Punch in the Gut

:yrolleyes:Hello everyone. First I want to say that I was thrilled to find a forum that 1) supports Crohn's Disease patients, 2) doesn't look like it was made in 10 minutes in a off shore basement, 3) and encourages everyone to take it one day at a time. Allow me to introduce myself (play rolling stones music) My name is Philip and I am 42 and was diagnosed, clinically, with Crohn's last weak after several days in the hospital due to a partially obstructed bowel. I say clinically because my biopsy results from a colonoscopy are not in yet.

I am not aware of any family history of this nor have I had these symptoms before. Starting two days ago I began to feel the loving touches of lower back and hip pain, constipation, fatigue but inability to sleep, decrease appetite, and generally miserable outlook on life. I know this is not the right mindset, however having a smoke helps calm a chaotic mind. I know i have to stop smoking . Another joyful event. I am on the "standard" loading dose of prednisone as well as protonix. My follow up with my G.I. as well as family doc is next week and am a little apprehensive about what to expect. I have spoken with the hospital dietician and began the mouth watering low fiber, a.k.a. taste, diet and well as drinking more water than someone being water boarded.

Sorry about the ranting but I feel that no one around understands what Crohns is and I am not one to explain it to them. At least here I am among my people and can rant all i want. Thanks

welcome aboard

Hi Phillip,
So sorry to hear about the series of unfortunate events who bring you to this place. But, man, it is a great place: the best kind of people with tons and tons of information, common sense, empathy and a good dose of (mostly dark) sense of humor.
I think you´ll like it here.
I'm not an IBD sufferer myself but a very close friend of mine is, and I liked your description of the "loving touches of lower back and hip pain, constipation, fatigue but inability to sleep, decreased appetite, and generally miserable outlook on life". Yep, that sounds about right. Damn dysregulation of something designed to be useful, i.e. inflammation.
Anyway, the forum even have a place for ranting, these guys are awesome.
I wish you find a good treatment soon, so your pain fades into white noise.
susie

Thanks Susie. Fades into white noise is a excellent goal.

Oh, and also, about the smoking, I'd say that the evidence is not clear enough for you to flagellate yourself about it.
What has been shown is that people who smoke, or who have smoked in the past, have a higher risk of developing Crohn's than non-smokers. And that Crohn's disease patients that smoke have an increased number of relapses compared to those who don´t smoke.
But that's only a correlation, doesn´t mean that smoking either causes or worsens Crohn's.
I mean, it could well be that people with a susceptibilty to develop Crohn´s share a certain set of traits who also make them more likely to smoke. See?
Anyway, reminded me of this post.

I'd say professional firefighters count as "fixers of the universe"...

Hi Phillip and welcome to my fellow Pennsylvanian! I am sorry about your recent diagnosis. What areas did the colonoscopy show to be affected? Have you started any maintenance medication along with the pred or is your GI waiting for the biopsy results? I sure hope the pred does the trick and takes care of your inflammation quickly. Keep us posted on your test results.

Hi Phillip and welcome!

Where are you in PA? I'm about an hour outside Philly. Just wondering if we're dealing with a Pirates fan or a Phillies fan!

If you do decide to take the leap and quit smoking, I would recommend doing a slow taper instead of quitting cold turkey - which can cause quit a stress on the body and possibly lead to or make a current flare even worse. Yep - speaking from experience over here. Just my very uneducated and non- medical opinion here!

Good luck - the new Crohn's dx can be very daunting and overwhelming. You'll find lots of good support and advice here.

- Amy

Thank you to everyone for helping out. As for where I am located, about 60 miles west of Pittsburgh in the Laurel Highlands. I am a bucco' fan but love the Yankees!!!! The Phillies and Red Sox cheat (sorry). I also despise the Steelers. Blashmeny where I live. The biopsy revealed Acute Ileitis with ulcerations. I have an Upper GI series scheduled the end of this week. My GI doc as well as PCP both feel that while the biopsy didn't pinpoint Crohns, thats what it is. The energy fluctuations I feel are bizarre, from bouncing off the walls to dragging ass. The docs feel the prednisone could be the culprit but unsure. The abdominal pain continues but not as bas as well as felling like I am getting a cold. This comes and goes everyday. Add to that the chronic migraines which were under control until now and I am ready to SCREAM. I am following the low fiber diet but little change. For those of you in the Northeast or cold climates, do the seasons have any influence on flare ups? Thanks again my Crohny Peeps!

Phillies cheat????? I guess that's how we have the best record in the league right now!

Feel better soon! - Amy