like making sure to find where toilets are, and judging whether or not to go out somewhere or whether it's safer not to, but in the evenings when I'm no longer busy I start to worry about what will happen if I get worse.

I've been having to visit people in hospital a bit recently and there are the horrible smells of people having their incontinence pads changed, and that freaks me out. It leads to extremely gloomy thoughts about what could happen in my old age (not so far away unfortunately), that I could end up in a care home stinking of you-know-what and no one will want to know me!

So I would say that the constant thoughts about the illness go with the territory, but if you're lucky you might think about it less as time goes by, so long as the disease is being kept under control of course.

 

[Justanothercp]

Every day. Every time I ingest anything, or go to the bathroom, or cook or shop. Off and on all day.

 

[woops!]

It seems to be a lot here lately, worst year ever for me with crohns. What to wear, time of taking meds, bathroom schedule, toilets on the way to work, work schedule, what to eat or not eat for lunch.... treatments, meds, next GI appt, if current meds stop working then what.... I feel that it consumes a good bit of my day. It just seems so overwhelming

 

[tots]

Every day! not in an obsessive way, just in making decisions about my day.
I made plans with a friend tomorrow and i cant make it due to the symptoms i have had this week. I try not to feel bad but I do.

Lauren