So this past week I was on vacation from work and really enjoyed a break for once (I rarely take vacation-even when I do I only take a day or so which seems enough for me). In December I am due for another week vacation break however I have to prepare for a board exam in March 2017. At any rate I was feeling pretty good and I had a review of my annual physical on Wednesday with my doctor and we were discussing how incredible it was that in that same week back in 2011 I was in terrible condition losing weight and very dehydrated. It was nice to look back and see how much progress I had made. Perhaps I spoke too soon...
When I woke up Thanksgiving morning around 7 a.m. I felt very tired and my whole stomach felt like it had a block of cement in it with some blunt pain. Now my bowel movements were perfectly normal however I just felt this major cramping and pain. I have my doctor's cell phone just in case and I felt that this pain warranted a call. I called him and he picked up immediately and asked me for my symptoms I told him I had some serious pain in my stomach, felt nauseated, and could barely move. He told me to see how things progress but call him back if I did vomit. I then returned to bed and slept a few more hours (I have mentioned in previous posts how I believe sleep can do wonders if you have Crohn's). Also he told me not to eat anything heavy like gravy and honestly I wasn't in the mood even to eat (more on eating later). After I got an extra few hours I felt much better (still some minor pain but a world of difference). Throughout Thanksgiving dinner I felt pretty good just tired but was able to eat everything that I wanted.
For the past couple of days I have been eating a bunch and got my appetite back. I have gained a few pounds but feel I can now shed some off (my weight is about 173 pounds-without clothes on). I have been working out too which for some odd reason improves how my stomach feels.
Honestly, looking back I can't believe it has been 5 years since I was in the hospital. Sometimes I wonder what has changed if I were hospitalized today. My doctor told me when I saw him that sometimes Crohn's patients do exhibit joint pain when they have flares. Also he mentioned that usually you won' have an immediate flare with Crohn's (typically it takes a while for flare symptoms to come into affect. All I can say is that I am grateful everyday I am in great health. If someone 5 years ago told me I would not have any symptoms after being diagnosed I would have told them they were out of their mind.
