....you keep a hospital spreadsheet of when you were in, what you were in for, whether you were in through emergency or admission, a list of your family doctor, GI, surgeon and their phone numbers, and a list of your meds with dosage.
Comes in handy when you get asked the same questions over and over by numerous doctors and nurses whnever you go in to hospital.
It's easier to just hand over the sheet, cuz sometimes you're just in too much pain and discomfort to answer.
.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Crohnie Quote of the Day
With Crohn's, as in life, you feel as though you take two steps forward and one step back.....
.......But you are always moving forward.
.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
A Lovely Day at the Hospital.......Or Week
You know when us Crohnie's can never tell when you're going to get a flare up?? Well this took me for a loop........
Last Friday morning I awoke early, as usual, needing to go to the bathroom, as usual, except nothing was coming out, not usual. "Hmmmm", I thought, "that's strange, I know I have to go, cause I can feel it". No sooner had I stood up, the feeling came back and so...back down I go........and....nothing. So, now I'm getting the weird feeling. You know the one. Where you say to yourself, "Hmmmm".
This went off and on for about an hour or so, then came the "Uh - oh" moment, I threw up.
"Not good", I thought. Because right at that same moment, I had that urge to go to the bathroom. I already knew what those two combinations meant and I was desperately trying and trying NOT to let it happen......yeah...right.
Within minutes, I needed to throw up again, but this time, the pain started, just below my rig cage.
Sharp, intense and still I was NOT going to let this happen......have I not learned anything after 24 years of this disease?
By this time, I'm home alone and I struggled to get dressed and get myself downstairs and maybe, just maybe, laying on the couch might help......Haaa Haaaaaa Haaaa, what an idiot!
I could no longer sit, or lay down from the pain, AND I still had the feeling I needed to go to the bathroom all this time....time to call the ambulance and scribble a quick note to my wife.....
gone to hospital. I'm still throwing up when they arrived, BUT, because I'm throwing up, they won't give my any morphine......crap!!
What seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at Langley Memorial and was wheeled in to the hallway. Just my luck.....seems the whole city is at this hospital. But by now, I really really needed to get to a bathroom!! The ambulance attendant had to pull me up off the stretcher as I couldnt get up myself and I struggled, bent over, the 20 yards or so to the bathroom, praying there was no one else in there. Of course whilst I'm trying to go to the bathroom, I threw up again, this time, nothing was coming up.....my suspicions were now comfirmed to me......bowel obstruction. I did this another time before they found me a bed, thank god and they got an IV in to me as soon as they could. My bowels needed to rest. After an XRay and CT Scan confirmed what I already knew, the concern now was.....was it bad enough for surgery or would just the IV be enough???
Saturday came and another XRay to see if the IV is helping. In walks the surgeon afterwards and I'm already thinking....oh, crap....but, good news. Seems the rest has helped a little and the obstruction is smaller. Turns out, I had a new area of Crohn's develop higher up in my intestine, oh goodie, thus causing narrowing of that part of the bowel. BUT, I would need to stay in hospital to see IF it stays the way it is, or clears.
Well....I'm home now after five days and everything seems to be ok......but I wanted to say to everyone out there. With Crohn's, you just never know when, why, or where you're going to get a flare. I didn't eat anything different, do anything different or anything that would "cause" it to flare.
When the Crohn's Fairy comes down and touches you with her magic wand, you deal with it the best you can.....like we always do.
In my case, I should have listened and recognised the symptoms, done something about it, instead of denying it and hoping with all hope that it wasn't happening.. But I wanted to show, that eventhough I have been with this for 24 years now, I still wish it wasnt happening to me and hope it would just go away.
Well Crohn's is here to stay, don't be a twit like me and get help asap, you could be making it worse.
I'd like to thank all the staff, nurses and doctors at Langley Memorial Hospital in Langley, BC, Canada, for their great work and help. You know you've been to the hospital too much when some staff, 3 nurses and 2 doctors recognize you.
Last Friday morning I awoke early, as usual, needing to go to the bathroom, as usual, except nothing was coming out, not usual. "Hmmmm", I thought, "that's strange, I know I have to go, cause I can feel it". No sooner had I stood up, the feeling came back and so...back down I go........and....nothing. So, now I'm getting the weird feeling. You know the one. Where you say to yourself, "Hmmmm".
This went off and on for about an hour or so, then came the "Uh - oh" moment, I threw up.
"Not good", I thought. Because right at that same moment, I had that urge to go to the bathroom. I already knew what those two combinations meant and I was desperately trying and trying NOT to let it happen......yeah...right.
Within minutes, I needed to throw up again, but this time, the pain started, just below my rig cage.
Sharp, intense and still I was NOT going to let this happen......have I not learned anything after 24 years of this disease?
By this time, I'm home alone and I struggled to get dressed and get myself downstairs and maybe, just maybe, laying on the couch might help......Haaa Haaaaaa Haaaa, what an idiot!
I could no longer sit, or lay down from the pain, AND I still had the feeling I needed to go to the bathroom all this time....time to call the ambulance and scribble a quick note to my wife.....
gone to hospital. I'm still throwing up when they arrived, BUT, because I'm throwing up, they won't give my any morphine......crap!!
What seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at Langley Memorial and was wheeled in to the hallway. Just my luck.....seems the whole city is at this hospital. But by now, I really really needed to get to a bathroom!! The ambulance attendant had to pull me up off the stretcher as I couldnt get up myself and I struggled, bent over, the 20 yards or so to the bathroom, praying there was no one else in there. Of course whilst I'm trying to go to the bathroom, I threw up again, this time, nothing was coming up.....my suspicions were now comfirmed to me......bowel obstruction. I did this another time before they found me a bed, thank god and they got an IV in to me as soon as they could. My bowels needed to rest. After an XRay and CT Scan confirmed what I already knew, the concern now was.....was it bad enough for surgery or would just the IV be enough???
Saturday came and another XRay to see if the IV is helping. In walks the surgeon afterwards and I'm already thinking....oh, crap....but, good news. Seems the rest has helped a little and the obstruction is smaller. Turns out, I had a new area of Crohn's develop higher up in my intestine, oh goodie, thus causing narrowing of that part of the bowel. BUT, I would need to stay in hospital to see IF it stays the way it is, or clears.
Well....I'm home now after five days and everything seems to be ok......but I wanted to say to everyone out there. With Crohn's, you just never know when, why, or where you're going to get a flare. I didn't eat anything different, do anything different or anything that would "cause" it to flare.
When the Crohn's Fairy comes down and touches you with her magic wand, you deal with it the best you can.....like we always do.
In my case, I should have listened and recognised the symptoms, done something about it, instead of denying it and hoping with all hope that it wasn't happening.. But I wanted to show, that eventhough I have been with this for 24 years now, I still wish it wasnt happening to me and hope it would just go away.
Well Crohn's is here to stay, don't be a twit like me and get help asap, you could be making it worse.
I'd like to thank all the staff, nurses and doctors at Langley Memorial Hospital in Langley, BC, Canada, for their great work and help. You know you've been to the hospital too much when some staff, 3 nurses and 2 doctors recognize you.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Artwork
I've had a few people ask me about any newer pieces of the artwork I'm doing....well...the answer is not since May, BUT, I am working on one currently.
I have also had a few people ask me if they can see them all. In this case, you can go to
http://artistslaine.blogspot.ca/
and they are all there.
Thanks everyone!!
I have also had a few people ask me if they can see them all. In this case, you can go to
http://artistslaine.blogspot.ca/
and they are all there.
Thanks everyone!!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Bathroom Emergency.....Sort Of
So, I have been on Remicade for a couple of months now and a little longer with the Imuran and honestly, I don't "feel" allot different than I did before. Other than the fact I'm not popping a ton of pills anymore (only 3 a day now).
But, if I had to pick one thing that I have noticed, it's not the amount of times I go to the bathroom, it's the urgency of having to go to the bathroom. Which is nice. I still can't eat ice cream....found that out, but I can handle frozen yogurt and thank god for Menchies!!
There's no more pain, the abscess / fistula is basically gone. I'm drinking coffee and donuts (but only cake donuts and not yeast donuts). And I'm still gaining weight....slowly. I have more energy than I did before, which to a normal person, would still be less than them.
I have also noticed quite a bit of pain though in my hips, elbows, shoulders and wrists. I have numbness in my fingers and right arm and I can't make a "tight" fist. I'm thinking that it might be the Imuran, but I still have to check with my GI. Maybe it's the dosage (150mg).
All I know is that the numbness in my hand and fingers all the time is very very very irritating and a little unnerving. Especially at night. I wake up after only a couple of hours and my shoulder that I am lying on is painful and my hand and fingers are numb. All I have to do is shake it out and it goes away....for a little while.
Arthritis, probably.....oh goodie. Just add it to my list of ailments
What's next...?
But, if I had to pick one thing that I have noticed, it's not the amount of times I go to the bathroom, it's the urgency of having to go to the bathroom. Which is nice. I still can't eat ice cream....found that out, but I can handle frozen yogurt and thank god for Menchies!!
There's no more pain, the abscess / fistula is basically gone. I'm drinking coffee and donuts (but only cake donuts and not yeast donuts). And I'm still gaining weight....slowly. I have more energy than I did before, which to a normal person, would still be less than them.
I have also noticed quite a bit of pain though in my hips, elbows, shoulders and wrists. I have numbness in my fingers and right arm and I can't make a "tight" fist. I'm thinking that it might be the Imuran, but I still have to check with my GI. Maybe it's the dosage (150mg).
All I know is that the numbness in my hand and fingers all the time is very very very irritating and a little unnerving. Especially at night. I wake up after only a couple of hours and my shoulder that I am lying on is painful and my hand and fingers are numb. All I have to do is shake it out and it goes away....for a little while.
Arthritis, probably.....oh goodie. Just add it to my list of ailments
What's next...?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Crohnie Quote of the Day
A friend of mine posted this on FB. Advice he gave his 7 year old daughter.
I think it is great advice in general, but also for Crohnie's and other chronic disease sufferers....
"Being brave doesn't mean not being scared, it means being scared and doing it anyway."
-
I think it is great advice in general, but also for Crohnie's and other chronic disease sufferers....
"Being brave doesn't mean not being scared, it means being scared and doing it anyway."
-
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Funny
One of my friends posted this on Twitter and just had to repost it here.....says it all I think, thanks Shannon!! Made my day!!
@yukondiva
Selling on Ebay. One pair of fucked up intestines. Really used up and completely shitty condition. Will trade for healthy intestines. Hahaha
Love it!
@yukondiva
Selling on Ebay. One pair of fucked up intestines. Really used up and completely shitty condition. Will trade for healthy intestines. Hahaha
Love it!
"Hun.....Watch This"
Laying in bed the other night, watching TV like I always do, I got that 'crohns feeling'. You know the one, the feeling like you have to go to the bathroom preceded by the sudden, and sometimes painful, cramping feeling.
Well, at least now-a-days for me, the pain isn't there anymore (knock on wood), but the cramping sometimes rears its ugly head.
As this was happening this time, I looked down to my ab area around my belly button and was a little surprised at what I saw. So much so, I nudged my wife laying beside me and said, "Hun....watch" as I pointed to my belly button.
And there it was.....like a rolling wave on an ocean. You could actually watch as food passed through my intestine, obviously because of a little inflammation or something. I could actually time it. I would get the cramping feeling followed by "the wave". First from right to left, then left to right. Lasted about 10 minutes or so, then, done.
Almost something like the birthing scene from the 1979 movie "Alien" (minus the blood)
It's amazing, as I get older, the small things that entertain me.
Well, at least now-a-days for me, the pain isn't there anymore (knock on wood), but the cramping sometimes rears its ugly head.
As this was happening this time, I looked down to my ab area around my belly button and was a little surprised at what I saw. So much so, I nudged my wife laying beside me and said, "Hun....watch" as I pointed to my belly button.
And there it was.....like a rolling wave on an ocean. You could actually watch as food passed through my intestine, obviously because of a little inflammation or something. I could actually time it. I would get the cramping feeling followed by "the wave". First from right to left, then left to right. Lasted about 10 minutes or so, then, done.
Almost something like the birthing scene from the 1979 movie "Alien" (minus the blood)
It's amazing, as I get older, the small things that entertain me.
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