Cramping/Work Stress and Sleep

Well it seems as if the holidays are quickly approaching. Currently, I just wrapped up my last day of work for the year and am looking forward to a nice break off (I head back to work after the New Year). I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the free time off. Tomorrow I head to my doctor for my annual physical results.

Recently, I have not been able to sleep that well. For no apparent reason I would wake up multiple times in the middle of the night and maybe get something to eat or drink water and then right back to bed. Sunday night is the worst night for sleep since my body is used to staying up late on the weekends plus wondering about what I have at work the next day. Speaking of work it seems this time of year is usually stressful (I work in the financial industry where year end and tax time are stressful). I honestly felt like I was worry about so much and that is what caused me to wake up in the middle of the night for no reason. My sleep has been improving the past couple of nights. However, I still feel tired. Hopefully this nice little vacation will cure that. Also I haven't been working out as well and have gained a little weight and look forward to getting back to that (starting this evening!) 

Most likely due to the lack of sleep I developed some cramping last weekend but it has vanished as I have slept better. The cramping was the typical blunt pain that I have had before and usually would come around night time. 

All and all I am in good shape and just a little tired but am sure that this nice long vacation will help out! 

Mini-Flare, Tired, Ice Pack Burn, Studying, and Stress

So I honestly have not written on the blog for quite some time. Work has been pretty busy and honestly my Crohn's has been very good (no complaints). I honestly haven't had any issues. Today however was a different story. The day started out pretty good and I even worked out for almost an hour. However, tonight after dinner when I was watching T.V. with the family I had to make some runs to the bathroom. At first the bowel movements were solid and then by the 3rd time I had to go to the bathroom they started to become looser. Now honestly this does happen on occasion so it isn't too surprising. Typically if it does occur it is on a Thursday night or Saturday night on the week before I take my Humira (I take Humira on Saturdays). Anyways, I went to the store to pick up some things I was feeling pretty tired and got some fluids to re hydrate. I also had to get some bandages as well (more on this in a bit). As I write this now by body has come back to normal and really no pain.

Stress has been a factor in my life recently. I am due to take a board exam not this Sunday but the following Sunday. Honestly, I have been preparing for this exam for a couple of years (I feel like the pressure is on). I have been studying roughly 6 hours or so a day. Of course this can ware after a while. I went to a review course the week before last and that was 8 hours per day sitting in a chair learning material. So this stress as been on me as well. The exam I take is 7 hours total. I get a 40 minute break but hope I don't have to use any of it on bathroom time. The thing I worry more about is my energy level. Staying concentrated for 6 hours for anyone is not easy.  My game plan this week is to get plenty of rest and still maintain a reasonable study schedule before I take the exam. I hope I do pass so I don't have to worry about ever taking this exam again.

As I mentioned before I had to pick up some bandages at the store. Last night I had some cramping at about midnight or so decided to stick a cold compress on my stomach. Now the problem was I put it directly to the skin which is a big no no. I woke up today and took a shower and after I showered realized it was there. I researched how to get rid of it and the advice was to warm up the skin and there might possibly be some blistering and burns (in addition to the bandages I got antibacterial ointment as well). I plan to "heat" up  my skin again to see if it goes away. The skin area around my skin looks a tad better.

Overall, I am a little tired and had a mini flare. History with me as shown this is usually temporary and disappears within 28-48 hours. I plan to gets lot of sleep this week as well to prepare for my exam. Speaking of sleep and time it is also time to set the clock ahead an hour for daylight savings time. If things changes I will post an updated post.

5 Year Crohn's Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Cramping, Feeling A Little Tired

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.

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. 

Health Update: Flare Up Friday, Sleep, Stomach Pain, and Crohn's

Well this weekend is Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday (Friday) I felt pretty tired and had stomach pain throughout the day. What was interesting however is that I really didn't have any loose bowel movements (I had maybe one or two). Add in to this the fact that the night before I woke up because I heard some popping noises in my apartment. My sleep wasn't that great which I think lead to the stomach pain. I took my Vitamin D pill on Thursday which actually I think helped out on Friday but still I felt not too great on Friday. When I came home from work I immediately sat in the tub with hot water and felt a little better. Around 5 P.M. I felt so tired I actually put on my pajamas and went to bed for about an hour. Before I fell asleep I remember a stabbing stomach pain in my stomach. After about an hour of sleep the pain went away (still some but greatly reduced). Last night I decided to eat lightly and ordered a Whataburger grilled chicken salad and had it with some dressing. What is interesting though is my weight is around 164 pounds (I was 160 a few weeks ago). I really would like to get back to 160 in order to fit into my work pants a tad easier. 

This morning (Saturday) I woke up and felt pretty good. I am scheduled to take my Humira tonight and usually I feel pretty good a couple of days after taking that. Vitamin D seems to make me feel really good. I call taking Vitamin D living life in high definition.

Feeling stomach pain made me remember to my days when I was really ill and it is somewhat burdensome to go back to that. Every day I am lucky and grateful that I have  drug that makes me feel relatively little pain. I started taking Humira almost 3  years ago and haven't looked back since. 

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.

Halloween Trick or Treat Mini Flare: Helped by Sleep

So last night was Halloween and to my surprise I didn't eat really any candy however that same day I stopped by Dunkin Donuts for a chocolate glazed donut (quite amazing) and for lunch had a chicken and cheese quesadilla followed by Dominos Pizza for dinner. We tried to order Papa John's however they had a wait of 2 1/2 hours. You don't have to be a nutritionist to know that this was not very healthy. When I was younger I use to remember on Halloween walking up and down the streets of the neighborhood trying to accumulate as much candy as possible and then returning home and trading my sister (one year we mixed up the candy piles and both got into trouble).

Anyways so although I did not have any candy however didn't probably eat the best things I did feel some cramping around 9 o'clock and was over at my parents handing out candy. When I came back to my place I had about 3 bowel movements in probably an hour or so that were all loose (however I did feel better after it was over). I took a hot bath after and felt really good (no heating pad needed). Also I feel asleep around 11:30 P.M. got up an hour later and had a chicken and cheese sandwich since I was hungry and went back to sleep and probably got a good 8-9 hours of sleep. This morning I woke up with no pain and felt back to normal. For some odd reason if I do have a loose bowel it is the week before I take my Humira shot.  I should point out that Friday morning I woke up around 6:30 AM and was up for a while before going back to sleep and getting up for work. I had a cramp most of the day (I think due to lack of sleep). However, I also think it may have been a hunger pain since after I had lunch it went away.

The moral of the story is sleep seems to have an important factor for me. I don't know if the fact that the immune/body is resting and therefore has a healing aspect to it. It would be interesting to measure inflammation rates in IBD patients who get more and less sleep. No doubt though sleep really does have a great benefit.

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.

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. 

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.

Mid-Week Links: Crohn's and Sleep, Pellino3, John Hopkins Starts Fecal Transplant Program

Crohn's and Sleep
     In a new study published from Dr. Ananthakrishnan shows that poor sleep may be linked to a flare up in Crohn's. The study was collected by CCFA Partners (which I participate in) which is a study that sends out a periodic survey to Crohn's or ulcerative colitis patients. 50% of Crohn's patients even in remission reported sleep disturbances. I have some personal experience with this as on a Friday night I slept for 10 hours and woke up on Saturday feeling pretty great and almost felt I went into mini-remission.

Pellino3 Found For Crohn's
Researchers at Maynooth (Dr. Paul Moynagh) found Pellino3 could help patients with Crohn's disease and possibly protect people from getting it. The research team found that Crohn's patients have a lower level of Pellino3. The team is now trying to develop a drug that will target this in order to help Crohn's patients.

John Hopkins Launches Fecal Transplant 
     It looks like another medical center is getting into the fecal transplant game. The more places that offer fecal transplant the less patients will have to travel, wait, and worry about whether or not they can get their c difficile cured.

Sleep and Crohn’s?

This recent study came out and discussed the affects of sleep on the immune system. The main point of the article is that sleep can affect the immune system like physical stress. Since Crohn’s is does deal with the immune system it would be interesting to see how sleep affects Crohn’s patients or if Crohn’s patients have a history of sleep problems. I know for myself a few months before I was diagnosed with Crohn’s I was taking sleeping pills every so often because I had trouble falling asleep. Also I was taking Nyquil when I got stuffed up. Maybe this contributed to me getting Crohn’s I am not sure. I do know that when get enough sleep I feel a lot better and my pain seems to be a little less. Although, the exact same thing could be said for people who don’t have Crohn’s. An interesting study might be to see how sleep affect TNF levels.