Foltx Helping Energy Levels for Crohn's

So I went for my physical back in November and my doctor had recommended that I take more vitamin B. He prescribed Foltx which is a combination of different things (folic acid, B6, and B12). I was somewhat curious what effect it would have on me. I noticed pretty quickly it made me more alert, more energy, and I felt less tired. I already take a high dose of Vitamin D which seems to make me feel very good the day after I take it. For a while I wondered if I could take anything to boost my energy and it seems like I have found it.

My Crohn's seems still be under control. I have had a few cramps at night the past week. I took my Humira shot last week and there was some leakage. Although, I am fairly careful leakage is rare and can happen. I tend to notice that I cramp more when I have some leakage the week after. Usually the greatest chance of leakage is when I have to take the shot near my stomach (the angles can be difficult at times). Other than this I really can't complain about how I feel. Although, I do know Humira will one day not work (but there are a number of different drugs out there that I can take). I have heard some patients who took Humira for over a decade before they lost response to it. I would be very impressed and happy if this happened but like always just take it one day at a time and am grateful for a calm GI system. :-)

2015 Year In Review

Well 2015 marked a good of pretty good health for Crohn's! I was diagnosed with Crohn's in December 2011 and really am surprised and lucky for how well my health has been. For my annual physical my doctor said I was in tip top shape and looked like a regular young healthy guy. I feel great and am able to do everything I was able to do before I was diagnosed with Crohn's. Every now and then I have a cramp but I really am not complaining. Humira has worked wonderfully and right now I am taking it every 2 weeks.

The only thing that really happened in 2015 health wise was some anal fissures which I wrote about here in the fall which originally started around March. What really seem to help is a good amount of sleep, working out, and eating reasonably well (yes I still have a brownie sundae every now and then but this is also why I work out :-).

To be perfectly honest I haven't been keeping track as much of the developments in Crohn's as I use to for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that so much has changed even since I initially got diagnosed that it is so hard to keep up with every new trial, drug, procedure, etc. that comes out. I remember when I first got diagnosed I would stay up late reading different things on forums (which were pretty much inaccurate and just opinion based). The second reason why I haven't been keeping up is I have been very busy at work and also studying for an exam that takes many months to prepare for. I took a vacation recently which was nice to just hang out and relax for a while. However, I still follow Crohn's news and sometimes I will see something that catches my eye. One thing I remember my GI telling me was the purpose of a chronic illness is to make it so the patient doesn't know they have it. At this point in time I am at that point and hope I continue to remain there in the near distant future.

Trick or Treat Halloween Mini Flare and Fissure Return

So exactly one year ago I wrote this post about my mini Halloween flare. Even after sleeping pretty decent (thanks to day light savings time) I still have minor cramping but it seems to be better than last night. Even though last night was Halloween I didn't have any candy (I did have some vanilla ice cream with syrup on top which may have done the trick). For dinner I ate a chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes and my family ordered out so we all shared some chicken quesadillas which were pretty tasty. Anyways, probably around 9:45 p.m. or so I felt to feel really bad. I was at my parents place and sometimes right before I leave I get this deep cramp and feel like I have to go the bathroom. When this happens I usually drive a little faster so I can reach the nearest toilet. So while driving home I thought "how much longer can I really hold this". There was a Chick-fil-ia near by and it was just about to close by luckily they were open. I went to the bathroom and felt much better afterword. During my bowel movement I had some blood in my rear but I cleaned up nicely and drove home to my apartment and then  had another bowel movement. After this I thought I need to sit in the tub. So I sat in warm water for a while and felt a lot better. What I think is interesting though is that I usually feel dehydrated after sitting in the tub that long and usually get some cold water which makes me feel better. After my bath I put on some cream to my rear that my GI had prescribed for my fissure. The past few days I have been lifting weights and believe that perhaps this could have made the fissure worse (just a theory though). Before bed last night I took Vitamin D which usually is a good booster for the next day. Of course I could be completely wrong about all this given that from time to time I do have a mini flare in the week prior to taking Humira. All in all I still feel pretty good and hope everyone had a nice and safe Halloween!

Anal Fissure Returns Fall 2015 (Almost 2 Years To the Week)

So I wrote in this previous post about an anal fissure almost exactly two years ago. In addition to this had an episode of this early this year around March which I discussed here. I have had some minor bleeding on my bottom starting on Wednesday. I had more issues on Thursday (bowel movements had a little blood in them). On Friday before I left for work I had a bowel movement and basically the whole toilet was in blood which wasn't good. Add to that the fact that my sleep the night before wasn't that great (I thought I heard something outside my apartment around 12:30 A.M.). I called the office of my GI and they gave him the message and then he called me back a little bit after lunch (my phone didn't ring and he left a voicemail to use the Hydrocorisone 2.5% /Pramoxine HCI 1%  cream that he gave me and to keep doing what I was doing in terms of taking hot baths. I apply the cream right after I take a hot bath which seems to seal everything up. It is odd because I am a little scared to have a bowel movement because worry about blood. I had a bowel movement this morning that seemed fine and no sign of blood. 

My plan is to continue to monitor how I am doing and only call my doctor if things get worse (i.e.-blood in the stool). I can't really complain as I have no cramping or really any pain. My sleep last night was pretty good and I felt refreshed today. More to come with my current pain in the butt :-)

Cheese Enchiladas + Frozen Custard + Light Sleep = Crohn's Pain!

So last night I did somewhat of a no-no I had cheese enchiladas (love those things) with some refried beans and rice at a Mexican place I had never been to before (they were really good) followed by a frozen custard sundae right after. I actually could feel some gas passing as I was driving which wasn't good. When I returned home I had to go to the bathroom and had some partial bowel movements (which can happen every now and then anyways), The meal was quite good however I felt like I had ate too much. Oh add on top of that at work we celebrated the birthday of one of the partners and went to Olive Garden and had unlimited bread sticks and salad (I have the five cheese Ziti which was okay nothing great).

Anyways, I had some minor pain today. I also woke up in the middle of the night and checked my phone (not sure why). Hopefully tonight I will get to bed early and allow my gut to heal. For some reason if I get a really good and deep sleep my stomach feels like it heals. Perhaps the gut has to rest like every other body part. I will probably take it easy this weekend. My birthday is coming up soon so I know I will get to go to my choice of eating out/desserts (have to be careful since I really enjoy chocolate).

On a follow up note from my last post. My dad is thankfully back to normal. It appears he had some minor side effects of diarrhea from his antibiotic however is back to normal now.

P.S.-The picture I have above does make me want some more-until I realize the pain :-)

Father Recently Took Antibiotic Having Bowel Issues

So the past few days my father has had some diarrhea after taking multiple rounds of antibiotics. The reason for giving him antibiotic was he recently had a minor procedure and he had a urinary tract infection afterword and of course antibiotics are usually taken to get rid of any type of infection. Yesterday he really didn't seem himself and said he had to go to the bathroom right after he ate. What is odd though he doesn't have any pain. He called our internist and he told him to take a bunch of Metamucil which is suppose to make things better. He took a probotic yesterday however I told him you really have to start taking that before you take the antibiotic. If that doesn't work then he will go in for some testing next week. I urged my dad to go to our GI instead of the internist (I trust our internist but it never hurts to have a specialist look it). At this point I doubt that it is c diff given he doesn't have any pain. If however things get worse I would change my mind about that. Hopefully, things get better for my dad since I really do care about him.

Feeling Pretty Good Lately

So this weekend was a little interesting. On Friday I was feeling pretty good (I actually had a date that night but had to drive over an hour an half away). I took my vitamin D on Thursday so it really gave me some energy on Friday. However, before I took the vitamin D I was having some minor cramping and blunt pains in my stomach. Anyways, Friday night I was feeling good and stayed out pretty late and had a minor amount of alcohol. I got home pretty late and was really tired. I think I went to bed around 1 A.M. and woke up 6 A.M. on Saturday morning so I was really tired. I slept a little around 8 or 9 but was still tired. I actually didn't feel too bad early in the morning but after lunch it was pretty tough.

On Saturday I went to bed around 9 P.M. and was really really tired. I woke up Sunday and probably got 9 or 10 hours of sleep (however still a sleep deficit since I only got maybe 5 the night before). Sunday I felt pretty good and felt like I had good energy. My father at dinner made the comment that I looked tired though. This evening as I write this I feel pretty good but feel a little tired around 9:30 P.M. and plan to go to bed a little earlier tonight. 

I am glad I am still in remission and every day am thankful that I am not on the toilet or throwing up. I started Humira 3 years ago this month and haven't really looked back ever since. Hopefully this will continue for years to come.