2015 Getting Off To A Good Start!

You probably thought I got hit by a bus due to the lack of posting on my blog. I am perfectly okay and doing well however have been so darn busy with work and a designation I am trying to get. Anyways, my health is still very good. The only slight annoyance is that I have blepharitis (which is an irritation of the eyelids). An ophthalmologist I saw gave me some antibiotic drops and some scrubs which seems to have helped. Today was the first day in a while I actually wore my contact lenses for the full day and really didn't seem to have any issues. Usually it takes a few days or so before my eyes get all red again. Anyways, that seems to be somewhat under control.

My Crohn's is really under control. A few weeks ago I took my Humira shot and didn't inject it properly I think because some liquid came out (more so than normal). My stomach had cramps for the next couple of days after but slowly went back to normal. The biggest thing I have noticed is that when get 8+ hours of sleep I feel amazing. Today while I was getting my car washed I read a Time magazine article about the important of sleep (not using an iPad, iPhone, or anything else that lights up before bed was mentioned). I do have a tendency to watch T.V. right before bed and sometimes look at my iPad (on top of the fact that I also work out around 7 P.M. which is a big no no. Anyways, sleep seems to still be beneficial. 

I have my regular update with my GI in April this year and as usual I will type out my list of questions and symptoms (to try to make his job a little easier). I really have no complaints. I switched over beginning January 1, 2015 to a new insurance (my father had a group plan policy from the company he retired with and due to COBRA rules I was able to stay on until this year). The policy seems to be okay so far. The Humira I order is still covered and they are still able to ship the produce from a specialty pharmacy to me. 

So I have stopped posting updates to new therapies in Crohn's because they now seem to happen all the time!! Every day it seems as if there is a new study, new drug in trial, or new insight that was not known before. The goal of this blog has always been to inform and educate people about current and new information related to Crohn's. I think down the road as I get more time I will post more Weekend Links of some good articles (sometimes those take a while to collect). It truly is amazing how the treatment for Crohn's continues to improve and the knowledge is rapidly expanding. Hopefully, one day we will find a cure and help people and families end the pain and suffering due to Crohn's disease (and ulcerative colitis). 

Ganglion Cyst and Herrmorids..It Isn't Even February Yet!

So this past week I notice it was hard to sit down without some pain. After I typed in some of my symptoms to Google (isn't it wonderful to have a semi-doctor at your fingertips?) it appears I could have a hemorrhoid i my backside. I have had this before (I believe) and it really seems as if working out, hot baths, and drinking lots of water seem to help. The most pain I probably feel is when I lay down I can feel discomfort in my tailbone area. Every day though this week the pain as slowly gone away. Today I feel the best I have in a while and seemed to get a reasonable amount of sleep last night. On Friday I was tired most of the day (not sure why). I was thinking yesterday I would have to call my GI but the issues continues to improve so I will continue to monitor it. I usually only call my GI when I feel things are not improving and I really need help. 

So yesterday I went to an orthopedic doctor (actually his specialty was in hand surgery) to look at a bump on my wrist. I actually have known for a while what this bump is (known as a ganglion cyst). I can still remember around 2008 going to a baseball game on a date and the girl asked me what it was (like it was some alien-form). This event made me a little self-conscious about it however I really have cared less over time. The past week or so the ganglion cyst did hurt some on and off with radiating pain but really not too bad. When I first came in the nurse said the we would have to take an x-ray (I thought this was a little odd since I knew what caused it). On a separate note when I filled out the paperwork they asked multiple times if this was work related or from worker's compensation (I am pretty sure the they way they bill this is very different from the regular people like me). So I went to get the x-ray taken and the technicians asked me my age and I told them 28 and they thought I was 20. I told them I get that all the time :-) (maybe Crohn's isn't so bad after all). Anyways, the x-ray was done very quickly and then I went back to the office and the doctor had the results right then and there. So the doctor explained to me I had three options. The first was to just wait and see, the second was to aspirate it with a needle, and the third was to cut it out. We both agreed that aspirating it with a needle would be fine. He told me if it comes back in another 5 years he could aspirate it again. He put some rubbing alcohol on it and then put some freezing chemicals on it (I really didn't feel much). Then the doctor stuck the needle in my cyst and some jelly like substance came out (if you YouTube ganglion cyst you will see some fools trying to do this themselves). The feeling was kinda neat because I could see everything coming out. The only issue is I wish he would have taken more out. After all this the doctor put a band-aid on my hand and wrapped up my hand and told me not to lift anything heavy for 10 days (I have been careful every since). This morning it looks like my cyst is a lot smaller but there may seem to be a little more left (I can wait some time for this). 

In other health news I continue to have minor eye issues (my left eye today had some redness even though I haven't worn my contacts for over a week). I am not sure if it is the lack of moisture of what. The eye doctor told me I should change my contacts to daily, however I am not sure how that would fix the issue if I am still having some redness if even after I take my contacts on. 

My Crohn's seems to be under control. It seems as if I have more health issue with non-related Crohn's things than Crohn's related things. I actually didn't believe I would still be taking Humira (I thought I would have to lost a response to it by now). I take every day with as a gift and am grateful that I have my health and always in the back of my mind remember those dark days when I was in the hospital with feeling pretty lousy. I still remember my GI telling me when I got out of the hospital that on a scale of 1-10 (10 being bad) that my intestines were a 10! I wonder what grade he would give my intestines these days. 

Current Update: 5 Bowel Movements in One Day (Solid), Waking Up At Night, Humira Leaking

So the past few days have be somewhat odd health wise. Let me start with Saturday. So Saturday night I took my Humira shot and there was more leakage than normal. It is somewhat hard to inject on the stomach (even though I do have some fat). I held the pen in for a while and didn't pull away (the key is pulling it out once the color changes to yellow). Speaking of which I switched insurance companies and my GI has to pre-authorize my Humira so tomorrow I have to get him to call the company that delivers it to refill my prescription. I always get a little sad when I don't get my full Humira injection since I know the Humira is blocking the pain. Anyways most of Saturday I was pretty tired and a little irritated (I usually am this way when I don't get my sleep). Also I worked out over the weekend trying to shed some pounds. Right now I am about 169 pounds (I would prefer to be closer to 165).

Since I was tired Saturday I got some high quality sleep on Saturday night. I went to bed around midnight and woke up around 10 A.M. All I can say after this is wow what a difference! My body felt relaxed and in the zone the whole day and I really felt good.

This bring us to today. So at about 3 A.M. I woke up for no apparent reason and was wide awake. I first tried having a snack and that didn't work. After the snack I tried watching T.V. and that oddly enough did work (even though they tell you  not to watch to TV or look at your iPad before bed). Anyways I watched T.V. for about an hour and then passed out and woke up at around 8 A.M. thinking wow that sleep was way too short. It was odd though because when I woke up I strangely felt I had enough energy to last me throughout the day. While at work today I noticed the urge of having to pass gas and also having many bowel movements. Usually I track how many I have but I haven't done that in a while since I usually only have about 1-2 per day. Well today I would estimate I had about 5 bowel movements. What is interesting though is that they were all solid and seemed to be in shorts spurts. After the end of the day I felt a little light headed (I guess from all the dehydration). I felt I had lost a few pounds in the bathroom but when I weighted myself tonight it was basically no change.

My theory is that the Humira does work when I take it properly. Also sleep seems to play a role in my Crohn's as well. When I get 9+ hours (which is rare) my stomach is great but when I don't get a great rest it feels as if someone is very gently attacking it. If my symptoms continue I may go to my GI. Usually these things (especially if there is no diarrhea) come and go.

In other health news my parents think I need to get my lymp nodes checked out around my neck-I keep playing with them.