Today marks one month since that lovely early morning ER visit, at the end of which (7 hours+) I was given a tenative diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Its fitting in some fashion that one month later I get the official confirmation from the gastroenterologist, after lots of testing. Reade more if you want to…read more. Medical stuff, blah blah, you were warned. I’ll ramble about my truck a bit here as well, since I got it back from Midas today (again).
Took my truck to Midas with the generous aid of Michele’s parents, who are visiting. The ‘no problem’ engine light…was a problem. Two O2 sensors, the catalytic converter, and fuel filter all had to be replaced. Not cheap. But the truck is running decently now, at last, and since I had to leave it overnight anyways I got the ABS sensor replaced, so the warning light I’ve been ignoring for over 3 years is finally gone. Here’s to nothing else going wrong!
They’re doing some more blood work today, and tomorrow morning I go in to get an X-ray of my abdomen for them to take yet another look at my intestines. I also go back for another follow-up in 10 days. Today counted as the follow-up for my colonoscopy (last Thursday, the prep meds for it are what caused such a horrid night with the naseau and such).
My terminal ileum is inflamed. Rather badly. So badly they weren’t able to get the scope past it. Biospy results weren’t really mentioned, so I assume that’s a good thing. Blood tests for Crohn’s were negative, hence the further more specific testing today. I have either Crohn’s colitis or Crohn’s ileocolitis; the difference lies in which parts of my intestines are affected. I’m assuming the further testing is to determine this, as the doctor first told me colitis, then on the form wrote ileocolitis. Who knows…in either case, I’ve got Crohn’s and its not fun.
My follow-up was originally the 24th. But with the pain as intense as it was, I wedged my way into the appointment today, just hoping for some meds to help with the pain; thankfully my results came back so I was able to do the follow-up talk as well. The Entocort EC steroids they’d given me on the 6th were doing nothing, so I got Prednisone this time…a dosage increase almost by a factor of 6. And I got more Hydrocone (more commonly known as Vicodin), in a slightly stronger dosage than last time. It doesn’t eliminate the pain by a long shot, but hopefully it will dull it enough that I can get some sleep. I desperately need a couple good nights worth of rest, and a couple good meals.
At the moment, I’m praying to just get the rest. If the new steroids have an effect, the meal part might just happen in a week or two. For now, I’m taking some more pain meds and trying to sleep. Many changes in my life will have to be made over time to accomdate Crohn’s…dietary changes to start, and also increased risk (and thus frequency of checking for) colon cancer. But that will be dealt with later…gotta focus on one thing at a time.