Journaling on estrip is easy and free. sign up here

Paul's Journal

paul
My Podcast Link

01/09/2008 21:57 #42812

Prednisone
Category: crohns
So I picked up the final Crohn's medication today - a steroid called presdnisone . Theis brings me to an even 17 pills a day.

The side effects sound terrible. Not to mention it says right on the bottle to avoid contact with sick people as it suppresses your immune system. How the hell am I going to do that working at a hospital, in Buffalo during winter and living at a house where (e:matthew) nannies children. I seriously am going to need to be in a bubble. So basically, I can expect to get really sick on top of my really sickness. I want to just be put down. I feel like I should just go on vacation.
jbeatty - 01/10/08 19:43
I'm sorry about your ordeal Paul. I hope you start feeling better soon. The only side effect I had from prednisone was a little bit of weight gain, other than that it didn't really mess with my system too much.
jenks - 01/10/08 19:39
Don't be scared of the 'roids Paul. Every medicine has a huge scary list of side effects. But most of them are like 1 in a million. And you're not on it forever- just til things settle down.

And I bet you'll start singing the praises of prednisone soon enough, when you start feeling better. ;)
webnovice - 01/10/08 16:16
hang in there...just take one day at a time. Knowing the answer means that now you can manage it and new research every day means that someday this could improve even more.
ladycroft - 01/10/08 16:15
welcome to the intestinal disorders club :)

you'll be fine, it just takes time to get used to it.
mrdeadlier - 01/10/08 14:13
My Ankylosing Spondylitis (quite the mouthful) is an immunodeficiency in the same vein as Crohn's, I believe. Maybe I'm just lucky but out of the four in my household, I seem to get sick the least. So whatever.

At least I did get to stand in line (legitimately) with all the old folks a couple years ago when there was a flu shot shortage.

Like James said, eventually you learn to live with your malady and just accept it as part of life. The way I've always looked at mine is that it could have been worse, you know something that isn't chronic as much as it is terminal.
fellyconnelly - 01/10/08 09:59
i would totally make as many steroid jokes about myself as i could fit into a day if i were you. try to stay positive paul... you can beat all this and feel good again..
museumchick - 01/10/08 08:33
If you ever have any questions about Crohn's or anything, email me anytime. Are there any support groups in Buffalo? Maybe it would help to talk to others in person who are going through the same thing.
museumchick - 01/10/08 08:04
I know it sounds scary- but usually your body adjust pretty fast to prednisone. I've been on it off and on for seven years now, and I only experience those kinds of symptoms on the highest doses.

I'm really sorry you have to deal with this. I think you will start to feel much better once they find the right treatment. It's hard waiting in the mean time, though.

james - 01/09/08 23:14
As someone with a horrific chronic disease. At first it is really depressing and life just isn't worth as much as it used to be. But, then you get used to managing it and life moves on. So, hang in there, as they say.
lilho - 01/09/08 23:12
come visit meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
matthew - 01/09/08 22:36
If my weak-ass immune system can handle the kids, i think you'll be okay. I'll be your disease buffer. Perhaps we can now convince terry that a 3 month sojourn to the south each winter would be good for invalids such as us.

01/09/2008 20:05 #42811

Low Fiber/low residue diet
Category: crohns
ANyone know of a good nutritionist in town? I get, I know why I have to eat it as part of my low reside/low fiber Crohn's diet but it seems to hard to think about eating the crap on my copyright 1998 list of food I can consume. According to it.

Fats I can eat:
butter, margarine

Fats I can't eat:
all others

That freakin' cannot be right. Haven't there been so many studies showing that mono and polyunsaturated fats are good for you. And clearly no fat has fiber. When I looked it up online , which I am good at and have the ability to do, it says all oils are fine. But for many people getting this stupid piece of paper they might think they can only eat butter as a fat. It is such a disservice to people to have inaccurate information. The whole sheet has tons of contradictories and is missing commas all over so some of it makes no sense.

Thank god I can eat crispy bacon

Here is the whole list
image


jenks - 01/09/08 21:51
Ok Paul.
1: Sorry you got 'bad' news. BUT- at least now you have an answer, and can start treatment. It's a manageable disease for a lot of people. It's NOT the end of the world. AND- it's not your fault.
2: I would like to think that the things not allowed on a low-residue diet are high-residue. I do not think alcohol is high-residue. I also think that with all this push for high fiber diets, eat lots of fruits and vegetables etc, that it's funny to see fruit, vegetables, whole grains- the things we are always told are healthy- be off limits.
3: You are already NOT following doctors orders! He said you are not allowed to read the crap on the web. he said clevelandclinic.com and mayoclinic.com only!!
4: You're welcome- it was nice to escape from work for a bit anyway. :)
paul - 01/09/08 20:53
As (e:jim) noted in the chat, How am I going to live wihtout my scrapple?
brit - 01/09/08 20:30
yeah, it's because it's so personal from case to case...like epilepsy, you only know what to do and what not to do after doing it a bit...like water and fruit lots of sleep = good, heroin, lack of sleep and wendy's = seizure...not that I ever did heroin.
paul - 01/09/08 20:21
God, there is so much conflicting information :::link:::
brit - 01/09/08 20:19
oh and attacks are sometimes highly correlated with stress so you should be calm...always...
brit - 01/09/08 20:13
This is like a comprehensive list for the mean time you should stick to it but you should try things in a few months (one at a time not a wendys) and see what you can tolerate...Crohn's patients can reintroduce over time depending on the severity and frequency of attacks and stuff

01/09/2008 13:44 #42807

Crohn's Disease, Great ;(
Category: health
Well the doctor is pretty sure I have a long term chronic disease called Crohn's disease now that will probably make me go insane. That is not a side effect but knowing my ability to cope with stuff I think insanity might be in store.

Apparently, it is really bad that I didn't take the medicine before. I promise I will now. 9 Pills a day of asacol and I don't know how many yet of steriods. I never took steroid before - do they make you feel weird.

Here are the insides of my colon looking all sick and yucky.

image

I guess it helps to have a doctor who is a cousin. He told me it is genetic and when I said I didn't think anyone in my family had it, he said I was wrong.

It was so nice of (e:jenks) to shows up and check on me as I woke up. It meant a lot.
fellyconnelly - 01/10/08 09:55
wow paul i'm so sorry for this... but you have to keep positive and be glad that you have a name for what ails you.... which means u can begin to feel better with the proper medicine...
libertad - 01/09/08 19:58
I'm really sorry Paul that you are going through this. Have hope that you can keep it in remission most of the time. I'm sure the outlook you have can affect most anything. Maybe it will begin to subside when the stress of not knowing what is going on subsides. Keep us updated on how you are doing.
brit - 01/09/08 19:38
I'm sorry too paul....My mum's boyfriend has that and he had it in the days when they couldn;t do anything so he had a really bad time but you won;t because they treat it much better these days, you'll work out what offends your guts over time and you will be able to eat better after some trial and error....
paul - 01/09/08 19:37
Ya, this morning when feeling really sick I was looking in the mirror and thinking why does the outside look so normal when the inside is falling apart.
leetee - 01/09/08 19:01
Oh, Paul, i am so sorry to hear it is Crohn's. That, well, just sucks.

I don't know what else to say... except that i would love to say something that will make it better.

Uhm... how about thanks for putting the bad bits of my day into perspective for me? Nah... that won't make YOU feel better!

Take your meds? Yeah, you know that.

Uhm... i like the other pics of your butt better? From the outside...

I wish you well in managing this disease, Paul.

Thanks, (e:Jenks) for being there when we all couldn't!!
mike - 01/09/08 18:57
THAT is horrible! That sucks majorly! So like you can't eat crazy things or drink a lot but are intravenous drugs still ok?
metalpeter - 01/09/08 17:45
I'm not happy you are sick and you shouldn't be. But you should be happy that you know what it is. This way you can at least treat it and hopefully what ever you do for it will make things Better. I'm sure there are things that are a lot worse so I guess that is a good thing. Of course having chrons is bad but at least you know what it is and you can move on from there.
james - 01/09/08 17:42
Things could have come out much worse.... which is the crappiest silver lining ever.

Sorry to hear Paul.
vincent - 01/09/08 16:11

First off I'm sorry Paul.

My Ex-Girlfriend has it, so I have an idea of what you are going through.
mrdeadlier - 01/09/08 15:37
I've got 2 friends that have Crohn's and from what I understand it can be rough. One of them is on the same medication I take for my spondylitis, Enbrel. I don't know what it does for Crohn's but it makes my symptoms literally non-existant.

Anyway, this sucks for you and you have my sincerest condolensces.

Just remember... Always always always take your meds!
mrmike - 01/09/08 14:19
You've done it. I'm now nostalgic for the photos for your lunches around town. Kudos to Jenks for looking out. At least knowing what is going might slow down the insanity somewhat. Hope the new meds afford some actual relief.
jim - 01/09/08 13:54
Sorry Paul!

Hope the medicine helps you out a bit, at least.
janelle - 01/09/08 13:50
Wow, I'm sorry Paul.

01/09/2008 06:27 #42802

I'll huff and I'll puff and...
Category: weather
blow your house down wih my 50mph wind.

I woke up this morning at 6am for the other half of my yummy lemon-ginger phoso-soda and heard this crazy smashing noise. Turned out the be a doll house from our yard blowing into the air and into the church.

image

Then all the garbage can blew down. Then this super loud thud which was the attic escape pod hatch. A 100lb metal and wood creation, blowing off the roof and 30 forward and like 100 feet down into the front yard. It was so scary to recover it because I was afraid other things would hit me. I guess (e:terry) never tied it down after going out on the roof at the party. There is no way I can get it back up there without someones help.

image

Something is exciting about being in strong wind. But also really scary. I wonder what it sounds like in a smaller house.

janelle - 01/09/08 13:40
I drove through the intersection of Niagara and W. Ferry today and there was a traffic light pole that was rocking back and forth, pulling away from the concrete at the base. Incredible! Stay away from that intersection....it's only a matter of time before that pole comes crashing down.
enknot - 01/09/08 13:36
I went out pretty late last night. Meg was in good spirits when I got back supa late, though mayhaps she shouldn't have been. We went to bed and the enormous pine tree out in the front yard was doing the shimmy shakes like mad. It's super tall, but it's also very flexy (I know that's not a word, but it's close to sexy so it sounds cool, so shaddup).
carolinian - 01/09/08 08:49
In a smaller house that's less rooted to the ground (but still tall enough to catch a lot of wind), the house moves back and forth. It's a little disconcerting at first.
mrmike - 01/09/08 08:23
Sucks, second time in about three weeks my block has gone down. Spot looked like a rehab center a little while ago, all of us addicts unable to make our own coffee. Adding insult to injury is that both times it's gone out Timon Towers is across the street lit up like a christmas tree
paul - 01/09/08 06:44
Hey, I switched to your doctor for primary car. She had an appointment available for the 12th!
imk2 - 01/09/08 06:37
we haveno electricity and since everything worth doing is elelctric, I can't do anything but play with my phone. its so cold in the house and its so dark and there is no hot water to take a shower with and no way to make coffee. man this sucks. it reminds me of the october storm.

01/08/2008 11:54 #42788

The clear liquid diet day
Category: health
More love for my new carrier
First another bonus to ATT. I just called a number I saw at our Human Resources for ATT discounts and when I called the representative, she applied a 24% discount to my account. That is a seriously significant discount.

Clear Liquid Diet Day
I didn't even start with my first clear liquid drink of the day but decided to weigh myself just to see how much weight I will lose through the whole laxative process before the scope tomorrow. Looks like I weighed in at 138 - and that is before. Just how little can I weight, like how much is (e:paul) without the food in him. I really don't know how laxative are going to help get any more out of me. Seeing as my body seems to take care of that by itself.

Here is an example day from

Breakfast Hot tea with lemon juice and 1 tsp sugar (no pulp); Apple juice (8 oz); Gelatin 1 cup
Lunch     Hot tea with lemon (no pulp) and sugar; Grape juice (8 oz); Fruit Ice (1 cup); Consommé (8 oz.)
Snack     Fruit juice (apple, cranberry or grape, 8 oz); Gelatin (1 cup)
Dinner     Hot tea with lemon and sugar; Apple juice (8 oz); Consommé (8 oz); Fruit Ice (1 cup)

I think I am just going to need to be sedated. Does vodka count in clear liquid diet? I seriously get crazy just missing one meal as I don't have much reserves.

Mind you just before thanksgiving I weighed about 150. So I figure at this rate I should be down to 100 lbs by summer. I think that is my target "die at" weight. That was supposed to be a pun on diet but it just sounds sad. Kind of like (e:vincent) said - if you get down to 150 and then you get sick it's too on the edge. Welcome to my life.

I am so freakin' scared. Things like this scare me to death. For some reason I am not really able to handle this so well. How are other people so good at coping with body based problems? They just make me feel so temporary. I think had it been anything else I could have lived with it. Save for maybe some injury to my penis. But messing with eating and sleeping ruins everythign for me. In my sad, non social existence, going out to eat was probably the only fun thing I did - and now that is ruined. There is nothig else to do in the winter fr me. I guess i oucld program more, or pick up some other stupid hobby but I really miss the social interaction that is eating.

At least I have a job that I can do without much physical effort. Imagine if I had a physically stressful, non-union job right now. I would probably end up being fired and losing my health insurance if I had any to begin with. I guess I am lucky in a way and should stop complaining. But it doesn't make it any less scary. I suppose it would all be much better if I had a doctor I communicated with I think the scariness is not really knowing anything or what to expect.

I cannot wait until my gastro appointment on the 24th. I will call tehm today and ask if there are any other earlier appointments.
mike - 01/08/08 22:19
good luck tomorrow! maybe they will solve everything and then you can eat lots of bacon !!!!!
fellyconnelly - 01/08/08 22:08
man i can't even miss 'snack time' without wanting to punch somebody in the head. I'm so sorry for you and hope they get to the bottom of this soon!
jenks - 01/08/08 18:32
oh yeah- and what's the ATT discount? is it a roswell thing?
jenks - 01/08/08 18:29
I freaking hate sites that only work in IE! the national grid online billpay site is like that too.

Good luck tomorrow paul. If I'm that neck of the woods I'll come say hi. What time is your appt?
paul - 01/08/08 12:13
I can't eblieve the blue cross site only works in IE. And by works I mean it suck to use in IE. Everythign is a pop up window, so much data seems wrong, it is so slow. It says my primary care's gender is B. Is that B for boy?

I woudl say it is possibly the worst site I ever used.
paul - 01/08/08 12:09
I called they put me back on the waiting list. I also called (e:imk2)'s doctor to see if she would take me as a patient but no one was there ;( so I left a message.