Playing by “the Rules” doesn’t work anymore.
During my years of remission, dealing with my Crohn’s was
something like playing a game. I learned
that certain foods and activities caused problems while other things seemed to
not affect me much. I’ve developed the
rules after years of observing how I felt after eating and doing different
things made me feel. As long as I played
by the rules, I could count on not feeling too bad.
For example, popcorn caused problems. Occasionally I would eat popcorn knowing that
it might cause pain or even blockage but I could make that decision before hand
and pay the consequences if they came to pass.
If I planned to run, then I would fast for several hours
before my planned run to reduce the chances of suffering severe diarrhea and
cramping.
However, with my recent flare the rules I’ve developed don’t
work anymore and I’m finding that deeply unsettling. Now, I’m working on establishing the rules
for my Crohn’s Flare. So far the rules
seem to be that consuming anything can cause problems – pain, bloating, sense
of fullness, etc. Although my stool
remain loose, my frequency of bowel movements and quantity of each has decline substantially (although this probably has as much to do with decreased eating) and I
worry about keeping my digestive system going.
For perhaps the first time in my life, I'm finding it really hard to eat. Although my body feels hungry and weak from hunger, the sensation of fullness and the thought of how much pain the eating causes makes it difficult to put food in my mouth.
Other stuff:
This morning I woke up at home and feel much better
physically. I’m feeling better emotionally
too. The pain and bloating have
decreased. Also I can hear and feel food
moving through my digestive system. However
that was true on the previous two mornings too, so I’m not assuming I’ve over
this particular issue. I’ve been able to
drink some fluids with no ill effects and I’ll try eating something with
protein and carbohydrates in it later this morning.
I was able to eat 1 McDonald's hamburger and a small fry with apple juice. The choice of food wasn't the best (too much sodium doesn't help with the edema from the prednisone) but at least I got some calories with protein.
Later in the afternoon, I started feeling "woozy", a peculiar lightheaded sensation as if the world was spinning.
I also spoke with my Doctor’s assistant and he advised me to
remain at 50 mg/day of prednisone and to call back on Monday with an update. The negative side-effects of the prednisone are beginning to seriously affect me. My skin has become very oily and I've begun to break out, my legs and arms are swelling and my joints feel as if they're under pressure, I've been getting tingling and pinprick sensations all up and down my arms and legs but especially in the joints.
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