Prostate Issues/Crohn's and Sleep

Well not this past week but the week before I had some unusual symptoms (actually not Crohn's related). On Sunday night I kept having to get up to go to the bathroom which was pretty annoying. I didn't keep track of how many times I had to go but it was probably at least 6 or 7 (usually this is how many times some Crohn's patients have to go to the bathroom for other reasons). Anyways, I thought "well maybe I drank too much water" and let it pass. The next night the same thing happened. I was only able to sleep for maybe 4 hours and felt very tired at work (the day seems like 48 hours when you don't get your sleep). I called my internist who I was able to schedule an appointment with the next day (very efficient). I went in and explained my symptoms and his first reaction was a prostate infection. I thought this was somewhat off considering I was only 29 years old and never had this type of issue before (of course stranger things have occurred). So my doctor then did a rectal exam which I had one before in graduate school and passed out. The doctor actually did a good job after I assume the position and it wasn't invasive at all. The doctor then did some blood work and a urine sample (actually I learned that it is better to do a rectal exam before the urine test since then they can see if there is any bacterial is the urine). My symptoms have seemed to pass. I actually did have a similar issue like this back in December 2012 after taking an anti-fungal drug (frequent urination was a common side effect).

Well today is good Friday and I am off today and relaxing on vacation. I feel great and feel as if I got a good amount of sleep an will continue to do so this weekend. This time of year is busy at work with tax season but I think some rest is just what the doctor ordered (I haven't had an actual break since Christmas). Good sleep, eating light, and vitamin D seem to get me in super shape. Now all I have to do is resist the Easter candy.

Vacation Finally! No Crohn's Flares While Traveling

So over this past week I went on vacation (actually a family vacation-we rented a house on Long Island). The trip was very relaxing and it was nice not to have to work (even though I do like working and making a difference). I remember reading this article that traveling could lead to a Crohn's flare. It was nice that I was able to rest and take a break. Resting did seem to help my symptoms (although even though I am currently in remission). To me stress can make Crohn's worse. Stress, sleep, and eating (dark rich chocolate and anything really really greasy) for me seem to be slight triggers. My weight is still pretty good. Currently I am about 167 pounds (I ate a bunch while on vacation but also did a bunch of walking so I guess it balanced out). My game plan is to start eating a tad better (more salads and fruits and less junk food). For a while I was eating pretty healthy and felt better than usual. I know the studies have shown that diet doesn't really show an effect. However for me it does make a minor difference. Well I am heading to bed now after traveling all day. It will be nice for once to finally wake up in my own bed.

Over the weekend I felt a little tired. We got back home on Friday and I was up until about 3 A.M. and I woke up around 9 A.M. Saturday morning (I was pretty tired but no stomach pain). So on Saturday night I went to bed around 11:30 P.M. and woke up around 9:30 A.M. on Sunday morning. I felt pretty good after all that sleep but I think my body might have a slight sleep deficit. Also on Saturday night I had a bowel movement that was solid however did have some minor blood in it. I think I might be slightly anemic since small amounts of blood might be in the stool which is making me tired. I probably will get a good night rest tonight as well.

Sprained Ankle/Taking NSAID With Crohn's/Alieve Cramping With Crohns?

So Wednesday night (June 5, 2014) I was working out at the local apartment workout center and after I did my work out I was coming off the elliptical machine and came down the wrong way and ended up on the ground in pain. I knew right away I had sprained my ankle. I was on the ground and then got up and was a little light headed. So I found the closest bench I could find and just took a rest there. I was able to get out of the work out room (actually in not much pain). I went back to my apartment and put some ice on it and did some research and saw raising the sprained foot also helps. The pain the first night I had the sprained ankle wasn't too bad. Although, I did wake up around 2 A.M. Thursday morning and felt like someone had stabbed my foot. On Thursday morning I could barely get out of bed. I called my mother and said I probably should go to the doctor. I then called my internist and he was on vacation so I was able to go to an emergency care center in town.  The wait time was really quick as no one else was waiting. A nurse asked me what drugs I was taking, what hurt, and how it happened. A doctor came in and then said he would take x-rays. I was taken on a stretcher to get some x-rays done which didn't take long. The results were sent to a radiologist and the doctor came back with the results within a few minutes which was quite impressive.

This morning (June 6th, 2014) I woke up for work and actually felt pretty good. My ankle did have some pain and was bruised but was an improvement over yesterday. I am not back to normal and still have to walk slow but I should improve over the weekend.

The doctor wrapped up my foot and I was given crutches to take home (they a pain to use). I asked the doctor since I have Crohn's is it okay to take Tyenol and other NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammation drugs). So let me take you back to the fall of 2011 when I had Crohn's but actually didn't know I had it. I was in constant stomach pain all the time and must have taken multiple bottles of Tylenol Extra Strength which may perhaps made my condition worse. I still remember going to Walgreens to get some more Tylenol thinking how much of this stuff can I take? Growing up however I hardly ever used Tylenol or medications in general for pain. I called my gastroentrologist to ask if I could take Alieve. His office replied back within 15 minutes after asking him and he said it was okay to take. So I took Alieve and I did notice some cramping a little after. Tonight (June 6th, 2014-2 years to the day I started Humira) I did notice a loose bowel movement (however I did have chocolate ice cream which usually gives me the best chance of having a loose bowel movement). I take my Humira injection tomorrow night which should put me back on track.

This study from 1987 shows that 4 patients that had inflammatory bowel disease that were given nonsterodial anti-inflammatory drugs had prompt exacerbation of their disease. This meta analysis (a grouping of all the studies that have been done) showed in 2004 that some patients had a flare after taking NSAID drugs. I think there is no evidence one way or the other, however given I felt some cramping after taking Alieve I will try to stay away as much as I can from taking NSAIDs until I see data to prove otherwise.

Does Asacol Help Crohn's? Review of Literature

So for a while now I have been off Asacol HD 800 mg. My usual routine was to take 2 pills in the morning when I woke up and 1 pill before bed (the logic I hear is that if you have side effects you would get them in the night-which is why you take the lower dosage before bed). Speaking of side effects my primary doctor told me that since Asacol is aspirin based it is possible to get ringing in the ears (which I did have from time to time). Asacol always for some reason gave me cramps (which is odd since Asacol is designed for inflammatory bowel disease!). This would be like taking an anti-depressant and then becoming more depressed.

The very first study I could find was this one from 1983 in the Journal of Gastroenterology which showed that improved the symptoms of 72% of patients with Crohn's disease (only 18 patients were in the study though). It seems as if in the 1990's there were studies that showed that Asacol was effective in treating Crohn's. In 1992 this study showed that Asacol helped patients who didn't have ileal involvement. In 1993 this trial showed that 78% of patients maintained remission when Asacol was used alone.  This study from 1994 showed that oral mesalamine (Asacol) was effective in helping achieve a partial or complete remission in 60% of patients as opposed to 22% of patients in the placebo group. In 1995, this double blind study showed that Asacol had a "moderate but significant benefit to preventing relapse in Crohn's in remission; this occurred only in patients with small bowel involvement or those older than 30 years". This 1998 study showed that 5-ASA treatments were helpful after surgery (in resection) for maintenance of Crohn's disease

Then this study from 2007 showed that oral mesalazine right after surgery prevented endoscopic recurrence in Crohn's over a 2 year period and it was estimated that it prevented 39% of all recurrences.

Recently however, the data doesn't support the notion that Asacol helps people with Crohn's. This study found that Humira after an intestinal resective surgery was effective in preventing endoscopic and clinical recurrence of Crohn's. This study showed a small subgroup of Crohn's patients may be helped from 5-ASAs (Asacol). This study shows a benefit for Asacol for patients with ulcerative colitis but the evidence for Crohn's is not clear. Perhaps Asacol has become less effective over time, Crohn's has possibly changed, or some other reason.

From what I understand Asacol is very effective for people with ulcerative coltis (I don't have a medical background to explain why this is), however for me at least I did get cramps from taking Asacol at night usually. I now feel better after getting of it. Also the fewer drugs you are taking the fewer risks for not only short term but potential long term side effects substantially decreases. I would be pretty happy if I didn't have to take Asacol for a while. Time will tell though.

Update: Car Accident, Sleep, Cramping, and Easter

So this week has been a crazy week. On tax day (April 15th, 2014) I got into a car accident. Luckily I wasn't serious hurt. My back felt a little bit sore afterwards, however that seems to be going away. Dealing with the stress of getting the car towed, talking to the insurance company, working, and studying, does get stressful. I also moved in to a new apartment so I have been pretty busy trying to knock things out and take care of things.

I have been cramping a little bit. I honestly think it is due to lack of sleep. My apartment has a window that lets a lot of light into it. In my old bedroom I had plantation shutters that could block that out (which I like). Usually my alarm on my iPhone wakes me up. Anyways, some cramping and feeling tired from this. I have been okay otherwise. Last weekend I had some fast food since I was moving in and didn't have very much in my apartment. I can honestly say I felt pretty good even after eating it. At night I still sometimes use ice packs. This weekend I will try to get more sleep and not feel as tired. This morning (Sunday) I woke up and was a little tired (even after 9 hours of sleep) however sometimes your body has to get going in the day to wake up.

On Monday I see my GI. I have some questions for him in terms of how useful Asacol is. There is a rebate program that allows you to save $200 on Asacol, however it is a pain to deal with and I had to get multiple cards from my GI and resubmit them to Asacol in order to get the drug. I hear Asacol is going generic so I will have to ask him about that. When I see my GI I usually type out my list of questions because sometimes I forget what to ask and I only am allowed probably 10 minutes with him.

All and all things are pretty good. I would like to improve the cramping some. Not sure what my weight is these days since I don't have a scale (update I have a scale and now am 168 pounds by Saturday this was down to 164 as I worked out for the week).  I have been working out in the apartment gym which is pretty nice. Today is Easter and I will be having dinner with my parents at their home. Most likely we will just be having Mexican food takeout.

I can't complain too much. Crohn's is a lifelong disease and chronic. Feeling 90% is a great feeling. I often am grateful there are medications like Humira and Asacol now and glad I didn't get this disease in the 1980's or early 1990's. Hopefully the future will bring even a better understanding of Crohn's and how to treat it to improve the quality of life of so many people.

Weekend Health Update: Less Cramping, Dry Nose (Still), and Sleep

So this week my stomach was a tad better. The beginning of the week brought some cramping but cleared out toward the end of the week. The ice pack at ice seems to help out. I tend to have cramping after I take Asacol. My nose continues to be crusty and dried out. However, I am thinking in the next few weeks we should get more humidity and help out. The thing that bothers me is sleeping. My whole life I have been a late night person and usually on weekends I fall asleep around 2 a.m. but my mind keeps going for a while. I sometimes wish I could start work at 11 a.m. (I could probably work more hours and be more productive). Today I felt like I got a pretty good rest however my body is trying to make up from the lost sleep from the beginning of the week so. I was worried I wouldn't be feeling well since some of the Humira injection came out 2 Friday nights ago when I injected it.

Next week I move into an apartment (I have been living at home a while-saving money) and working). I get a little nervous that I might get a flare up, however I am pretty sure I have a flare up it won't be as long as when I was initially diagnosed. I just saw a study that showed that about 21% of Crohn's patients missed >25% of work in the previous week.

I am just glad I am feeling good these days and a far cry from last year when I went many months with c difficile!

Friday Night Stomach Hurricane, Humira Leaked (A Little), and Dry Nose

So Friday night (March 28), I had a large bowel movement. It really was multiple bowel movements at once. In order to help myself recover I put some ice (as I normally do over my stomach to recover). Saturday I felt pretty good. My body woke up at 9 a.m. (usually I get up around 8 for work on weekdays). However, I went back to sleep and when I woke up around 11 was a little tired but the rest of the day I felt pretty amazing. I didn't have a bowel movement the whole day and my stomach felt fine. Personally I wonder about the connection between sleep and how Crohn's or IBD patients feel. When I did my injection Friday night I also did notice a small amount of liquid that leaked out of the injection pen. It seems to be harder to inject the stomach than the legs. Just have to remember to hold it in as long as possible!

Saturday morning when I woke up my nose was stuffy (it has been pretty dry for about a month or so). There was stuff in my throat that made it feel sore but it was just nasal dripping. It really sometimes gets annoying sometimes having a mildly bloody nose. Taking a shower is the best thing for it and I often do Sinusrinse to get everything out of my nose.

Other than what I mentioned above I feel pretty good. Some days I really don't know I even have Crohn's which is a miracle. Today (Sunday) I was even able to work out for 50 minutes on the elliptical burning roughly 500 calories which is great! I plan to move out of the house very soon and get my own place. The apartment has a work out center so I will be hopefully able to burn some calories and get somewhat in shape. My weight these days is around 167. My whole life I was around 150 or so. However, I feel better being more filled but wouldn't mind shedding some pounds to fit into my pants a little better.

More Sleep, Dry Nose, and Cold Water

So in my last post I talked about how I didn't get much sleep last weekend and had a dry nose. So this weekend I did a little better on sleep getting about 9 hours on Friday night which made me feel really good all day Saturday and last night I did pretty well on sleep about 8 hours or so and felt okay this morning.

For my dry nose I bought a humidifier from Target and used it last night. This morning I woke up and it felt like I wasn't as dry as usual. The humidifier has 2 levels (low and high). However, the high level can be a little loud so while I was sleeping I had it on the low setting.The other thing I bought for my nose was NeilMed for dry nose gel and it seems to have helped. I had Mexican food last night (Sunday night) (chicken tacos with refried beans and rice) and didn't feel too bad.

This weekend I had a few green bowel movements (which has happened to me before). I really don't get worried unless I start losing weight and feel cramping which I am actually weighing about 165 these days (however I don't feel large I just feel more filled out).

A couple of days the past week I went swimming in semi cold water which felt great. However, it didn't have the same effect when I swam in very cold water last fall (it does feel pretty good though). The water temperature was about 65 degrees making it chilly but not unbearable.

The start of 2014 has brought me pretty good health and I feel just like I was pre-Crohn's which I count as remission. Hopefully, this will continue into the near distant future.

Sleepless Weekend, Ice Pack, and Dry Nose with Crohn's

So this weekend was somewhat interesting. On Saturday morning I woke up around 9 am and had gone to bed around roughly 3 or so and felt out of it most of the day. I usually need 8-9 hours of sleep to feel reasonable. With 6 hours I felt a little grumpy and zombie. Years ago around junior year of high school I got 5 hours of sleep one night and remember the next day feeling like the longest day ever. In high school I use to get up around 6 am to either catch the bus or drive in. In the afternoon I went to work out and felt pretty bad (just very tired). For dinner I had eggplant Parmesan which I have had before, however around midnight I had a semi mixed bowel movement. About 20 minutes later the bowel movement was completely loose (reminded me of my c diff days). I lost roughly 3 lbs in the bathroom (if my scale is right). For some odd reason on select Friday or Saturday nights is when I do have a small episode of diarrhea (not exactly sure why). At night for a while I have been using ice packs (even though no pain-although m stomach at night churns after taking Asacol). 

This morning I woke up with somewhat of a headache (which is pretty rare for me). I went to sleep around 1 in the morning and woke up around 11 and felt this semi-good sleep (mostly because my body was catching up on sleep). Sleep is like a bank account sometimes you don't get enough and have to more than make up for it on weekends. I felt much better today but still feel a tad tired. Hopefully, tonight I will get a good rest before work tomorrow. I haven't had a bowel movement all day today so that is good. 

So the past few weeks or so my nose has been very dry. I usually do SinusRinse (which can be gross at first but does work wonders). Where I live it has been cold recently but with all this stuff in my nose my nose feels stuffed up. I went to Walgreens and bought some NeilMed stuff for dry noses. I have noticed when I take a shower my nose does feel a lot better with the moisture. Hopefully this dry nose is temporary. 

Cold Weather, Sleep, and Relaxation = Remission Plus

I recently took a road trip to Dallas, Texas over the past weekend. Work has been a little rough lately so I am glad I could take a little break (I like to work but a break every now and then doesn't hurt). I felt on Friday a tad minor flare up as I woke up early to leave for my trip. After the drive I was pretty tired however after a hot shower felt pretty good. During the trip I tested a theory I had about cold weather and Crohn's. So I rolled down my window while traveling in cold weather (under 34 degrees). I had very minor pain but realized that I felt better the longer my hand was outside. This is an interesting phenomenon. It is pretty similar to putting yourself in cold water which I did here. I don't know what the scientific underpinnings of this phenomenon but it sure is interesting.

I got pretty goods night rest last Thursday night. On Friday night I slept pretty well but still felt a little bit tired (my sleep cycle has a debt to it). I have noticed sleep does make a difference in terms of how I feel. This has been seen in some of the here and here. I wish more studies could be done like these types of things since as someone with Crohn's disease know when they feel better or worse. Knowledge from patients is important since we have some idea of what works and what doesn't work. As more people develop Crohn's and we share this knowledge we will continue to have a better understanding and refine why people get Crohn's and hopefully find a cure.

Today (Monday) I woke up for work and felt a little tired. I felt like I was just walking through the steps this morning when I woke up. Tomorrow I don't have work due to an ice day so I plan to catch up on some rest. When I don't get my sleep I also seem to crave snack food. My weight is getting up to about 166 (I am 5'11). I feel a little heavier and plan to slowly wean this down some. On the positive side I would rather have a few extra pounds then be a very skin (a few extra pounds gives me cushion in case of a flare up).

Minor Fissure Bowel Movements Back To Normal/Unisom and Crohn's

So in my last post I mentioned that I had a solid bowel movement. Well that seems to have cleared up however I started having minor blood near my rear area. The last time I had a fissure I couldn't even walk and had heating pads/took hot baths/used the car warmer feature to try to heal my rear. Sunday night I usually have Mexican food (I usually have cheese enchiladas and re-fried beans) however perhaps this may have caused some issues. I think the better explanation is I did take some over the counter Unisom which is suppose to help sleep however I think it ended up making me worse and discontinued using it. There was some blood on Monday (not a whole lot). By Tuesday it was almost nil and today was perfectly normal. I am not sure of the effects that Unisom has for Crohn's but it can't be good.

Everything seems to be back to normal. This Friday I take my shot and next week I have a trip planned for some relaxation (which I would be willing to bet will chill me out some).

Humira Dosage Didn't Hold In Long Enough, Sleep, and Feeling Pretty Good

So my health has been doing pretty good. This past week I have been eating salads at work for lunch to try to be a tad healthier but always find myself hungry. This evening around 10 PM I had a semi-loose stool. However I forgot to take my Asacol this morning (I had to go into work for a few hours this afternoon). Also a few weeks ago on my Humira shot I didn't hold it in long enough and some of the medicine leaked out which is never good and sometimes take a while before you notice the results. The only other thing I have noticed is I probably need a little more sleep. At night I do have a little bit of cramping and get use a cold-pad from Walgreens that seems to help out but it doesn't seem cold enough and just cover the sides of my stomach. When I get a bag of ice and place it over my stomach it feels pretty good however you can't leave it on too long or else you end up with a  Last night I got a decent amount of sleep (8.5 hours most likely) and my mind seemed pretty active. Normally I get to bed around midnight (after watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and wake up around 8. For some reason my body isn't always asleep. I remember the one time I slept for about 10 hours and felt like I was cured of anything I ever had. My work schedule has been busy with projects (more stress than usual). In order to relive this stress I plan to take a road trip in a couple of weeks for the weekend which usually does wonders in terms of relaxation and stress. I plan to see my GI doctor in April for a usual checkup (it is actually good when I don't have to see him since it means I am in remission).

I am glad I am not where I was last year with c difficile and a fecal transplant. I am always happy and grateful to be in remission but as even I know Crohn's is a lifelong illness that will be with me for the rest of my life (unless there is a cure). The only thing to do is take it one day at a time and live everyday to the best I can.

Going Back To Humira Every Other Week!

This year has been an interesting journey. At the very beginning of the year I caught c difficile (my internist doctor doesn't believe so since I didn't have symptoms of fever) which lead me to try Dificid many times and went up to Mayo twice (first to confirm c diff and the second for the fecal transplant). I then was still having issues and my Humira was increased on June 14, 2013 and I discussed in this blog post only to have a solid bowel movement by August 25, 2013 (I can still remember it). At any rate I am feeling pretty good these days with only very very minor pain (probably .25 on a scale of 1-10)

My GI called right before lunch today and told my blood test with great results and we were going to decrease the dosage of Humira from every week to every other week. When I met with him in person (we met for about 10 minutes) I asked him since I was use to the dosage every week would my body build up a tolerance. His response was it shouldn't and I should be okay even if we scaled back. Hopefully this turns out to be correct. The c diff could have caused a minor flare up which made things worse for a while but it honestly didn't feel like a flare up (I was going to the bathroom at night which didn't even happen when I as hospitalized in 2011). At any rate this is great news and that would be truly amazing if I could get off Humira completely (I might need some more of those cold pool swims!)

Weekend Mini-Flare Up?

So for some strange reason sometimes on the weekend I can tend to flare up and then things to back to normal. Last night I had a cookie sundae (which was very good) but after a while I had a mixed bowel movement. I had a mixed bowel movement the other day but then the next day it was a solid movement. It was really strange because last week at work I was working more hours than usual but I was very focused and seemed to be "in the zone" (even more so than before I had Crohn's). Sleep seems to have a largest impact on my symptoms. I really have not noticed much pain and I am trying to go light on my foods (I am going to try this week at work to cut out chocolate and see how I feel). My weight is above 160 pounds (highest it has ever been but I don't feel bloated). Last night I went to bed around 3:30 A.M. (I guess I should say this morning). I was wondering about what would happen if I am in the middle of a flare. Would I go on Remicade? Would I need surgery? Is there some other treatment I could try.The other thing I noticed was that my skin did break out a little bit while I felt very minor pain in my stomach. Perhaps this has something to do with inflammation (when I was younger I had acne on and off for years) and my understanding is acne is just inflammation of the skin just like Crohn's is inflammation of the digestive system attacking itself.

As I mentioned in my last post my anal fissure (or whatever I had) seems to be going away. I really feel back to normal in that area. I am curious to find out what it actually was and what caused it. I see my internist this week so I will get his thoughts on it.

Week 1 of Anal Fissure with Crohns: Healing On Its Own

I mentioned in my previous post about my anal fissure. This morning I had a bowel movement that was a little painful (no blood through and still solid) however I told a hot bath after which relieved the pain (I usually can stand the hot water for about 20 minutes). It was odd because my stomach was perfectly fine however my backside was in pain. It seems that this has gradually improved. I have been taking hot baths which seem to greatly reduce the pain after I get out of the tub along with using a heating pad under my bottom. On Wednesday night I tried to roll on to my backside in bed and just felt some serious pain. My whole bottom felt in an odd way like your throat feels when you have a sore throat. However, if I laid on my stomach I was okay. I also have began to eaten more nuts (fiber) to help. 

I called my GI doctor who said to "keep doing what I am doing" and he is right. My GI also said this could be an isolated incident which it looks like it was. Sometimes patients are eager to say just fix things instead of letting nature take its course. Perhaps an idea would be to continue to hot baths for a while and I plan to see my GI doctor (I am curious for him to examine the area to see if any skin tags are there). 

Defecation Syncope with Crohn's, Dicyolmine Stopped, and Possible Humira Dosage Cutback

So on Monday September 23 I was on the toilet around 10:30 A.M. and noticed a cramp in my stomach and all of the sudden passed out while on the toilet (I didn't fall off or hit anything). However, I remember getting a flush feeling spacing out and then gradually coming back to my senses. I was probably out for a minute or two at most. It was a very odd experience. When I had a bowel movement tonight I was worried I would pass out but I was fine.

It was nice because later in the same day I went to a GI who said it was defecation syncope. He said it can actually happen to patients while coughing or urinating. Although, he said it was pretty rare which worried me a little bit. I did some research and it can happen although isn't life threatening even though I read you can die from it within 2 years due to underlying conditions (the underlying conditions are life threatening themselves).

My GI told me to stop dicylomine yesterday (I believe this might have caused the defecation syncope). Dicylomine just treats the cramping. Also I have been feeling very good (100% in fact) and asked if we could scale back the Humira from every week to every 10 days or every other week. My GI mentioned that he wanted to see me on a Thursday (I usually do my Humira shot on a Friday night) to do a blood test and see how much Humira is in my blood.  Depending on the blood test my Humira might be cut back.

Today I saw my regular doctor to follow up with the defecation synscope and a blood test was done along with an EKG (just to make sure there are no heart issues. My doctor mentioned that since I am on such odd drugs it wouldn't hurt to do such tests. I seem to be more proactive with my health these days because it seems like you get one thing and realize it lead to something else or be something else (initially a resident believed I had celieac disease, while my father after much research thought it was c difficile, while my doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't an infection (meaning c difficle). What was interesting is my doctor use to work with a GI who saw plenty of Crohn's patients (300 actually). What this doctor noticed was that after everything was tried sometimes Flagyl would help patients. However, no one knew why this worked. This came from experience and couldn't be explained by any evidence at the time. These days more researchers are studying why this actually works.

First Solid Bowel Movement in Over 7 Months! Humira is Working!

So today something pretty wonderful happened. Not only did I get 10 hours of sleep (I felt quite amazing today as a result), but I had my first solid bowel movement around 4 P.M. (I only had to go once today as well)! I was so happy since I haven’t had one since January 6 of this year! Although, it is good, I hope this continues into the near distant future. I have notice for the past week my bowel movements looked a little more solid. I have noticed I have gained weight and now weight about 152 lbs which is pretty good (I was about 142 a few months ago).

One theory might be that the c difficile I had previously is now out of my system my colon has actually been healing for the past week months. Also my dosage of Humira has increased (it actually more than double since for a few weeks I was injecting it incorrectly as some of the liquid was leaking because I wasn’t holding the injection in long enough). Hopefully this is the start of more things to come!!

Diclyomine Helping Crohn's! Near 100%

So about a week or so my GI prescribed diclyomine which seems to have helped. I noticed less cramping and pain after I started taking it. The only thing I have noticed is that is my nose seems to have dried up and I have no moisture. My bowel movements have decreased as well. Part of the reason could be increasing the Humira and my colon now having some rest after my c difficle episode. Right now I am suppose to be taking 2 diclyomine pills a day but about two days ago I wanted to see if I could get by with one. When I first started taking it I noticed that I was a tad dizzy but this went away. My GI told me to immediately stop the drug if I get constipated. The only other side effect is blurred vision which I haven't notice yet

On another note I took a road trip to Dallas last weekend and felt quite amazing. I really do think stress has some impact on Crohn's health. I feel pretty good this week but when I was able to sleep for 9 to 10 hours, relax, and not have anything to worry about I felt good.

I am pretty satisfied with were I am in my condition. The Mayo Clinic called me to see how I was doing (I e-mailed them when I wasn't sure about what treatment course to take) and the doctor I saw suggested 6-MP however one draw back to this is monthly blood testing. He agreed that me taking diclyomine was a good idea. I somewhat agree with my GI's approach since it is more conservative. I would honestly say right now I am probably at 90% (10% due to diarrhea). Perhaps my colon is finally healing and my body is getting back to normal. It is quite amazing earlier this year I felt on the verge of death and had to get 3 liters of fluids pumped into me and now I am quite almost back to normal.

Reaching a Crohn's Plateau: Humira Every Week Still Having Diarrhea

So today (August 1, 2013) I went to see my gastroenterologist who was following up increasing my dosage of Humira. My health has been decent however not the same I was when I originally started taking Humira. I am still having diarrhea about 4-5 times per day. My pain level is decent. Most of the day I go without pain.

My GI said the goals for managing Crohn’s are making sure patients are eating well, not tired, no fever, and decent energy levels. My parents were not aware of this and they were thinking I would go without diarrhea. I mean it is sad in a way for now I will continue to have diarrhea. However, I know that as medicines progress could really improve not only my quality of life but the over 1.4 million people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). One good thing is that today if you have Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis you have more options. If you had Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis in the 1980’s or even early 1990’s you really only had a the option of Asacol or Prednisone. Now there are biologics, 6-MP, methotrexate, Asacol, Prednisone, and surgery. The surgery that can be done now is much minimal with surgeons taking out less of the colon and intestines and less scaring which is positive.

My doctor told me in the next year or so interlukin’s could be the next big thing for IBD. I believe STELARA is one of these since it targets interleukin- 12 and interlukin-13 which targets inflammation for Crohn’s. I covered STELARA here and the results from a trial.

The plan my GI laid out was to do a C-reactive protein test and to consider giving me anti-diarrhea/anti spasm medicines. Recently, I have been having IBS like symptoms. The idea is that this should do some good. I e-mailed the doctor I saw at Mayo and to get his thoughts and he suggested to a c-reactive protein test, in addition to a CBC (complete blood count), and c difficile test (since I did have c diff for so long). However, his recommendation would be to include 6-MP or methotrexate with the Humira to give it a boost. My GI today said that white males who are young have an increased risk of developing lymphoma (however the increased risk is on a percentage basis). I did some research and the risk was about .1% which is about 1 in 1000 (however it is still there).

I have been thinking about what I eat and last Sunday I ate a brownie sundae with ice cream and some Mexican food for dinner and really felt it. I think food has a role, however I think some people might overstate its impact. With this said my internist recommended a nutritionist who I have thought about seeing. The most I could lose is actually eating a well rounded diet. It would be nice if I could figure out if I have trigger foods. In general I think chocolate might make me worse and anything greasy. However, I still have pain if I have chicken noodle soup so. 

Dicyclomine and Crohn's: Now Taking

So my GI called me last night around 7 P.M. to tell me the results of my blood test. Primarily he was looking at my C reactive protein (CRP) which measures inflammation in the blood. My CRP was only .8 which is pretty low (which is a good thing). My GI prescribed me dicyclomine which is to actually help people with IBS (I actually had IBS right before Crohn’s). However, since my colon and stomach have been in a spasm mode it makes sense to prescribe this. I took the medicine last night and the on the bottle of the drug it says not to use heavy machinery after taking the drug. The drug was only 64 cents which is quite a deal. I was a little dizzy last night (which is a usual side effect). Today I felt a little light headed however felt virtually no pain. As I write this as of 7 P.M. I have only gone to the bathroom twice today which is better than the 4-5 times per day I have been going which is pretty good. The past few days I have had to go after lunch. Even after I ate I really didn’t feel much pain afterward. The only side effect is I did feel a little lightheaded today at work however I remember when I first took Asacol I was sweating for at least a week at night.

The plan my GI laid out was to call him in about a week to see how I was doing. I really do appreciate a doctor that calls me personally and gives me lab results instead of having a nurse do it. Hopefully this drug will do the trick. I have gradually since May (after the fecal transplant) been getting back to normal. The goal is to stop the diarrhea and feel well.