Hi. My name is Leigh Anne. I have to warn you..... I love to "chat". I just happened to stumble upon this forum. I was watching a recent news story about a woman arrested for possession of 2 oz of cannabis oil. Her son gave a presentation at school about medical marijuana and how it helps his mom during Crohn's flares. The school notified police, her son was removed from the home and she was arrested. Out of curiosity I did a search about Crohn's and cannabis and found the link to this forum.
I am 54 (55 in Aug) and I have had several auto-immune diseases most of my life. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2006. I had just retired from the Air Force after 22yrs 8 months. At the time I was Patient Advocate for Eglin AFB Med Center. After I retired, they asked me to stay and changed the active duty position to a civil service position. We stayed in Florida. -----In Aug 2005, I was in Maine visiting a friend and got VERY sick. We had driven a couple hours from her home to spend the week-end at the Lobster Festival. We ate a lot of everything. The second day, we consumed 4 or 5 lobsters each. Around midnight I started having severe diarrhea and the worst abdominal pain in my life. After 30 minutes of constant pain and diarrhea, the diarrhea became solely bright red blood. So much blood. By the morning, I had a fever and honestly thought I could die on the trip back to my friend's town. I went to the ER as soon as we got back. I stayed 6 hrs in the ER and was given IV antibiotics, pain meds and IV fluid. They did every lab test possible including stool cultures. The diagnosis was bacterial infection; probably from the seafood. Interesting fact: the ER physician had been in the Air Force and did his residency at Eglin AFB Fl where I worked. The next day I flew back to Florida. I was still extremely sick. I went to the ER on base and was admitted. The resident in the ER asked about the blood in my diarrhea; he wanted to "check" by doing an exam. I told him it wasn't necessary because I had taken a large basin to the restroom and provided a sample. I could tell he doubted my description of the blood. But once he lifted the towel covering the basin full of a few cups of blood minus stool, he never questioned anything else I told him. I had a colonoscopy the next morning. It was completely normal. The cultures that were done in Maine came back normal. I went back to my normal life. In April 2006, the EXACT same thing happened. It was around midnight. I immediately went to the ER on base and was admitted. The next morning I had a colonoscopy. The biopsies were abnormal and I was diagnosed with Crohn's. During my 24 years in the medical field, I had taken care of a few patients with Crohn's. Hearing I had this disease was an absolute shock.
Since that time, we lived in Maine for a while before returning to my hometown in NC. I have 2 or 3 flares a year, lasting 2 to 3 weeks each time. I don't always have to be admitted to the hospital, but have been several times. I always develop joint pain and fevers during my flares. In between flares, I often have bouts of diarrhea and mild abdominal pain. In 2010, I had to have my gallbladder removed and in 2013 I developed severe reflux and had to have a fundoplication. Both very successful surgeries. I also have had liver biopsies due to fatty liver disease unrelated to alcohol. I also have thyroid disease and on and off anemia. I have taken Entocort in the past but I am currently on Asacol. During my flares, I increase my Asacol and take Flagyl. I am not allergic to steroids, but I have severe side effects that are worse than most people have. I have not isolated any foods that affect my disease, however, 6 years ago I became a vegetarian which has made me feel better in general. In 2009, I began decreasing my work hours and in Jan 2011 I quit working permanently. I think that has increased my quality of life since I don't have to worry about being out of work due to illness. I try to stay positive and enjoy every day of my life. I know I am not
nearly as sick as most people with Crohn's, so for that I am very grateful.
I am 54 (55 in Aug) and I have had several auto-immune diseases most of my life. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2006. I had just retired from the Air Force after 22yrs 8 months. At the time I was Patient Advocate for Eglin AFB Med Center. After I retired, they asked me to stay and changed the active duty position to a civil service position. We stayed in Florida. -----In Aug 2005, I was in Maine visiting a friend and got VERY sick. We had driven a couple hours from her home to spend the week-end at the Lobster Festival. We ate a lot of everything. The second day, we consumed 4 or 5 lobsters each. Around midnight I started having severe diarrhea and the worst abdominal pain in my life. After 30 minutes of constant pain and diarrhea, the diarrhea became solely bright red blood. So much blood. By the morning, I had a fever and honestly thought I could die on the trip back to my friend's town. I went to the ER as soon as we got back. I stayed 6 hrs in the ER and was given IV antibiotics, pain meds and IV fluid. They did every lab test possible including stool cultures. The diagnosis was bacterial infection; probably from the seafood. Interesting fact: the ER physician had been in the Air Force and did his residency at Eglin AFB Fl where I worked. The next day I flew back to Florida. I was still extremely sick. I went to the ER on base and was admitted. The resident in the ER asked about the blood in my diarrhea; he wanted to "check" by doing an exam. I told him it wasn't necessary because I had taken a large basin to the restroom and provided a sample. I could tell he doubted my description of the blood. But once he lifted the towel covering the basin full of a few cups of blood minus stool, he never questioned anything else I told him. I had a colonoscopy the next morning. It was completely normal. The cultures that were done in Maine came back normal. I went back to my normal life. In April 2006, the EXACT same thing happened. It was around midnight. I immediately went to the ER on base and was admitted. The next morning I had a colonoscopy. The biopsies were abnormal and I was diagnosed with Crohn's. During my 24 years in the medical field, I had taken care of a few patients with Crohn's. Hearing I had this disease was an absolute shock.
Since that time, we lived in Maine for a while before returning to my hometown in NC. I have 2 or 3 flares a year, lasting 2 to 3 weeks each time. I don't always have to be admitted to the hospital, but have been several times. I always develop joint pain and fevers during my flares. In between flares, I often have bouts of diarrhea and mild abdominal pain. In 2010, I had to have my gallbladder removed and in 2013 I developed severe reflux and had to have a fundoplication. Both very successful surgeries. I also have had liver biopsies due to fatty liver disease unrelated to alcohol. I also have thyroid disease and on and off anemia. I have taken Entocort in the past but I am currently on Asacol. During my flares, I increase my Asacol and take Flagyl. I am not allergic to steroids, but I have severe side effects that are worse than most people have. I have not isolated any foods that affect my disease, however, 6 years ago I became a vegetarian which has made me feel better in general. In 2009, I began decreasing my work hours and in Jan 2011 I quit working permanently. I think that has increased my quality of life since I don't have to worry about being out of work due to illness. I try to stay positive and enjoy every day of my life. I know I am not
nearly as sick as most people with Crohn's, so for that I am very grateful.
