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New here but not to the fight

32 years old Single father of an amazing child

My story ( short version)

At 19 yrs old after years of pain I finally opened up to my own father about what I was going through

It was soon after told I have Crohn's and what it was, the next day was when reality hit..I landed up in ICU my large intestine tore open and I sat in a hopital Christmas week. I left the hospital with a goodie bag of pills ( sarcasm) and down in body weight 200lbs a 2 months earlier to about 140lbs

So I did what we all do..take the drugs and started the Doctors guidelines..Blood test's etc.. It was scary, it was awful, I was sad and pissed off!

I decided I will not let this disease win!! I will fight.

At the age of 21 my GI Doc suggested I get tested for Cancer due to some blood results. This was far more scary hearing! I went with his advice and went for all test's..The Doctors suggested I very well could have Lymphoma but wanted to run just a few more tests... In the end I was told they were wrong and I do not have Cancer.

Moving on with life..I got Married and decided to QUIT all meds (I am not suggesting you do the same, this was my personal choice based on a number of factors) I tossed out the drugs and haven't taken a single pill for this Disease since!

I made a choice to go with Diet, Exercise and Faith ( I won't go on a faith rant I understand we all have different views on this subject)

Years have gone by, I have had my hardships we all go through including Divorce. I have also had amazing sucess in my personal and business parts of my life, Being a father is the best part of my life, I work for a wonderful company and have fought this disease every day!

My story isn't a one off by any means, what is important is what I have done and learned along the way that might help you:

*Exercise! I do not care what you pick, Yoga, Swimming, running, weight lifting, tennis etc.. Exercise has always helped, many days I drag myself to the gym but after 10 minutes I feel amazing for the rest of the day.

I personally choose weight lifting ( landed up creating goals and competeing in powerlifting..winning my weight class 3 different times)

*Diet! Advoid eating out, using butters, oils, sauces. Eating "clean" is by far the best path I have found. Simple foods like Plain Oatmeal, Chicken, green veggies
I found eating like a bodybuilder is the best control for me

* Supplements! Yes I have tried them all and Yes 95% do nothing
What does work for me are these 3 ( aside from protein and fiber powders)
Vitamin D3
Amino Acid L-Glutamine
Branched Chained Amino Acids

*Faith ( again won't comment on mine nor push my views but will answer questions if asked)

* Be happy!!! We are all going through this, some worse than others.
I aim to be cheerful, postive and thankful daily, helping others and making people laugh..it's easy to just quit and be pissed off letting this Disease win, but I refuse to allow it to take control

My daily battles:

*Fatigue. No matter if I do nothing or work all day the Fatigue is there.
* Joint Pain. This sucks more than the pain of Crohn's IMO. I always Pop, crack stiff all over for my reason. My GF is a Phyiscal Therapist and has been helping me through this part.
IF you experiance Joint Pain get with a good PT
*Pain. Yes daily i can't count the number of business meetings I have had in pain( as I am sure you have gone through) But I never ever let it stop me from working or finishing a meeting again I refuse to let it win.

My advice for you who are reading this..Don't quit, live the life you want do not ever give in to it, Some days will suck but I'd rather have one bad day a month than one good day a year. (I refuse to let this disease take me away from spending time with my child). Choose your path its your choice to make.
 

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
Hi Jerzey and welcome to the forum! :D

Thank you for sharing your story. May I ask what meds you were given in the beginning before you stopped taking them? Are you actively seeing a GI to have regular testing done to make sure that everything is ok inside especially since you have pain and other symptoms? Have you had blood work to check for any vitamin deficiencies (or to see if you're low in anything) to see if that's the cause of your fatigue (B12 is a common culprit)? Have you been tested for arthritis to see if its the cause of your joint pain?

Sounds like you have an awesome outlook on life and I'm glad that your girlfriend is helping you with your physical therapy. Keep us posted on how you're doing. :)
 

scottsma

Well-known member
Location
Tynemouth,
Nice to have a positive post to start the New Year.You made me smile.Best Wishes for your future,but it sounds like you're doing OK to me.
 
Meds wise I do not recall all of them

6mp and Ascol are the only two I can remember

As far as pain it's the same as its been with or without meds, but nothing like it was post ICU visit. If the pain was out of control followed with other signs I'd be making some calls

My blood work always comes back wonderful, my General MD never has concerns. But i am considering B-12

I'm sure I have a form of arthritis it's quite clear
Currently I'm research ways to reverse or heal it. I won't take meds to mask the pain or drugs that damage other part of the body
 
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