Friday, January 24, 2014

Wanna See My Guts?

Ew gross! No really, I would like to share with you what my Crohn's disease really looks like!

I had my colonoscopy almost two weeks ago, and I received a great report! It has been two and a half year since my diagnoses and first colonoscopy, and I have come to a good place with my health. Praise Jesus. Below I would like to share with you real photos of my intestines and colon. 

The first photo is a drawing my doctor gave me to visually show me where my Crohn's inflammation is located. I am a very visual person, so this helped. Inflammation and ulcers can appear anywhere in the GI tract and mine is mostly in my colon and small intestine. 

The next three photos are from my most recent scope. You can see the inside of my small intestine and my colon. See how they are fairly pinkish-white looking? That is good. They are not inflammed and red. Also, you can see yellow arrows where she points out some inactive Crohn's ulcers.  I still have the illness; it is just not inflammed right now. 

The last three photos are from my scope when I was first diagnosed. See how much more red they are filled with yellow mucus? Yuck. I have come a long way. :)





So, does this mean I am in remission? That was the first question I sleepily asked my doctor when I awoke from the anesthesia. She said that technically according to the photos, no. But symptomatically, yes. My symptoms seem to be under control for the most part. This might be the best I will ever get, and that is fine with me. :)

Remission does not mean I am healed. Remission does not mean I don't get sick anymore. Unfortunately, I still have Crohn's, and I still am having arthritis issues in my hands. The illness affects my whole body. It does mean my symptoms are managed well and under control for the most part temporarily. (Hopefully, a long while!) This is good! Glory to God!

The colonoscopy prep was awful as expected. The three bottles of magnesium citrate I drank made me very bloated and extremely crampy. I was in a lot of pain for nearly two days. I prayed a lot, thanked God for where I am at in my life, sang songs to him with my music on in the bathroom, and also thought about french fries. Ha. I'll admit I was a little cranky off and on, and I hated the prep.

Isaac did not eat for most of my fast. He cheated a little. He only ate some when he was not around me. ;) I am okay with that, because he was scraping the popcorn off of our ceilings and working really hard to make our home look pretty.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!





3 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel!

    I'm new to reading your blog and as a fellow Crohnie I'd like to thank you for sharing your journey! I have had Crohn's for about 12 years (I am 19 years old) and it continues to throw me curveballs each day. By you sharing your story, you have helped me to open up and not be ashamed of all the symptoms and complications that accompany this pain-in-the-butt (literally!) disease. Good luck to you and I look forward to reading more posts! (:

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  2. Marissa! Thank you much for reading my blog. That mean so much to me! The "curveballs" I can relate to! It seriously seems like one thing after another, huh? It brings a smile to my face that I have helped you not be ashamed. I was ashamed when I was first diagnosed. Because of that, I felt very alone and scared. When I started the blog, I realized there are so many people out there like me! I'm so glad my online journey is helping you :)

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  3. Rachel, just found your blog on pinterest! Thank you so much for sharing everything you are going through. I have loved reading your blog and realized we both live in OK! :) I got diagnosed with Colitis this past summer and am also getting married this coming may. It's really helped me reading your blog, my GI symptoms are still getting under control with lots of various medications- figuring out what works best! (super FUN) However my favorite post of yours was regarding giving everything over to the lord including your fears about the joint pain. I started having pain in my knees two months back and just saw a rheumatologist. I pray your joint pain is under control as I can relate to your fears! I'm a pediatric nurse, and standing/walking for long periods of time has become a real challenge with my knees/ankles. I'm thankful your scope went so well and your pain is finally under control- what a blessing from the Lord! Again just wanted to say thank you thank you for your posts. It's refreshing to find someone so close who is going through the same thing who looks to the Lord for strength! Look forward to your posts! :)

    -Jenn

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