If I had to grade my health right now, it's a B. That's pretty good! I would have given it a D or D+ a couple of weeks ago, when I was dealing with a large flare.
I'm able to eat relatively normally, just in smaller portions, being more conservative, and I'm using more Lactaid tablets to compensate for what (I believe) is a smaller ability to digest Lactose, because (I believe) that if my flare is in my most affected area, that area is the place that makes Lactase (the enzyme that digests Lactose). So, when I'm flaring, I assume I have even less ability to digest Lactose. There you go. My husband and I disagree on this point.
I'm still trying to find a way to cope with stress. I feel like every strong emotion rocks me, triggers my Crohn's in some way--pain, cramps, gas, etc. Not fun. The steroids are helping things calm down, I think, and so are the Probiotics. I'm very happy with those, especially now that I don't think they're making me nauseous like I did at first. Heck, people take them to treat nausea, so how could they cause it? It feels good to be supplementing my poor digestive system with some extra helpers--good bacteria. And at $15 for a 2-month supply, they're MUCH cheaper than the $100/month for the brandname steroids (too new to have a generic).
So, I wish I was an A+, but I think I'll only be there in Heaven. Sometimes, when I'm feeling good, I forget how it was to feel so crappy all the time. And I don't want to do that. I want to be able to cherish these times of good health and less pain, so that those memories will help carry me through the hard times and so I won't feel like I'm "always" sick. God is good. He is taking care of me.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Losing Weight
I am feeling MUCH BETTER, praise God! Thank you so much for praying for me.
The cramping has stopped, and I seem to have received wisdom about what foods to try when. The challenge now is going off of the Boost Plus (liquid diet) and onto regular food. Whenever I've made that transition, I've lost even more weight than I did on the liquid diet, I think because the foods I transition onto don't have a lot of fat or calories in them: chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, rice krispies and milk, peanut butter and crackers, etc. Low residue. And I eat those foods for several days before transitioning further; I'll be trying pasta and chicken soon, and that'll help. I think I may also sneak a Boost in during the day, too, for the calories and protein it offers and that my body can absorb easily.
I feel like a bodybuilder. ;) Except that I'm too skinny. Please pray for major weight gain.
The cramping has stopped, and I seem to have received wisdom about what foods to try when. The challenge now is going off of the Boost Plus (liquid diet) and onto regular food. Whenever I've made that transition, I've lost even more weight than I did on the liquid diet, I think because the foods I transition onto don't have a lot of fat or calories in them: chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, rice krispies and milk, peanut butter and crackers, etc. Low residue. And I eat those foods for several days before transitioning further; I'll be trying pasta and chicken soon, and that'll help. I think I may also sneak a Boost in during the day, too, for the calories and protein it offers and that my body can absorb easily.
I feel like a bodybuilder. ;) Except that I'm too skinny. Please pray for major weight gain.
Friday, January 12, 2007
MUCH better
Thank you so much for your prayers. I am feeling MUCH better. It feels either like the calm eye of a storm or the end of the storm. My body has been at rest all day, since I ate breakfast. It's amazing!
I have been feeling nauseous most of the day, but when I have something to eat, I feel better, so I wonder if I am just malnourished. I'm doing soups and Boost, but feeling optomistic.
Praise the Lord! Please keep praying, but know that your prayers are being answered.
I have been feeling nauseous most of the day, but when I have something to eat, I feel better, so I wonder if I am just malnourished. I'm doing soups and Boost, but feeling optomistic.
Praise the Lord! Please keep praying, but know that your prayers are being answered.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Another Flare
Here is the email we just sent out, asking for prayer. I wanted to include it here. I'm not always good about asking for prayer, but my husband encouraged me to send it out far and wide.
We wanted to write again and ask that you continue to pray for me regarding my Crohn's Disease. I had a lot of pain today, a "flare," and I'm still in pain, sore, perhaps as an aftershock. This isn't the way it usually happens when I have a flare, so it's confusing as well as discouraging, as I'm on this new medication that's supposed to help. I spoke with my doctor this evening and he said to take it easy with foods for awhile, but didn't indicate that I needed to be in the hospital or something equally serious, which was good. I'm hoping that the meds will kick in soon and I can eat normally.
I can't express how frustrating and wearying this continues to be. I don't usually have a lot of patience to wait for His healing, as it comes in pills, in rest, in time, or even in a miracle healing. My husband and I would love to continue to be in your prayers for us, for wisdom about what to do when I have pain, for energy to survive these traumas, for the lasting peace and strong hope that only God can provide for us.
Thank you.
We wanted to write again and ask that you continue to pray for me regarding my Crohn's Disease. I had a lot of pain today, a "flare," and I'm still in pain, sore, perhaps as an aftershock. This isn't the way it usually happens when I have a flare, so it's confusing as well as discouraging, as I'm on this new medication that's supposed to help. I spoke with my doctor this evening and he said to take it easy with foods for awhile, but didn't indicate that I needed to be in the hospital or something equally serious, which was good. I'm hoping that the meds will kick in soon and I can eat normally.
I can't express how frustrating and wearying this continues to be. I don't usually have a lot of patience to wait for His healing, as it comes in pills, in rest, in time, or even in a miracle healing. My husband and I would love to continue to be in your prayers for us, for wisdom about what to do when I have pain, for energy to survive these traumas, for the lasting peace and strong hope that only God can provide for us.
Thank you.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Little better...
Well, I am feeling a little better, on average. I've eaten a lot more solid food, and that feels good. I'm feeling good during the day, but the nighttime is killing me. Last night I woke up because of sharp nausea (strange adjective choice but true), but was able to take care of it with some time and some Maalox. I then laid in bed for awhile waiting for my intestines to work out some gas that they weren't doing a lot about. This was frightening, because when my body stops trying to push stuff through, that's when I go to the hospital because I have a bowel obstruction. And the pain was hard last night partly because it was nighttime and as my husband reminds me, pain is always worse at night. But I survived.
Today I'm still trying to work out that gas (I know, a little too descriptive, but it's just my family reading this, so I'm not going to be embarrassed) because my tummy is rather tight. Or sore. I don't know how to describe it. My husband and I sometimes compare how we're feeling because maybe we both just ate something bad and what feels like "Crohn's" to me might just be a normal upset stomach. Pain is such a subjective thing that is impossible to put into words (I struggled with finding the words for that sad, sad sentence, even!).
So, anyway, I think the steroids are working but I'm not sure about the probiotics. I don't have a lot of patience for alternative remedies. Please continue praying. I need prayer, I need sleep, I need trust in my Father, I need tangible ways to work out stress.
I'll close with posting the prayer I've taken from the Book of Common Prayer and put on my computer screen to remember today (forgive me if I posted this already). There is SO MUCH to meditate on in that prayer. God is blessing me with it.
O God, the source of all health: So fill my heart with faith in your love, that with calm expectancy I may make room for your power to possess me, and gracefully accept your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today I'm still trying to work out that gas (I know, a little too descriptive, but it's just my family reading this, so I'm not going to be embarrassed) because my tummy is rather tight. Or sore. I don't know how to describe it. My husband and I sometimes compare how we're feeling because maybe we both just ate something bad and what feels like "Crohn's" to me might just be a normal upset stomach. Pain is such a subjective thing that is impossible to put into words (I struggled with finding the words for that sad, sad sentence, even!).
So, anyway, I think the steroids are working but I'm not sure about the probiotics. I don't have a lot of patience for alternative remedies. Please continue praying. I need prayer, I need sleep, I need trust in my Father, I need tangible ways to work out stress.
I'll close with posting the prayer I've taken from the Book of Common Prayer and put on my computer screen to remember today (forgive me if I posted this already). There is SO MUCH to meditate on in that prayer. God is blessing me with it.
O God, the source of all health: So fill my heart with faith in your love, that with calm expectancy I may make room for your power to possess me, and gracefully accept your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Entocort... again
Yup, I'm back on the Entocort. Here's the story:
My Crohn's was really bad Thursday night, having gotten worse and worse, and I decided to stay home from work Friday because I was exhausted from still needing to catch up on sleep and having had a bad night's sleep that night. I also called the GI nurse, to see if my dentist appointments were causing some kind of problem with my Crohn's, and to note that when I took antibiotics, I seemed to feel better. The nurse actually answered the phone, which NEVER happens, so I got to say everything to her. She thought the Crohn's problems are more related to the stress of the dental work than the bacteria or something like that, but said to take it easy and she'd talk to my doc and get back to me if he wanted me to do anything different.
I took a three hour nap that morning and when I woke up, I had a voicemail from the nurse saying that my doc wanted me to go on Entocort for four weeks and see him before the four weeks were up. That's great! I feel like this will help me stabilize after unbelievable and incontrollable stress in my life, and I don't anticipate staying on the Entocort for very long.
My husband and I were talking more about everything, and I thought, maybe the antibiotics wiped out the good bacteria in my body and the dentist work stirred up a lot of bad bacteria and my stressed-out body is having trouble dealing with all of it. So, I called the nurse back and asked (because she answered AGAIN! amazing!) if I could take probiotics. She said sure, it won't hurt and might help.
So, after a long time of researching different probiotics, we've decided to try Udo's Choice Probiotics. I had called the unit at the hospital I was at last time, to ask what kind of probiotics I received while I was there, and the nurse didn't know but said to (1) get ones that have the most units per dose and (2) try this certain health store because they're very knowledgable there. So, we did, and after some further research, decided to try Udo's because of their recommendation and the website and the great packaging. ;) Anyway, it's 12 billion parts/capsule, which is very good, though it's a lot and I'm hoping I won't have difficulties. The health store initially recommended sticking to 2-6 billion/capsule because it might be gentler on my system, but with the nurses recommendation, I thought why not. I'll let you know how it goes. Please pray that I don't have adverse affects (no one seems to get side effects from probiotics, so that's good).
So, there you go. I'm on a liquid diet mostly while things calm down, and starting the Entocort this morning and probiotics with lunch should help a lot.
My Crohn's was really bad Thursday night, having gotten worse and worse, and I decided to stay home from work Friday because I was exhausted from still needing to catch up on sleep and having had a bad night's sleep that night. I also called the GI nurse, to see if my dentist appointments were causing some kind of problem with my Crohn's, and to note that when I took antibiotics, I seemed to feel better. The nurse actually answered the phone, which NEVER happens, so I got to say everything to her. She thought the Crohn's problems are more related to the stress of the dental work than the bacteria or something like that, but said to take it easy and she'd talk to my doc and get back to me if he wanted me to do anything different.
I took a three hour nap that morning and when I woke up, I had a voicemail from the nurse saying that my doc wanted me to go on Entocort for four weeks and see him before the four weeks were up. That's great! I feel like this will help me stabilize after unbelievable and incontrollable stress in my life, and I don't anticipate staying on the Entocort for very long.
My husband and I were talking more about everything, and I thought, maybe the antibiotics wiped out the good bacteria in my body and the dentist work stirred up a lot of bad bacteria and my stressed-out body is having trouble dealing with all of it. So, I called the nurse back and asked (because she answered AGAIN! amazing!) if I could take probiotics. She said sure, it won't hurt and might help.
So, after a long time of researching different probiotics, we've decided to try Udo's Choice Probiotics. I had called the unit at the hospital I was at last time, to ask what kind of probiotics I received while I was there, and the nurse didn't know but said to (1) get ones that have the most units per dose and (2) try this certain health store because they're very knowledgable there. So, we did, and after some further research, decided to try Udo's because of their recommendation and the website and the great packaging. ;) Anyway, it's 12 billion parts/capsule, which is very good, though it's a lot and I'm hoping I won't have difficulties. The health store initially recommended sticking to 2-6 billion/capsule because it might be gentler on my system, but with the nurses recommendation, I thought why not. I'll let you know how it goes. Please pray that I don't have adverse affects (no one seems to get side effects from probiotics, so that's good).
So, there you go. I'm on a liquid diet mostly while things calm down, and starting the Entocort this morning and probiotics with lunch should help a lot.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
New Year
For the record, my Crohn's is not good and hasn't been for awhile (probably 2 weeks) but I can think of many good reasons for it:
1. I've been stressed--both positive and negative--since the Crohn's has gone downhill, because of the holidays.
2. I've been stressed because of spending last week at a large convention for my work. I worked long days doing stressful work, and did not eat well at all while I was there. Not to mention my lack of any sort of rhythm (eating, exercising, praying, sleeping, etc.) while I was there. I'm a very rhythmic person.
3. Food rhythms have been messed up because of the holidays.
4. I was on antibiotics for a sinus infection and wonder if when I finished them, they left me with a deficit of good bacteria in my body with which to handle my food properly.
5. I am having three teeth filled tonight (permanent fillings now) and three filled next Wednesday. Needless to say, I'm sticking to the Valium during this stressful time.
So, there you go. For posterity. I feel crappy but somewhat optimistic. I have to say that I have been pretty worried about the affect this convention will have on my body. The two times I was in the hospital followed two extremely stressful times in my life (wedding and Holy Week) and my body seemed to process the stress after the event had passed. So, it's good to anticipate some difficulties this week and next and eat carefully and rest and exercise a lot, but I need to be careful not to despair or anticipate disaster.
Please pray.
I hope your Christmastime is going well.
1. I've been stressed--both positive and negative--since the Crohn's has gone downhill, because of the holidays.
2. I've been stressed because of spending last week at a large convention for my work. I worked long days doing stressful work, and did not eat well at all while I was there. Not to mention my lack of any sort of rhythm (eating, exercising, praying, sleeping, etc.) while I was there. I'm a very rhythmic person.
3. Food rhythms have been messed up because of the holidays.
4. I was on antibiotics for a sinus infection and wonder if when I finished them, they left me with a deficit of good bacteria in my body with which to handle my food properly.
5. I am having three teeth filled tonight (permanent fillings now) and three filled next Wednesday. Needless to say, I'm sticking to the Valium during this stressful time.
So, there you go. For posterity. I feel crappy but somewhat optimistic. I have to say that I have been pretty worried about the affect this convention will have on my body. The two times I was in the hospital followed two extremely stressful times in my life (wedding and Holy Week) and my body seemed to process the stress after the event had passed. So, it's good to anticipate some difficulties this week and next and eat carefully and rest and exercise a lot, but I need to be careful not to despair or anticipate disaster.
Please pray.
I hope your Christmastime is going well.