A nurse with Crohn's

I was diagnosed with Crohn's in my early 40's. It was a big factor in the ending of my long marriage. The rejection I felt from my spouse was hard to deal with for many years, but now 7 years has past since the marriage ended, and 14 years since initial diagnosis in 1997.
My message is that life goes on, and we make it happy if we choose to. Not every day is blissful, there is chronic pain, struggling to get scrubs on to go to work when you were declared disabled. Somethings in life just aren't fair. I am fortunate to have supportive siblings and children, and they matter most of all. Trying to look for the good things in life and sharing it with the people that matter most to me, helps to aleviate the suffering I experience. I have fistulizing Crohn's and hospitalized for septic shock, abcesses, and gi bleeds. Miraculously, I have not been hospitalized since the first year of diagnosis. My lifestyle changed dramatically more than once.
Taking care of me now, is my first priority, as the ones I love depend on me, and want me around a few more years. :hang:

I have been treated with different medications and allergic to Remicade. I finally have stabilized on Asacol and Prednisone daily combination.

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear you have stabilized.

Thanks for Welcoming

As a nurse of 32 years I thought I was tough enough, and trained well enough to withstand most anything related to disease processes. It's a different story when you are the patient. My perception and compassion has transcended. Now I reach out for help from others who walk down this path with me.

Welcome Di!! It's always good to see medical professionals joining this group. I hope we have something here for you because I'm sure your nursing experience and wisdom will be a great asset!! Hope you stick around! Make yourself at home!

Hey Im a nurse as well, i work in an ICU, i definitely understand what u mean when ur the patient, its so different being on the inside of the bed and having others doing the caring. Difficult at times because u have an inside knowledge of whats going on. I was very lucky in that the nurses who cared 4 me were brilliant. I sort of had the same issue relationship wise, my fiance left me after being together 6 years, but i got through it eventually and im still standing, really does show u just how strong u r as a person

Wonderful welcoming

I'm excited to have now found others like me, who can identify with me.

Hi and welcome! What a great message - you are right - life is what we make it. It certainly is more challenging with CD, however, we can still have a good life. I am happy you are stabilized, and you are enjoying your life with family and friends!

Good to have some health care professionals on the forums! California, I want to live out there. I wonder if you seek treatment at the same hospital you've been working at or elsewhere. VIP Patient? lol that would be cool.

Welcome to the forum! Glad you are stabilized. Being a nurse is a very demanding job on the healthy. You must be very strong to keep going when in a flare!

Again, welcome!
Misty

Hi Princizdi and welcome!

I have the hugest respect for nurses and am grateful for the great care I have always received from nurses in the hosp.

Glad your current cocktail mix is working for you. Your positive attitude no doubt helps! Thanks for sharing it with us!

- Amy

Welcome, also a nurse in the icu. I agree that once you experience a chronic, often debilitating disease it really changes your perspectives and frame of reference when caring for patients. Working can be so difficult at times, especially if you are doing shift work. Currently I am on sick leave recovering from a bad flare. Thank God we have good benefits and sick time in Canada.

Hiya and welcome

I have nothing but respect for you and all nurses out there!
I'm with you on the 'taking care of me', I'm also number one! (after the kids)
I've left a long marriage behind too, and I've sooooooooooo moved on, in terms of happiness and health; my marriage and husband was a millstone round my neck, so I binned 'em!
Enjoy the forum!
lotsa luv
Joan xxx

Welcome... I was an ICU nurse... crohns kicked my butt... and now im a school nurse. What a jump that was.... Im loving it now, took a while to get used to though. Better doing this than shift work. Glad you joined you will find lots of support here. My husband is very suportive, but sometimes is better to talk to ppl who know how you feel.
Glad you joined. Woops!

i'm also an ICU nurse! I'm at the beginning of this journey, have my colonoscopy on the 8th of june but the symptoms are stackin' up and I'm looking at a chron's diagnosis. I agree it's very difficult to transition into patient mode....looked after a girl my age (34) the other night who was post op haveing had a total colectomy for chron's, sick sick girl very septic...was pretty confronting knowing that could be me....needless to say I was liberal with the fentanyl! It certainly makes you appreciate life on the other side, I'm such a baby that I'm even scared of having an iv for the colonoscopy, guess I've got a couple of weeks to harden up!!
I have also struggled with coping with the hours and demands of the work when I have an overwhelming need to just go to sleep! (or run to the loo!) And definitly struggling with how I will ever meet anyone who can see past the word 'disease'....I also have alopecia so am balder than the day I was born, definitly looking for a very special person who can handle all that is me!! Longing for my 20's when I was normal!

Princizdi Welcome aboard

princizdi said:

As a nurse of 32 years I thought I was tough enough, and trained well enough to withstand most anything related to disease processes. It's a different story when you are the patient. My perception and compassion has transcended. Now I reach out for help from others who walk down this path with me.

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I know EXACTLY where you're coming from! I've just passed my finals exams to qualify as a Dr and I start work in a couple of months. I think I sympathise with the pain of my patients much more because of my crohns. It also is awful ebing in the bed with drs and nurses taking care of you. I wish more nurses saw things like you do, ive been in hospital twice this month with my crohns and the first time the nurses were LOVELY and my experience was nice. Second time the nurses were different (literally different people, guess the shifts changed over or something) and they were not nice at all... just did not care and I felt like saying I wish you could have this pain for just five mins then you wouldnt act like its such an issue if Im asking for morphine or cyclizine!!!

I wish you all the best with your career and your health!!

xxxxx

Nurses with Crohns

My daughter is an ICU nurse. She worked for over a year before a flare sidelined her. She has gotten nothing but grief from work even with an FMLA, certainly not the empathy and understanding I would expect of nursing coworkers. Her crohn's makes her a better nurse, but there is no support when she is ill. Very sad situation.

ICU Nurse faces termination

I see several nurses on this site. I'm wondering how a nurse (ICU) deals with flares and the threat of termination?

i have a very understanding work. I am under constant doctors care and my employee knows that I am there unless absolutely cant be. I have been on short term disability for last bit, and now returning slowly. What a shame that sick time and benefits are not as good as canada. I worked in detroit michigan 10 years ago and would have been in the same place as you. I wish you the best with your health and employment. It must be stressful to worry about work on top of everything? Do you do shift work? Perhaps if you sit down with them and try to come up with a plan to find work hours which work
for you and them. Keep the lines of communication open with employee

Our work used to be a very compassionate employer, but the culture has changed so much in the last few years. Trying to work out a compromise is virtually impossible and transferring to a new unit is hard. My 12 hour night shift often ends up being 14 hours without a break or lunch. No one with a good gut should work like this, much less with Crohns.