Things can Change so Quickly

In the simplest term I can put it; I’m scared.

Since Wednesday (5 days now) I’ve had the worst experiences known to me in Crohn’s kind.

**TMI SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT** do not read ahead if squirmish

On Tuesday night I had the worst stomach ache. Then Wednesday morning, I woke to the sudden need to go to the bathroom. I had some of the worst diarrhoea I have ever experienced. It was endoscopy prep medication bad.

That day I ate very little and wasn’t hungry. Diarrhoea stopped around lunch time. Then around dinner time, my stomach began to hurt again and continued till I fell asleep. In the morning I woke with the sudden bathroom realisation again, and the cycle continued.

It’s been that way ever since.

Unfortunately, I thought it was just a stomach bug and didn’t ring my GI sooner. Then it was the weekend, so I can’t ring them till tomorrow.

In five days my weight has gone from 45.5 kilos, to 41.3. HELP!

I just have to sit tight till I can ring someone soon.

I’m scared, exhausted – like, even writing this is tiring me out – I’ve been moody and anti-social.

In this case, things turned on a dime. I was going really well, no problems, then in days my health just deteriorated. I don’t know the cause. The only different thing I have done lately is add 25mg to one of my tablets (on drs orders, of course) but I feel like something so small couldn’t cause this huge change. Besides, the tablets are supposed to make me better, not worse. Adding should improve my situation.

It’s not yet been a week, but I feel like this change has already affected my life greatly. I have been missing out on work – it’s already been 4 shifts I’ve had to call in sick. I’ve stopped talking to friends and replying to things about going out – I don’t want to burden them with what’s been happening and bring them down. And I’ve been lying to my family about how much I weigh. They were upset when they thought I weighed 43 kilos – I can’t tell them it’s actually 41 now.

My worst case scenario is someone is going to tell me to go to hospital; I see that happening tomorrow when I ring the GI. But I don’t want to think about that, and hope they can offer me something (advice, help) that will hopefully get me back on track as quickly as this all started.

Things have just changed so quickly. It reminds me of my first major flare-up. And I don’t want to go down that path of being sick for months, ever again. 

Lessons Learned: Ice-Cream

If you've read some of my earlier posts, you will know that I've only been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease since October of this year (2014).

One of the many joys of being diagnosed is finding out what foods could potentially set it off.

Very early on I discovered that take-away Chinese Food was a nightmare for my stomach.

As is wine; I found this out the hard way. However, I had a night out where I stuck with vodka and cider yet my stomach was solid like a rock (in a good way). It didn't make a peep when I had 3 shots of vodka, yet the night I had half a glass of wine it went into meltdown. At least I was at home at the time.

As of last night, my list consisted of these two things only. Two foods/drink that I could say ‘yes, I'm positive that this will be no good for me.’ When you think about it, both things are not healthy or good even for the best of stomachs, so it shouldn't really be a surprise.

Then last night, I can confidently say I can put a third item on the list.

Yep; ice-cream.

Things were going well for me last night. I hadn't had any stomach issues and I managed to down all my dinner; which is good because I need to gain some serious weight.

Then for dessert, Mum suggested ice-cream. I wasn't worried (didn't think twice). I've had ice-cream before without any worries, so I made myself a big bowl.

Within a couple of mouthfuls my stomach made some gurgling sounds (if you have any IBD issues, you know exactly what I’m talking about – you can even feel it). I shook it off though and continued to eat.

It wasn’t long after I had finished that my stomach starting to hurt. And the pain was extremely bad. Just as bad when I had my flare up.

I went into my room where I went to lie down. I’ve discovered a position that stops these pains almost instantly and the pain was disappearing.

The gurgling of my stomach hadn’t and it took seconds (literally) between me lying on my bed, to me on the floor of my room, shitting my pants as my Crohn’s attacked.

I really didn’t have any time to make it to a bathroom and after it had stopped, I went to my bathroom to clean myself up.

Sorry, if you’re eating dinner while reading this, by the way.

To say being a 21 year old, who literally craps her pants out of the blue is a mortifying experience would be an understatement.

I even (once I cleaned myself up) had to grab carpet cleaning products to…ah…well clean up anything extra.

Yep, 21 and living the dream.

I almost forgot what it was like to have that happen. But when it did, the feelings came running back. It’s a stark reminder of how Crohn’s Disease can work.

Even today, when I eat things I feel like I’m going to be sick. I’m hoping it will pass in the next few hours hopefully, and while it might not have been the ice-cream, I cannot help but be suspicious.

So this morning I put ice-cream on the list.

While I won’t count it out completely, I don’t think I could never deny myself ice-cream forever. I'll just make sure that I don’t have to go anywhere the next day when I eat it. And make sure I’m not out in public when I partake.

So, discovering what foods may or may not play a factor is always fun to discover. Just make sure you’re at home just to be on the safe side.