Today is my birthday. And it's been a good one!
You might be wondering: "Why is this guy telling us about his birthday?"
I'm telling you this because last year was a very different story. I had been diagnosed with Crohn's two months prior, I was still flaring, and I was still trying to figure things out. I was a wreck, basically.
I spent a lot of time educating myself, through research and through a lot of the helpful insights and experiences of others on this forum. Of course, this can be something of a double-edged sword -- it's always good to be educated and to be able to make informed decisions, but it's also fairly easy to freak yourself out and convince yourself that the worst is going to happen. (Trust me, I know.)
Anyways, I'm telling you this because there's a chance that you, dear reader, are a lot like I was a year ago. Scared, upset, and uncertain. I'm here to tell you that it might take you a while to figure things out, but things can get better. When I turned 32, I spent the majority of my day crying and worrying about whether the things I ate would have terrible repercussions, or whether I'd ever feel normal again. Today, I turned 33... and it was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time. I feel much better now, and although I didn't get there overnight, I eventually got there.
You're going to find a lot of valuable information here, and a lot of supportive folks to boot (who can relate to what you're going through, even though IBD can vary from person to person). Remember that people who are currently suffering are understandably more likely to post on support forums like these when they are in need, while those who are currently doing well may be far less likely to do so. I typically don't frequent support forums just to announce how well I'm doing! But I'm making an exception and saying something about it today, because I think that you should know that there are certainly people out there with Crohn's, UC, or some other form of IBD who are actually doing quite well or have achieved remission -- you just might not read about them quite as often! Please try to keep this in mind, have hope, and educate yourselves! We're with you!
You might be wondering: "Why is this guy telling us about his birthday?"
I'm telling you this because last year was a very different story. I had been diagnosed with Crohn's two months prior, I was still flaring, and I was still trying to figure things out. I was a wreck, basically.
I spent a lot of time educating myself, through research and through a lot of the helpful insights and experiences of others on this forum. Of course, this can be something of a double-edged sword -- it's always good to be educated and to be able to make informed decisions, but it's also fairly easy to freak yourself out and convince yourself that the worst is going to happen. (Trust me, I know.)
Anyways, I'm telling you this because there's a chance that you, dear reader, are a lot like I was a year ago. Scared, upset, and uncertain. I'm here to tell you that it might take you a while to figure things out, but things can get better. When I turned 32, I spent the majority of my day crying and worrying about whether the things I ate would have terrible repercussions, or whether I'd ever feel normal again. Today, I turned 33... and it was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time. I feel much better now, and although I didn't get there overnight, I eventually got there.
You're going to find a lot of valuable information here, and a lot of supportive folks to boot (who can relate to what you're going through, even though IBD can vary from person to person). Remember that people who are currently suffering are understandably more likely to post on support forums like these when they are in need, while those who are currently doing well may be far less likely to do so. I typically don't frequent support forums just to announce how well I'm doing! But I'm making an exception and saying something about it today, because I think that you should know that there are certainly people out there with Crohn's, UC, or some other form of IBD who are actually doing quite well or have achieved remission -- you just might not read about them quite as often! Please try to keep this in mind, have hope, and educate yourselves! We're with you!
