Hi. My name is ThunderBear. I'm my husband's caregiver. He is 35 years old and has been diagnosed for 8 years. This is how it began:
My husband was working as a carpenter in 05. He got bitten by a brown recluse spider and developed Mrsa from it. About 3 months after he got Mrsa, he started having severe abdominal pain. He had diarrheah all the time and started losing weight. One day he came home from work and looked horrible. He said he had hurt his back and went to bed. After 2 days I made him go to the Er. They ran labs and urine tests and told me that his kidneys were nearly shut down but they didnt know why. They did every blood test imaginable. And while we waited for answers, his weight dropped from his normal 135-140 down to 108. He was so weak, he couldnt dress himself. Eating caused such pain, that he stopped. Finally, after 2 months, the doctor ran a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and told me he has Crohns & possibly UC. He started on the routine 1st line meds. But the side effects were as bad as the CD. So he stopped after a few months. Back then Humira was like Remicade is now but our insurance wont cover it. Over the years, Ive researched natural foods that contain saicylates and started him on probiotics. He's had his remissions and relapses. He gained back his weight up to 128. But right now, he is in a flare and lost 8 pounds from avoiding food and diarrheah. He stays in excruciating pain. And hes always either constipated and bloated or going 10x a day. He is depressed and suicisal at the moment. I told his family doctor today about it but he didnt say anything. Just set him up with a new GI. His WBC was slightly low. That worries me. The doc said it was insignificant. But it still worries me. My husband is self concieus about his weight. The doctor actually asked him if he has been tested for HiV cause he was thin. That did not help his self esteem at all. We told him yes and it was negitive. The doc was really nice but he seemed unconcerned about my husband's mental state and pain. My husband is very depressed. Sometimes I wonder if I should have him committed until his suicidal thoughts stop. This is extremely stressful for me and our 11 year old son. We try to help him but he will not take his meds. Which currently Flagyl and Bentyl. He wont even get them filled. Im at a loss right now. So...theres my husbands story. I hope you all have advice on how I should take better care of him. I love him so much. It is hard seeing him suffer so.
My husband was working as a carpenter in 05. He got bitten by a brown recluse spider and developed Mrsa from it. About 3 months after he got Mrsa, he started having severe abdominal pain. He had diarrheah all the time and started losing weight. One day he came home from work and looked horrible. He said he had hurt his back and went to bed. After 2 days I made him go to the Er. They ran labs and urine tests and told me that his kidneys were nearly shut down but they didnt know why. They did every blood test imaginable. And while we waited for answers, his weight dropped from his normal 135-140 down to 108. He was so weak, he couldnt dress himself. Eating caused such pain, that he stopped. Finally, after 2 months, the doctor ran a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and told me he has Crohns & possibly UC. He started on the routine 1st line meds. But the side effects were as bad as the CD. So he stopped after a few months. Back then Humira was like Remicade is now but our insurance wont cover it. Over the years, Ive researched natural foods that contain saicylates and started him on probiotics. He's had his remissions and relapses. He gained back his weight up to 128. But right now, he is in a flare and lost 8 pounds from avoiding food and diarrheah. He stays in excruciating pain. And hes always either constipated and bloated or going 10x a day. He is depressed and suicisal at the moment. I told his family doctor today about it but he didnt say anything. Just set him up with a new GI. His WBC was slightly low. That worries me. The doc said it was insignificant. But it still worries me. My husband is self concieus about his weight. The doctor actually asked him if he has been tested for HiV cause he was thin. That did not help his self esteem at all. We told him yes and it was negitive. The doc was really nice but he seemed unconcerned about my husband's mental state and pain. My husband is very depressed. Sometimes I wonder if I should have him committed until his suicidal thoughts stop. This is extremely stressful for me and our 11 year old son. We try to help him but he will not take his meds. Which currently Flagyl and Bentyl. He wont even get them filled. Im at a loss right now. So...theres my husbands story. I hope you all have advice on how I should take better care of him. I love him so much. It is hard seeing him suffer so.