Gearhart's my name, and I've been fighting Crohn's for 4 years now, alone mostly, with the first 14mos being untreated because I did not have health insurance. It started with a cramp, 3 weeks later I checked into an ER hobbled over, white as a ghost, dehydrated, and terrified. I checked out 8 hours later with a diagnosis of Colitis and maybe worse, wasted on morphine, being told "see a specialist", and a $32K medical bill.
My ass of a manager at work forgot to sign me up in open enrollment, and 18 months later I could finally see a doctor. A small painkiller prescription and a referral is all I had for 4 more months until I met my GI doc who got our plan together. By May 2011 I had my diagnosis of severe Crohn's and a stricture at the ileum. "Cobblestones" was a description of my insides. After 18 months I had finally stopped bleeding.
I have been on Remicade ever since, and my life will never be the same as it was before. I can't drink anymore. I had to give up Mexican food and Tobasco. These things I used to love I cannot have anymore.
I sometimes wish I could drink and drown out the persistent pain I live with (physical and mental).
I am a soldier. I try so very hard to keep this from getting me down. I had a woman who could not seem to understand what I was living with. She left. I have stayed at the same job this whole time to keep my insurance. Painkillers have become my weapon to fight my body out of the house to go to work or to go have fun.
I used to say the Crohn's ruined my life.
Now I say Crohn's has changed my life. This is my new normal.
I have read this forum before, many times, to see how other people handle this, to see how other people live with it, to see how bad I have it.
I think I have it pretty bad, because I feel like crap...often.
So I decided to become a member, not looking for pity in anyway. Today I am not at work, I feel like I'm going to puke, and I've been on the toilet 4 times in 5 hours.
Today it got to me.
It's a pleasure to become a member of a group of people who live life like I do: a day at a time and never far from the white porcelain chair!
oo:
My ass of a manager at work forgot to sign me up in open enrollment, and 18 months later I could finally see a doctor. A small painkiller prescription and a referral is all I had for 4 more months until I met my GI doc who got our plan together. By May 2011 I had my diagnosis of severe Crohn's and a stricture at the ileum. "Cobblestones" was a description of my insides. After 18 months I had finally stopped bleeding.
I have been on Remicade ever since, and my life will never be the same as it was before. I can't drink anymore. I had to give up Mexican food and Tobasco. These things I used to love I cannot have anymore.
I sometimes wish I could drink and drown out the persistent pain I live with (physical and mental).
I am a soldier. I try so very hard to keep this from getting me down. I had a woman who could not seem to understand what I was living with. She left. I have stayed at the same job this whole time to keep my insurance. Painkillers have become my weapon to fight my body out of the house to go to work or to go have fun.
I used to say the Crohn's ruined my life.
Now I say Crohn's has changed my life. This is my new normal.
I have read this forum before, many times, to see how other people handle this, to see how other people live with it, to see how bad I have it.
I think I have it pretty bad, because I feel like crap...often.
So I decided to become a member, not looking for pity in anyway. Today I am not at work, I feel like I'm going to puke, and I've been on the toilet 4 times in 5 hours.
Today it got to me.
It's a pleasure to become a member of a group of people who live life like I do: a day at a time and never far from the white porcelain chair!
oo:
