I'm a Crohnie

Diagnosed in January 2014 with Crohn's Disease and life hasn't been the same since.

[imacrohnie]

Haven't had brussel sprouts in a few months. Had some at dinner last night.....still a trigger food. ☹ #effyoucrohns #triggerfoods #todayshouldbefun #happymonday #crohnsdisease #imacrohnie #ibd #crohnsawareness #crohnscolitis

[imacrohnie]

Crohnsiversary

4 years ago today I had my first colonoscopy. That colonoscopy determined that I had a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. It proved that the symptoms I was experiencing weren’t normal. It was a relief to know that there was a name to what was “wrong” with me.

Less than a month after that diagnosis I got to experience how serious this disease is. I had 2 long term hospital stays within a month and a half. I was discharged from my second hospital stay right to an infusion center to have my first treatment of a biologic...my body didn’t accept the basic, run-of-the-mill, Crohn’s meds....The meds my father takes. Crohn’s is known to be hereditary...I got it from my daddy. A cousin on my fathers side also had it. It was so bad her colon was removed and she had a bag.

I was on Remicade for 8 months. It worked wonderfully for my Crohn’s, but I had debilitating migraines and joint pain. I started Cimzia in February 2015. At the time I was thinking that there was no way I was regularly going to stick needles into my body monthly. Well....in March 2016 I was sticking needles into my body every 3 weeks. To this day it’s the treatment I have. In February I have a follow up with my GI in which a possible new medication will be discussed.

My most recent colonoscopy and MRE show active inflammation in my colon.....you can feel fine, but your insides can still be effed up. 😕 I also had an abdominal ultrasound that showed gallbladder polyps...continuous ultrasounds (every 3-6 months) will be needed for the next 2 years to make sure those polyps don’t turn cancerous.

While halving this chronic illness can suck, it has helped me to be non-judgemenal. To never judge anyone, as you don’t know what they are currently going through...I gain 50lbs in 3 months from the Prednisone I was on and when I finally went back to work after 3+ months I dealt with the judgemenal looks from my co-workers.....

Crohn’s has made me stronger. It has allowed me to be very grateful for all the good days I have....as I have experienced very bad days. It has made me become more empathetic and less judgemental of others.

[imacrohnie]

Crohnie Problem #997

When you try a flare food, to see if it's still a flare food and then you find out.....it's still a flare food!!! 😑 Damn you pepperoni on my pizza last night!!

[imacrohnie]

What do you eat in a day? I recently found out I may have chrons disease and I don't know what not to eat

Everyone with Crohns Disease is different. When I first found out and was very sick, my doctor had me on a low residue diet (low fiber)....after a few months I started to reintroduce foods into my diet. I pretty much eat whatever I want now....I've found there are a few things that will upset my Crohns (kale, pepperoni, too much broccoli), so I don't eat those things or limit my intake of them.

[imacrohnie]

Click to view the GIF

All I have to say right now! 🤐🖕🏻

[imacrohnie]

You know you're a Crohnie when.......

You have nightmares about a flare up, after waking up in the middle of the night to run to the bathroom.....and in that nightmare you're worried about going to the ER, because you can't afford the $200 copay. I found out in the middle of the night that my intestines does not like Angry Orchard cider.....I've had other alcoholic beverages and a different kind of cider and I've been totally fine. My belly hasn't been the happiest today, I'm hoping it's just the effects of the cider I enjoyed last night. I just had my Cimzia injections a day ago, so it can't be a real flare up. Tomorrow I have a Staff Development Day, before the kids start back up on Wednesday.....I can't start the school year off with my Crohns being yucky, this job is why my injections became more frequent. 😕

[imacrohnie]

Randomly decided to get my flu shot today when I went to pick up a prescription! I figured it's perfect timing in between my injections, along with school starting up soon! Gotta protect my immunosuppressed stuff from the flu, as well as those germy lil kids I'll be working with in about a week and a half!

[imacrohnie]

Whole 30

Anyone out there with Crohn’s Disease attempt the Whole 30 way of eating? 

I'd be curious to hear how your experience was! 

[imacrohnie]

I'm a Crohnie turned 3 today!

At first, I was confused, because I was diagnosed in January 2014, so it’s not quite 3 years yet.......then, I remembered I set up a tumblr account, but never really had anything to blog about! 

Crohn’s definitely changed that! Happy I have a lil space on the Internet to just write what I'd like about this journey and never feel judged! ☺️

[imacrohnie]

Woot, Woot! 😄 First time since my Cimzia frequency was increased that I ordered my meds and then they were actually shipped on time!!! I had reoccurring insurance issues, where each time after talking to a supervisor, they would promise me I'd never have a problem again......and then I did....not once, not twice, not three times, but four....FOUR times I had to inject a day later than I was supposed to! Not this time though.....YAY!

[lifeaccordingtocrohns]

Does it really hurt, or is it all in my head?

A novel by me.

Featuring such great chapters as:

- Is my pain tolerance really high or does this just not hurt? - How much would this be hurting a normal person? - Do I need to suck it up and carry on? - At what point does this need medical attention?

and my personal favourite,

- Am I making a big deal out of nothing: will the doctors believe me?

[imacrohnie]

I've been on Cimzia for over 4 years now and my dosing is every two weeks. I was part of an aftermarket drug trial. I hope it workd at 3 week intervals but I wanted to let you know it's not the last option.

So far, so good! I've had some issues with insurance for exactly 21 days, I got stuck taking it a day late this time around! 😔 I've been assured it won't happen again, but we'll see!

[imacrohnie]

Showed off my Cimzia bumps on my run today! Got in 2 miles in 19:52! 😊 #fitcrohnie #workingonmyfitness #workitout #crohnscantstopme #crohnsdisease #crohnie #healthymindset #healthylife

[imacrohnie]

I have Crohn's and I just saw a post you made about getting the flu vaccine and I just wanted to let you know that it's actually really dangerous to do that while you're on cimzia (an immunosuppressant) and I've been told like 10 times not to do that and I'm on Humira and 6mp. Just trying to help! 💕

My GI doctors (yes, numerous doctors), were the ones who told me to get the flu vaccine. As well as the pneumonia vaccine, because being on an immunosuppressant you're more at risk to get these illnesses. I had the flu vaccine as well when I was on Remicade and I had to make sure I took it 2 weeks after my infusion, but no closer than 2 weeks before my next infusion so I wouldn't be susceptible to getting sick. I trust my doctor's and I know they aren't the only doctor's who encourage patients to get these vaccines when they are on an immunosuppressant.

[imacrohnie]

Never thought this would be one of the many errands I run.....but if it wasn't for Cimzia, I wouldn't be capable of running errands at all! Now the full sharps container will happen more frequently with my injections every 3 weeks.

[imacrohnie]

This now gets to go down every 3 weeks, due to increased symptoms the last few months! Fatigue hit hard on Tuesday, so I'm happy that today was the day vs waiting another week. Fatigue and some weird belly pain were the only symptoms I've experienced this past week - I'll take it!

[imacrohnie]

Follow up

The follow up with my GI confirmed that my job is contributing to my flare ups. He wants me to have my Cimzia injections every 3 weeks, instead of every 4 weeks. My main complaint was fatigue and I was pretty much told it's part of the disease. 😣 If it continues like it did this past week, I may go to my primary for blood work, etc. This was the first follow up I had where no blood work was ordered, since I had it done about a month ago when I was having issues. So we'll see!