Crohnie Quote Of The Day

I heard this one on the radio today and my kids were singing along....I can totally relate and should be the Crohnie Theme Song

So, for all you Crohnie's out there that have had surgery and have had things removed, moved, added, etc., and could sing a song to your intestines.... this Crohnie quote is for you.....from Taylor Swift

"We're never, ever, ever getting back together..."







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THE Best Pork Chops....EVER !!

As a Crohnie, I find it harsh on my Crohn's to eat meat.  Unless it's VERY tender or I wash it down with wine, to help with digestion.
But my wife found an awesome recipe that covers both....they're called Western Pork Chops, or 'Crohnie Chops'
It tastes soooooo good, they're tender and I add rice to it for an awesome dinner.

4 pork chops
341 ml (1 bottle) Beer
3 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup

Brown the pork chops and add pepper/salt (or your fave seasoning) and add to baking dish.
Mix the beer, brown sugar and ketchup together and pour over pork chops.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, covered, at 375F, remove cover for the last 15 minutes.
Serve with rice.
The sauce can be poured over the rice

Believe me....after it starts cooking, the smell alone will make your mouth water!

Enjoy!!!!

Cinnamon and Honey Drink

I've been searching for a good recipe for a cinnamon and honey drink and after some trial and error, I think I've found one that tastes not too too bad.

It's always been touted that honey and cinnamon having natural 'healing' so it can't hurt to try.  I already substitute honey for sugar in my tea and coffee.  It takes a little to get use to, but worth it in the end.

My recipe....

4 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 cups water

Boil ingredients together in a small saucepan and drink 1 cup, 3 times a day, boiling it each time so its hot.

All this is to my taste, yours might be different, so feel free to tweak it any which way.  I find the cinnamon strong.
Anything to keep table sugar out of the body.

Enjoy!

Crohnie Quote Of The Day

"If life gives you lemons, throw them back at life...see if life will make the same mistake again"







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Remicade : Day 239

Because of those nasty, pesky, annoying and painful abscesses, my Remicade was switched to every 6 weeks from the 8 weeks I was originally on.

I wore my new T shirt, which is now my "infusion shirt", which states.. "F*#K Crohn's...it's the shits"

Not enjoying the painful muscles and joints, but hey!  at least the Crohn's is at bey for now.......

Crohn's and Food

I get asked alot about what can I eat?
It's a great question I wish I had an answer for.  The easy answer is.....I can eat anything I want.

But.........

Then you have to ask yourself, "how much do I want to pay for it afterwards?"
After over 20 years of trial and error I can sum up what I need to avoid.  Some of these items cause me discomfort, while others can end me up in the hospital.

My top 10....

10.  Lettuce
9.    Milk (but I have no problem with yogurt so I can't put 'dairy')
8.    Fried foods
7.    Alcohol 
6.    Any fruit that has a skin (I peel almost everything)
5.    Raw vegetables
4.    Chocolate (I know, sad really)
3.    Coffee, Tea, Juices (but brewed coffee seems OK...weird)
2.    Popcorn
1.    Nuts and Seeds

1, 2 and 5 have ended me up in hospital with bowel obstructions.  Raw carrots are a definite no no!

What it boils down to....there is no cure, no cause....you live with it and deal with the situations, no matter how bad it can get, the best you can.

There is no easy answer to the question about what a Crohn's patient can eat, it's highly individual

In the beginning, I kept a journal and kept track of what I ate and the reactions I had.  BUT, even that is deceiving because it depends on whether or not you're having a flare at the time.  Sometimes you can eat something one day, and then can't handle it the next.

Trial and error my friends......trial and error.

Crohnie Quote Of The Day

"No one is listening.....until you fart."



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Crohn's History Spreadsheet

I've mentioned over the years that I have a spreadsheet I take with me to hospital when I go and recently I've had a few people ask me what I have on it.....so I'm going to tell you.

Basically, I've taken what the doctors and nurses ask me while in Emergency (several times) and some of the questions, I just can't remember the answers.  Either from just not remembering or I'm in too much pain and/or discomfort to answer.

So, at the top I have the title of "Crohn's History" and below that I have the date of my diagnosis.
Then, below that (from left to right) I have each and every visit to hospital, starting with the date, why I was in, if I was admitted, and the hospital.

Here's an example......(it's much neater than this, just didnt convert nicely to the blog)

Crohn's History
June 1, 1988		Diagnosis							Hospital
June 2-9, 1989		Right Hemicolectomy (bowel resection)						admission	Surrey
June 22-30, 1989		Intra-Abdominal abscess  (laparotomy, incision, drainage)						admission	Surrey
August 29, 1990		Perianal abscess   (incision, drainage)						emerg.	Surrey
Sept 26-29, 1991		Fever & anemia						admission	Surrey
Sept 19-22,1992		Abdominal abscess  (laparotomy, incision, drainage)						admission	Surrey
Nov 12-22, 1992		Resection of neo-terminal Ileum, transverse & descending colon						admission	Surrey
Oct 11-12, 1993		Renal colic						emerg.	Surrey
December 6, 1993		Perianal abscess   (incision, drainage, insertion of seton)						admission	Surrey
Jan 16-19,1994		Renal colic  (cystoscopy, pyelogram & manipulation)						admission	Surrey
April 13, 1995		Renal colic						emerg.	Surrey

Then below that, I have two small charts listing my doctors and meds.

Dr. #1		General		phone number
Dr. #2		Gastroenterologist		phone number
Dr. #3		Surgeon		phone number
Immuran		150mg / day				since Nov. 2011
Remicade		400mg infusion				since July 2012
Zopiclone		7.5 mg  half a pill as needed at bedtime
Tylenol #3		as needed

Now, obviously, you have to remember to update it as your meds change or if you go to hospital.  I always update, print and put it by my front door and a copy in my hospital bag.  It came in handy once when I was home alone and had to call an ambulance (bowel obstruction) as they always want to know what meds your on and as I was in so much pain (not to mention throwing up every couple of minutes), I had the spreadsheet ready by the front door.
The above chart is just an example.  I've entered some of my information, but my sheet is too long to show here, but those first few years are my actual incidents and those are my meds currently.

I have found over the years that this sheet comes in handy.  You might never use it and even I don't use it all the time, but its there if you do

You can never have too much information...

PS....I got the more detailed information directly from my medical records I get after every prolonged stay in hospital