So I'm writing this while sitting in a hospital bed, with my doctors saying I may need surgery to remove scar tissue in my small intestine which caused intestinal blockage that brought me to the ER a few days ago. I'm 36 and for the past 17 years have had Crohn's. I've never been hospitalized, never had surgery, and generally seemed to stay lucky despite being a bad patient.
So the minute I had an NG tube jammed up my nose and pushed down into my stomach to suck up food to relieve my blockage the immediate thought in my mind was "Oh God this sucks, I never, ever want to experience this ever again!"
So I need a new plan. No more eating whatever and hoping for the best. No more ignoring my doctors warnings or skipping medication just because I think I feel fine. No more pretending this is a disease I can ignore.
So a few questions,
Are there any good Android apps that can help keep track of what I'm eating throughout the day? I did a search in the Google app store but most had less than 1000 downloads so nothing seems very popular. I really don't want to be writing a daily diet log down on paper, way too hard to go that route! I'm curious how others track their diet.
I know I need to exercise, but I don't have a lot of free time after work. I might try squeezing in a short bike ride in the morning before work, (yea, I have a bike but never ride it lol). I also have a gym membership but since moving 7 months ago I haven't been able to figure out a schedule that would work for me. Maybe I can squeeze a 30 min workout in the morning.
Lastly I need just a general way to change my outlook on life. I started caretaking for my mom which has been insanely stressful. I'm getting better at it, but it's still incredibly stressful. I'm pretty much convinced my current flare is primarily caused by this stress.
I am going to start seeing a counselor, mostly to work on my depression, but I'm thinking of trying meditation which I have very briefly dabbled with in the past. I do routinely skydive which sure as sh*t helps a ton, (and I highly recommend everyone do at least one tandem in your life!), but that doesn't solve depression, it just helps forget about it for a bit. One thing with depression is occasionally, (very rarely), I will have a day or two where my depression seems to be completely lifted. It's during those 'high' times I realize how much of a better person I am capable of being, and just how much depression is constantly bringing me down. I guess after all these years I'm finally coming to the realization that my attempts to control my depression have not been working at all.
If anyone has any tips or ideas I should consider I'm all open ears. I hate being in this hospital bed, but even more I hate the thought that I'm probably going to have parts of my intestines removed just because of my own dumb stubbornness.
Sorry for the long rant!
So the minute I had an NG tube jammed up my nose and pushed down into my stomach to suck up food to relieve my blockage the immediate thought in my mind was "Oh God this sucks, I never, ever want to experience this ever again!"
So I need a new plan. No more eating whatever and hoping for the best. No more ignoring my doctors warnings or skipping medication just because I think I feel fine. No more pretending this is a disease I can ignore.
So a few questions,
Are there any good Android apps that can help keep track of what I'm eating throughout the day? I did a search in the Google app store but most had less than 1000 downloads so nothing seems very popular. I really don't want to be writing a daily diet log down on paper, way too hard to go that route! I'm curious how others track their diet.
I know I need to exercise, but I don't have a lot of free time after work. I might try squeezing in a short bike ride in the morning before work, (yea, I have a bike but never ride it lol). I also have a gym membership but since moving 7 months ago I haven't been able to figure out a schedule that would work for me. Maybe I can squeeze a 30 min workout in the morning.
Lastly I need just a general way to change my outlook on life. I started caretaking for my mom which has been insanely stressful. I'm getting better at it, but it's still incredibly stressful. I'm pretty much convinced my current flare is primarily caused by this stress.
I am going to start seeing a counselor, mostly to work on my depression, but I'm thinking of trying meditation which I have very briefly dabbled with in the past. I do routinely skydive which sure as sh*t helps a ton, (and I highly recommend everyone do at least one tandem in your life!), but that doesn't solve depression, it just helps forget about it for a bit. One thing with depression is occasionally, (very rarely), I will have a day or two where my depression seems to be completely lifted. It's during those 'high' times I realize how much of a better person I am capable of being, and just how much depression is constantly bringing me down. I guess after all these years I'm finally coming to the realization that my attempts to control my depression have not been working at all.
If anyone has any tips or ideas I should consider I'm all open ears. I hate being in this hospital bed, but even more I hate the thought that I'm probably going to have parts of my intestines removed just because of my own dumb stubbornness.
Sorry for the long rant!