Posts tagged ‘Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome’
My Best Friend, A New Crohnie, Tells Her Story on Caring for Crohn’s
A few months ago, my best friend Julia was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The diagnosis, like it is for so many people, has been difficult for her to wrap her mind around. I remember how hard it was for Dan when he was first diagnosed- understanding the disease, getting used to living with it, finding trigger foods, getting on the right medications, having tons of procedures, etc. But Julia has handled it with grace, no matter how down she feels.
Julia (on the right) and I in August 2012, two months before she was diagnosed
Julia spent some time last week writing down her thoughts about being diagnosed and what its been like for her. So today’s post is written by her, a new Crohnie, on learning to live with Crohn’s disease (note: Julia is a nurse so there will probably be a lot of medical terminology in this):
I feel like this all came out of nowhere.
Crohn’s disease?
I was half-awake, half-sedated, with the 100mcg of Fentanyl and 17mg of Versed I was given for my esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy. My gastroenterologist, who I had met that day after seeing a GI Nurse Practitioner in the office a few months prior, stands over me as I come to. He told me, in medical terms (I’m an ICU nurse) that they found ulcerations and inflammation in my terminal ileum and that he highly suspects that I have Crohn’s disease. He told my friend who was picking me up (an ER nurse herself) that I would have to have a few scripts filled and that I should start taking these medication that day. I said, “Crohn’s disease?”
He said, “Crohn’s disease.”
Caring for Crohn's & UC 