Sunday, March 24, 2013

Pets Improve Your Health

I grew up with no pets in my family, except a couple of fish that died pretty quickly and a bunny I found in the yard that died in my hands the next morning-I think I scared it and it died! Izzy is my first pet to own and truly take care of. And I truly believe she is a gift from God for Isaac and I. My little morkie love reduces our stress levels when we are around her, keeps us company, make us laugh and cuddles with me when I don't feel good. She has actually been a good heating pad for my back or stomach when my intestines are raging too.

Isaac and I bought her last March in the midst of planning our wedding, we had no idea how much fun and smiles she would bring to our life. Her presence is such a comfort to me when I am not feeling well or need company when Isaac is at work. I have seen a whole new side of my husband that I have fallen in love with. He sings her songs, and he is so sweet and loving with her.

I started doing some research on pets and their affect on people's health. The articles below states that pets are natural stress reducers for humans, help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and help fight off depression. I believe it!

Owning her has helped me learn more responsibility that I had not learned before as well. At first, I thought that taking her potty and feeding her would be a hassle to my life and schedule. But when you love something or someone so much, you enjoy having the responsibility to take care of their little life. I would think that it is a similar feeling when you have a baby. But I could be wrong.

Please take a look at the articles I found below about how pets can improve your health by helping you live a longer and happier life!

Pets Improve Your Health

Pets Improve Your Health

Below is Izzy!



Friday, March 22, 2013

Food, Fatigue and Fortitude

Tonight I went out to dinner at Flat Tire Burger in Edmond, OK with a couple of girl friends. I checked their menu before we went so I could make sure there would be food options for me to order since I do not eat ground beef regular hamburgers. Thankfully, they had turkey burgers and chicken sandwiches. I ordered a turkey burger and had a few sweet potato fries. Something went wrong. Pretty quickly after the last bite of my burger went down, I starting getting this intense sharp pain in my side. My stomach hurt the rest of the night. I took Bentyl, which is a drug that helps when I have really bad stomach pain. It did help.

I'm still not completely sure what it was. I'm thinking it was the iceberg lettuce on my burger. I typically stay away from that kind of lettuce, because I had read it does not digest well. Well, I guess that is true for me. Definitely no more iceberg lettuce.

Often times, people will say to me, "If you just eat right, you'll be fine right?" or "If your not feeling well, you just need to eat better." Food does not control Crohn's disease, it just helps manage it for me. I have been doing better the last few months, and I definitely believe it is a combination of finding the right drug (Cimzia) and sticking to a healthy diet and staying away from my "trigger foods."

Finding out what my trigger foods exactly are has been tricky, and trial and error. Some for me include iceberg lettuce, lactose, queso, food with a lot of oil or grease, raw vegetables, spicy food, and when I'm really sick I keep my diet low in fiber. Diets high in fiber make my symptoms worse when I am in a flare. But when I am doing better, I will introduce more fiber back into my diet, like eating an apple with the skin and eating a sandwich with wheat bread. I am not afraid to speak up and say no to a restaurant if I do not feel comfortable with my menu options.

I feel like that is important for anyone who needs to stick to a new diet. Be confident and do not be afraid to speak up to say "no" to certain food or restaurants. Put your health first. I would rather be able to go out to eat with friends enjoying my meal and not worried if I will be sick later. But of course, I cannot control everything, like tonight with the iceberg lettuce incident. Now, I know better :)

Food does not 100 percent control or manage inflammation for me.  I have read articles on Crohn's patients who claim to be healed from a special diet. And that is wonderful if that diet worked for them. But the plan I am on right now with my doctor seems to be helping lately, and I do not want to try anything different. I like feeling better. :)

Lately, it seems fatigue is my main enemy. Fatigue is a common symptom with chronic inflammation. When my body is constantly fighting inflammation, it is tiring. I get tired easily, require a lot of sleep and rest or downtime, and seem to get nauseating headaches often.

Isaac and I went out to Bricktown last weekend to watch his cousin's band play on Saturday night. By 11 pm, we were ready to go home and get in bed. Isaac was tired, because he had worked all day. But why was I? I slept in till 10:30 am. I'm glad we got out and did something. I try and make myself do things sometimes even when I don't feel like it. It's good for my spirit to get out and have some fun.  I definitely make sure I listen to my body when it is telling me "please let me rest." That means saying "no" to social events sometimes and just giving myself plenty of downtime to relax.

I hope anyone with a chronic illness or a health condition learns how to balance diet, social life and rest time for their body. Learning when to say "no" and when to say "yes" to help live a balanced life are pertinent. Never feel guilty for saying "no" to events or feel like you might inconvenience someone by requesting specific food items. These are the lessons of determination and boldness I have had to learn in order to take care of myself in the best way.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Silent Sufferers

Crohn's disease is often called "The Silent Sufferers" disease. This is because it affects parts of the body that are embarrassing and uncomfortable to talk about. Body parts that are on the inside and unseen by others. It is difficult for others to see and understand the pain, the ulcers lining the intestines and the inflammation that causes sometimes debilitating stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea, loss of blood in stool, extraintestinal manifestations (other organ systems that are affected by Crohn's) and so on. I would also say that Crohn's is a disability that feels invisible. People often like to see to believe.

I have heard others who have autoimmune diseases say that it would be easier to get empathy for their daily struggle if their arm was cut off, because that disability is more visible and understandable for the public.

Although I am thankfully able to hold a full-time job, be happily married, travel, and live a normal life, I still struggle. It it just not as visible as if my arm were cut off. (please note that I am not saying that I would rather my arm be cut off, it is just a good analogy).

All Crohn's sufferers and anyone who has a chronic illness asks for is empathy and understanding. And if you don't understand, acknowledge that. You simply don't understand. I would rather hear that you don't understand than "just suck it up," "you're being a wimp," "just eat the right foods," "why aren't your medications working?" If you don't know what to say, my suggestion would be, "i'm sorry, that must be tough."

This week was a rough one for me. Ever since I was diagnosed with Crohn's, I have also been suffering with migraine headaches. I'm not sure if they are related or not, but wouldn't be surprised. They could be related to drugs I'm taking. Who knows. Or maybe it's age. In my last blog post, I mentioned this migraine headache issue. I decided to go see my primary care physician last Tuesday about my head that is aching so much, weekly and nearly daily.

Here is what I am trying right now:

In January, I switched birth control brands from Microgestin to Junel, so I decicded to go back to Microgestin since that is when my headaches started to get worse.

I also decided to try some sinus clearing methods to make sure it is not allergy/sinus related headaches.

My doctor also gave my prescription for Topamax, a migraine prevention drug, to try. I tried it for 4 days, and could not stand the drug. I absolutely hated the side effects. I could not funtion. I felt buzzed and drunk, couldn't concentrate, and my body felt tingly and numb. Ick!

Another extrainstestinal issue I am dealing with as a result of my Crohn's is mild rosacea on my face. Metronidazole has not seemed to be working, Eucerin bedtime redness relief doesn't seem to do much, I need a new moisturizer that heals my redness and dryness. I get tired of spending money on products.

Right now, I am trying some samples of face cream called Natura Bisse, which is really expensive, and next I am going to try some samples I have of Bobbi Brown face cream, which around $50 I believe. the Natura Bisse stuff just in two days has made my skin more calm. It doesn't seem as dry, red and seems more smooth.

Does anyone know of any other skin care line that might have this same affect, but less than $100??

Friday, I was feeling my worst. Topamax was at its worst in my body. For some reason my intestines decided to flare that day and I was not feeling well, and my skin just did not feel pretty. I cried in my car at lunch. I know everyone has these kind of days where everything just comes to together all at once. Life can get overwhelming sometimes - regardless of if you are dealing with an illness or not.