Good experience with Prednisone

Background: I have Crohn’s disease. I was diagnosed in winter 2009. I started taking Prednisone in summer 2011. My first dose was 40 mg for two weeks, then down 5 mg each week, so I guess about nine weeks in all.

It was amazing. The very first day, I felt like doing everything (whereas before, I felt like doing nothing). I was super energetic and super happy (whereas before, I was super tired and super depressed). I also ate a lot, which for some people, might be a concern, but I weighed 90 pounds at the time, so I was quite glad to gain another 30 pounds. There were no mood swings or acne or swelling. It was just amazing.

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Small bowel MRI with Sorbitol

I had a small bowel MRI today. I was a bit nervous, since I haven’t done one before. I’ve had a CT scan, a barium flow, two colonoscopies, and probably quite a few other tests, but I can’t remember ever having an MRI.

Before the procedure

My appointment was at 1:30 pm today, and my instructions were to not eat anything after midnight last night, and to only drink clear fluids this morning. I slept in as late as I could, and I didn’t really feel hungry until about lunch time. I drank some water this morning, but I didn’t want to drink too much, because I knew I’d have to drink a lot more before the procedure.

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Colonoscopy with Pico-Salax

I had my second colonoscopy on Monday. My first colonoscopy was a little more than two years ago. That post is one of the most popular posts on my blog, so I figured I’d write about this one too.

Background

First off, I’m twenty-two years old, and I’m in my fourth year of university. I live in southern Ontario, Canada, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in December 2009, after a terrible year where I was very sick, and the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me. I went to the hospital in December (thinking I had appendicitis) and had some tests done. They found that I had a perforated bowel, so I had a bowel resection. I had my first colonoscopy in February 2010. I wasn’t on any medication until June 2011, when I took Prednisone for a few months. That was a miracle, and I have been quite well ever since. This colonoscopy was just a precaution to make sure we aren’t sitting ducks for something bad to happen.

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I’m on drugs!: A new gastroenterologist and Prednisone

Last week, I had an appointment with a new gastroenterologist. The reason I have a new gastro doc is because back in January/February, I was doing pretty bad. I wasn’t sure if I was having a flare-up, because I also had the flu around the same time. I don’t know if I’ve ever had the actual flu before this, because this time was really bad. And frustrating, because I was missing classes, which makes me stress out, which makes me even sicker. I tried going to my linguistics class, but I had to sit down in the hallway halfway there, and then I just ended up going back home. My parents came to see me in residence just to make me scrambled eggs so I would eat something. It really, really sucked.

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Umm… an eating disorder, maybe?

“Hello, Health Services.”

“Hi, I’d like to make an appointment with Dr. X?”

“And what is this regarding?” (is what I imagine she said, but I don’t recall the exact words)

“Umm… an eating disorder, maybe?”

It felt really weird to say that. Partly because I’m pretty sure it’s not an eating disorder — at least not the way it’s usually defined — but it’s the closest thing I can think to call it. But it was strange to say it to someone who isn’t my parents. When the receptionist looked for a time to book me in, she had trouble finding a twenty minute slot, since those kind of appointments usually take a little longer, she said. Which means, well, one, it takes longer, which, well… I don’t know why. But two, “those kind” of appointments happen, well, more than just this once. Which, well, of course, obviously. But this appointment is not going to be, “I hate myself because I’m fat”, it’s going to be, “I hate myself because I’m lazy and skinny.”

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