Good Morning! Happy Monday! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! What did you do this weekend? I apologize for not posting on Friday or over the weekend. I had a lot that I was dealing with emotionally and physically this weekend and I just needed a little bit of a break to gather my thoughts and relax. I’ll go back to Thursday to catch all of you up on what has been going on with my life. As you can tell from the title of today’s entry, I do have an answer about my health and I will get to that in a bit.
So Thursday I spent the majority of the day drinking clear liquids to prepare myself for the colonoscopy that I was having done on Friday. I have never drank so much apple juice in my life. I realized that I really don’t like Jello either. I am just not a fan of the texture or anything about it. Ick. I went home and prepared myself to take the 4 pills and drink the liquid. I mixed the powder into lemon-lime Gatorade. That was my first mistake. It was so tart and was starting to give me heartburn. It make it very unpleasant to drink. Let me spare you the details of my Thursday night. It was not pleasant and I just couldn’t wait to have everything over with.
I spent the majority of the night awake. I was nervous and not to mention felt sick. I was up bright and early on Friday morning and Mike and I went to the facility to have the procedure done. I got lots of looks in the office because I was the youngest one in there for the procedure and they strictly just do procedures at this facility. So that was pleasant. Before, I knew it they called me back.
I changed into a gown and they started an iv of just fluids and they took my vital signs and hooked me up to a heart monitor. I’m not lying when I said I was nervous. My hands were sweating, I was shivering and shaking. My heart rate was absolutely through the roof at this point. The nurse and anesthesiologist were so nice and comforting to me. It was time to wheel me into the procedure room. At this point my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I had flashbacks of how I felt right before they put me to sleep last month for the first time for my surgery. I was so scared. I told the doctor that I was nervous and she comforted me.
They told me to lay on my side and they asked me my name, my date of birth and what procedure I was having done. They put a needle of the sleeping medication into the iv and before I knew it I was out in recovery and Mike was standing next to me. I am so glad that is over with! I was just so sleepy, and feeling really bloated. I still had the same stomach pain that I went in with.
We patiently waited for the doctor to come out to speak to us. She first said that they took 3 biopsies which I will get the results to when I go back to visit her in 2 weeks. She diagnosed me with Crohn’s Disease. She strongly believes that I have had this my entire life and doctors have just passed everything as me having IBS. I couldn’t believe that I finally had an answer. I have been hospitalized when I was 4 and 8 years old for my stomach. I have had numerous issues my whole life and to finally have an answer felt surreal. She said that I have a mild case and she prescribed me medication. I also need to get blood work again before I go back to see her in 2 weeks.
So now my journey to healing begins. I’m having a really rough time trying to figure out what to eat. I am still in an extraordinary amount of pain. It seems that no matter what I eat causes me pain. I’m trying to find which foods trigger my stomach. It’s really causing me problems. I think I might call my insurance company and see if it’s covered for me to go see a nutritional counselor. It’s stressing me out and making me very overwhelmed. If you have any tips or help in dealing with Crohn’s, please don’t hesitate to comment or email me! I could use all of the guidance and help that I can get.
After the procedure was done, we stopped at a local diner. I really wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t manage to go to the pharmacy yet to get the medication. So we went home and I slept for a little while. I finally got up and we picked up my medication, went home, ate something and went to bed. I’m not kidding you. I was sleeping by 9pm on Friday night. I was exhausted.
On Saturday, I really wasn’t feeling all that great either. I spent the majority of the day in my pj’s relaxing. Finally when it was time for dinner, we decided to try PF Changs. I wasn’t sure what I was going to order or what I was going to do. I had a coupon for free chicken lettuce wraps, and we ordered spring rolls.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Spring Rolls
Vegetable Lo Mein
Baked Chicken Strips
My dinner plate. Chicken Strips, roasted green beans, roasted potatoes with the skin off
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am so glad you FINALLY have an answer (and that everything went well on Friday – I was thinking of you and hoping it went quickly!). Even though it’s obviously not an ideal situation, at least you can work on a plan to start feeling better now. Did the doctor have any suggestions for foods? I remember when my dad was first diagnosed, his doctor gave him a dietary plan to use for the first few weeks while everything was getting regulated. If you want, I can check with him to see if he still has it or if he has any other recommendations for foods that are gentle/will help. I know he stays away from salads, anything with nuts in it, and anything too spicy.
Just have to say – you are really strong for having dealt with this all so well. It’s been such a nightmare month for you, yet you’ve kept your positive spirit throughout, even when it must have been tough. Sending many good thoughts your way — I hope you feel better SO soon!! <3
Thank you so much, Shari!
I am really glad that I finally have an answer. It’s been frustrating not knowing what has been going on with my body for the past 20 some years. No, the doctor didn’t suggest anything to me which I thought was rather odd. I have an appointment with her 2 weeks but I definitely would like to figure out what to eat and not eat before then. I can’t take the pain. Thank you!
Aw, thank you so much! It’s been extremely hard and difficult. I find myself getting very upset and frustrated every day. I can tell this is going to be a process. I just want to be healthy. Thank you for your support! I appreciate it so much! <3
It’s great that you finally have an answer, especially after so many years! The worst is behind you and you can focus on finding the foods you can eat so you can be pain free. I don’t have any advice to give you except be patient and everything will fall into place. Hope you’re feeling better!
I know! I’ve waited so long and I’m glad that I finally know what is going on. You are right. I’m trying. Thank you so much for your support
So glad you got through the procedure, and so glad you got your answer – but so sorry about the diagnosis. Being diagonsed with IBD is never a good thing; but at least you can start fresh with a diagnosis and go from there. We have so much to discuss but a few quick tips:
1) Get a binder, get copies of ALL of your medical stuff recently – any blood work, the surgical papers, your colonoscopy report. Keep copies of it all organized. Trust me on this. Self-promotional link (you already commented on the post ha but just a refresher) : http://www.thenchangeit.com/?p=615.
2)You may also want to start a food journal -what you eat and how your belly responds. There may be patterns you can idnetify or find certain trigger foods. During rough times (we call these “flare ups” in our world), I always found bland foods best. No fiber (fruit and veggies, whole grains, etc), sugar, lactose, or high fat. I’d live on plain proteins and carbs during those times.
3) Get a second opinion. Nothing against your doctor but you will realllllyyyyy want to look at that list of city docs I sent you. Crohn’s is a lifelong disease and you will want the best care possible. And always take someone with you to appointments – you need another set of ears! Another self-promotional link abotu how you are in charge of your health, sorry for making this all about me, haha: http://www.thenchangeit.com/?p=90
4) I have two bloggers who also have ibd Lauren (www.forwardisapace.com) and Ali (www.aliontherunblog.com). Lauren has colitis, Ali has crohn’s. It made such a huge impact on my life to find other people who understood me.
Welcome to the IBD family
It’s scary at first, but we’ll get you through it!
Thank you, Kace! I’m really glad that I finally got an answer too. It was so frustrating not knowing for 20 some years of my life. I was good that I got all of my recent records. I have all of that done. Thankfully!
I am definitely thinking of starting a food journal. I’m trying to stick to eating carbs and plain foods. It seems like breads and stuff of that nature don’t bother me all that much as long as it’s not whole grain or whole wheat.
I am planning on getting a second opinion from one of the doctors you sent me definitely. I need to get on making an appointment. Thank you for sending me the bloggers! I will definitely check their blogs out. Thank you so much for your help, Kace! I really appreciate it so much!
I am so glad you finally got the answer!! It must be so frustrating not knowing for so long. At least now you can focus on your recovery. I’m sorry I can’t help you with your problem since I’m not a dietetics yet, but I hope you find what food upsets your stomach and what doesn’t. Feel better soon and have a great day!
Thank you! Me too! It’s definitely going to be a process trying to figure out what works and doesn’t work for my stomach. I’m definitely willing to try anything though to feel better. Thanks for your support
I was tested for Chron’s about 5 years ago and I remember it just like yesterday! I will never eat jello again! lol My cousin has Chron’s, and I know that it can be very painful. He unfortunately does not take care of his health like he should which has resulted in making it worse. No worries for you though, it seems like you are on the journey to taking the appropriate steps to tacking this monster! I’m glad you got your answer! Feel better soon!
Haha! I totally hear you on the jello thing! I can’t eat it either! Thank you so much for your kind words, Emily!
It’s a process, especially with trying to figure out which foods are triggering me and which are safe for right now during what I believe is a flare up. I hope eventually all of my pain will go away and I will live normally.
Hope, just wanted to let you know that Lo Mein & the chicken lettuce wraps are typically VERY high in oil/ grease- just check out the stats online. – so that will definitely both your stomach- just wanted to give you a heads up, since I know EXACTLY what you are going through
I figured that is what probably caused my stomach pain. I never use oil when I cook so it might have been way too much for my body to handle. Thank you so much
[...] Finally An Answer… [...]
[...] I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. [...]