- Joined
- Apr 29, 2009
- Messages
- 42
Hello everyone...long time listener, first time caller!:lol: Amway, I thought I would introduce myself. I am Matt about to turn 27 and I have had Crohn's disease since I was 18. I live in Baltimore, Maryland with my wife of 8 months and dog. I have been selling Real Estate here since I was in college.
I was diagnosed my senior year of high school. It started with just some pain, cramping...felt like I had extreme gas pains for months. Needless to say I just ignored it for awhile, I played varsity basketball and it never slowed me down. It finally got bad enough to see my primary care doctor, who promptly suggested I see a GI specialist, since she had no idea. Upon seeing him he gave me the ol' prostate test to see if I had blood in my stool that was not visible to the naked eye. (To this point my BM's where normal). He found some blood and away we went with a colonoscopy. He determined I had a "mild" case of ileocolitis and prescribed asacol. This all happening over the summer of that year.
My first major flare happened in December that year, first bought with extreme D, pain, extreme weight loss about 40lbs in 8weeks. Most of my colon was inflamed so Upped the Asacol, Prednisone, Cipro, Flagyl, and Cort-enemas. Suffered for a 2 months, develop abscesses, it was my worst flare to date still.
Then I went into remission, maybe an entire year, no symptoms at all maintain with just asacol.
Speeding this long story up...I have been flaring on and off for the past few years. In 2005 I had a big flare with my small intestines the effected part, my scope last week show all the inflammation in my sigmoid colon and some in the rectum, nothing from my terminal ilieum until my sigmoid colon, completely normal.
Most of the time it does not effect my life, but latley things have not been good and it is effecting my ability to work I have been on Remicade for about 3 years now starting at every 12 weeks and down to 4-6 weeks, seems to not work anymore long.
About a year ago a lady I work with who has rheumatoid arthritis and referred me to a holistic Dr, who is also an MD and combines the two approaches and has helped her control her arthritis with diet/supplements.
Upon seeing her this DR, her first step was to order a food allergy test. My rhematoid friend's test came back with her being allergic to many food items she ate daily. Bananas, wheat, beef, tomatoes and a host of others. By avoiding this she has really controlled her arthritis. Me not so easy, I showed high IgA and IgG antibodies to sesame and blueberries, not exactly staples of my diet to begin with :ybatty:. She still told me to go on an elimination/reintroduction diet to figure out my food intolerance but I have not been disciplined enough to stay on it more than a couple weeks, she also started me on UltraInflamx and UltraClear Sustain both by Metagenics, along with powdered probiotics, fish and flax seed oil shakes.
Unfortunately insurance did not cover this and I quickly spend several hundred dollars between the products and consultations, so I have not been back.
The hardest part is I have tried almost every trendy supplement with limited success with most things. Fish oil, aloe juice, l-gluatmine, grape seed, many types of probiotics, good multi vitamin, oil of oregano. My diet is sooooo much better now, that it was when I was first diagnosed. I don't intake much dairy or red meat nor much junk food. I eat lots of fish and chicken, fruit and veggies, but feel like I am progressively becoming harder treat. My blood work has always shown I do not have inflammation markers most crohn's people have ( I forget what it is called) and the place active disease moves around, so even my GI thinks surgery is pointless for me.
I have been taking Asacol almost a decade and I can't honestly say it has every helped. I have been on Immuran, Entcort, Prednisone, Rowasa, Cipro ,Flagyl in my time. Prednisone works, but I really try to avoid it, I have always played sports and find myself breaking bones latley when I never broke a bone for the first 24 years of my life. I have broken 3 in 3 years on fluky things.
Anyway, having some troubles latley, getting discouraged/depressed, but at the same time intrigued by LDN. My GI and I have a great relationship, so I want to try this, but I don't know how to approach him without insulting him.
Well anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just felt like opening up some tonight. Thanks to all those who take the time to read. I think about those with chronic illnesses all the time and hope each find the strength to make it through the day with a smile and a laugh.
I was diagnosed my senior year of high school. It started with just some pain, cramping...felt like I had extreme gas pains for months. Needless to say I just ignored it for awhile, I played varsity basketball and it never slowed me down. It finally got bad enough to see my primary care doctor, who promptly suggested I see a GI specialist, since she had no idea. Upon seeing him he gave me the ol' prostate test to see if I had blood in my stool that was not visible to the naked eye. (To this point my BM's where normal). He found some blood and away we went with a colonoscopy. He determined I had a "mild" case of ileocolitis and prescribed asacol. This all happening over the summer of that year.
My first major flare happened in December that year, first bought with extreme D, pain, extreme weight loss about 40lbs in 8weeks. Most of my colon was inflamed so Upped the Asacol, Prednisone, Cipro, Flagyl, and Cort-enemas. Suffered for a 2 months, develop abscesses, it was my worst flare to date still.
Then I went into remission, maybe an entire year, no symptoms at all maintain with just asacol.
Speeding this long story up...I have been flaring on and off for the past few years. In 2005 I had a big flare with my small intestines the effected part, my scope last week show all the inflammation in my sigmoid colon and some in the rectum, nothing from my terminal ilieum until my sigmoid colon, completely normal.
Most of the time it does not effect my life, but latley things have not been good and it is effecting my ability to work I have been on Remicade for about 3 years now starting at every 12 weeks and down to 4-6 weeks, seems to not work anymore long.
About a year ago a lady I work with who has rheumatoid arthritis and referred me to a holistic Dr, who is also an MD and combines the two approaches and has helped her control her arthritis with diet/supplements.
Upon seeing her this DR, her first step was to order a food allergy test. My rhematoid friend's test came back with her being allergic to many food items she ate daily. Bananas, wheat, beef, tomatoes and a host of others. By avoiding this she has really controlled her arthritis. Me not so easy, I showed high IgA and IgG antibodies to sesame and blueberries, not exactly staples of my diet to begin with :ybatty:. She still told me to go on an elimination/reintroduction diet to figure out my food intolerance but I have not been disciplined enough to stay on it more than a couple weeks, she also started me on UltraInflamx and UltraClear Sustain both by Metagenics, along with powdered probiotics, fish and flax seed oil shakes.
Unfortunately insurance did not cover this and I quickly spend several hundred dollars between the products and consultations, so I have not been back.
The hardest part is I have tried almost every trendy supplement with limited success with most things. Fish oil, aloe juice, l-gluatmine, grape seed, many types of probiotics, good multi vitamin, oil of oregano. My diet is sooooo much better now, that it was when I was first diagnosed. I don't intake much dairy or red meat nor much junk food. I eat lots of fish and chicken, fruit and veggies, but feel like I am progressively becoming harder treat. My blood work has always shown I do not have inflammation markers most crohn's people have ( I forget what it is called) and the place active disease moves around, so even my GI thinks surgery is pointless for me.
I have been taking Asacol almost a decade and I can't honestly say it has every helped. I have been on Immuran, Entcort, Prednisone, Rowasa, Cipro ,Flagyl in my time. Prednisone works, but I really try to avoid it, I have always played sports and find myself breaking bones latley when I never broke a bone for the first 24 years of my life. I have broken 3 in 3 years on fluky things.
Anyway, having some troubles latley, getting discouraged/depressed, but at the same time intrigued by LDN. My GI and I have a great relationship, so I want to try this, but I don't know how to approach him without insulting him.
Well anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just felt like opening up some tonight. Thanks to all those who take the time to read. I think about those with chronic illnesses all the time and hope each find the strength to make it through the day with a smile and a laugh.
