Swine Flu Come Pnuemonia

Well somewhere around Friday or Saturday of two weeks ago I caught the dreaded Swine Flu. Monday I was feeling pretty drained but otherwise ok. Tuesday my throat started to get sore and by Wednesday I new I was getting the flu. 

I woke up on Thursday feeling as though I'd been hit by a truck. Headache, muscle soreness, sore throat, coughing, blocked nose and a fever. I called in sick, took two Mersyndol and went back to sleep. I felt pretty miserable on Friday too. 

Feeling guilty about the amount of time I have off work, on Monday I got up, took some panadol, cough syrup, and went in to work regardless. It turned out to be the worst thing I could've done. The next day I felt worse than ever and again called in sick. 

I called the hospital to inform them that I was sick and they promptly cancelled my Remicade infusion. I was told to call back once I was feeling better. 

I went to the doctor on Wednesday who informed me that my Swine flu was now pneumonia and that I was not to go to work, or indeed get out of bed for the rest of the week. 

Sigh.

So here i am, still feeling awful, I've been off work for a week and a half now with little sign of improvement. I'm worried about delaying my remicade, since every-time I have even the shortest break from medication my Crohn's goes into hyper-drive and I wind up needing to be admitted into hospital. 

Hopefully I'll start feeling better in the next few days. I need chocolate cake. Stat!

xox

Fatigue, weight gain, oh joy!

It’s been ages since I’ve written anything and I feel bad about that. I keep meaning to put hand to keyboard but I wind up getting distracted or just run out of time. As it is, I’m writing this when I should be working. Shhh. Don’t tell my boss.

Currently I’m on Methotrexate injections weekly and Remicade infusions every 8 weeks. Most of my symptoms have settled down and things are almost tolerable.

But I am so tired. Really tired. Sleep 16 hours a day tired. I go to bed at 9pm and I get up at 7am and I feel like I haven’t even slept. I walk around with bloodshot eyes and people look at me constantly and ask if I’m ok. Man, it’s always something with me.

Anybody else had this with either Remicade or Methotrexate?

I’m getting regular B12 and Iron shots so I know it’s not that, and thanks to a concerted effort on my part to eat properly most of my other vitamin and mineral levels are ok.

The other thing that happening at the moment is weight gain. Good Lord, I’m averaging 1 kilo a week and if one more person says to me “You needed to put on some weight though” I’m going to put my boxing classes to use and pummel them senseless. Even my GP said it. What nobody seams to under stand is the weight gain from meds isn’t going to stop, when should I do something about it? After I’ve gained 5kgs? 10kgs? 50kg? Or should I get on to it now? I’ve gained about 8kilos since leaving hospital in February, although most of that has happened in the last 2 months. So I have changed my eating habits and get more exercise. I want to avoid getting fat or that will make me depressed and then we’ll have a whole nother set of problems.

Anybody remember what life was like before we got this disease?

Stem Cell Treatment

Stem cell treatment gives hope to Crohn's disease sufferers

Sufferers from the debilitating bowel condition Crohn's disease may be cured using a groundbreaking stem cell treatment, according to the British doctor leading the research.

Initial findings from the world's first controlled trial of the procedure have raised hopes that it could banish the disease's symptoms for many years in up to half of the patients who undergo it.

The pioneering therapy involves "rebooting" the patient's immune system, by first destroying the cells that have attacked it to cause the Crohn's, and then replacing them.

Professor Chris Hawkey, a gastroenterologist at Nottingham University, is leading the Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Crohn's Disease (Astic) trial. So far, 15 patients from six European countries, including three Britons, have taken part, though others are being recruited.

"I'm hopeful that half or more of the patients who undergo stem cell transplantation may either be cured or have a long-term remission," said Hawkey.

Hawkey, other specialist doctors and patients involved in the trial will tomorrow meet the chancellor, Alastair Darling, to press for the NHS to offer better treatment across the UK to the estimated 60,000 people who have Crohn's and the 140,000 who suffer from colitis.

Crohn's is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulceration and inflammation of the digestive tract. Existing treatments all involve drugs, which help sufferers to control their symptoms, but do not offer a cure. It wrecks lives because its embarrassing and painful symptoms – including diarrhoea, stomach pains, fatigue and weight loss – can mean that those with the most severe form of Crohn's find it hard to go to school or college, hold down a job or plan a holiday.

The stem cell treatment, which takes two years, is very painful for patients, and involves risks including bleeding, infection and a 1%-2% chance of death. The stem cell transplantation is used to kill off the patient's old bone marrow, which produces the harmful cells that cause the Crohn's, and generate new cells.

Original article by Denis Campbell, health correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk

The Comfort Wipe

There are no words to describe this. I thought it was a joke at first, but no, I am assured that it is in fact legitimate. Enjoy.

Teen Self-Diagnoses Her Mysterious Disease - ABC News

Teen Self-Diagnoses Her Mysterious Disease - ABC News

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Heather O'Rourke, star of Poltergeist films died from Crohn's Disease

I found this Article over at Tragic Stars

Four of the actors involved in the Poltergeist films died within six years of one another, which led to a persistent rumor of a "Poltergeist curse" plaguing those involved with the horror films. Dominique Dunne, the actress who played O'Rourke's big sister in the original film, was murdered in 1982 by John Thomas Sweeney, with whom she had recently broken up. In 1985, actor Julian Beck died of stomach cancer during the filming of Poltergeist II: The Other Side. Two years later, Native American actor Will Sampson, who also starred in Poltergeist II, died of kidney failure and malnutrition problems.

In 1987, Heather was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after she suffered flu-like symptoms and swelling of her feet and legs. Despite her health problems, she began work on the final Poltergeist film, in which she starred alongside Lara Flynn Boyle and Tom Skerritt. According to fellow cast members, she never complained of pain and did not appear sick.

During a brief hiatus from filming, Heather fell extremely ill, unable to keep food down. Her mother called an ambulance after Heather fainted. Heather insisted she was fine to the paramedics, apparently worried about missing school.

Tragically, Heather O'Rourke died on February 1, 1988, of cardiopulmonary arrest and intestinal stenosis while having an acute bowel obstruction removed. Her mother claimed that had O'Rourke been diagnosed correctly months before, she would have lived. The family's lawyer filed a wrongful death suit against Kaiser Permanente, which they claimed responsible for the Crohn's disease misdiagnosis. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

World Crohn's & Colitis Day

Happy World Crohn's & Colitis Day!

Crohn's and Colitis affects 7 out of every 100,000 people. There is no cure. More research is needed to work on effective treatments until a cure is found. Crohn's is an embarrassing and painful illness, often involving surgery. It can be controlled with medications and although diet does not cause Crohn's, food can trigger violent flair-ups.

So, What have you done to help raise awareness of this debilitating disease today?  


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