Crohn's getting me down, so many questions?? getting desperate.......

I havn't posted on here for ages but I used to be a regular visitor when my crohns was at its worst. After having a resection in 2006 my quality of life was 100% better. However I am a nursing student and last year I began my placements in february, I was on azathioprine but was never told about the risks of picking up infections because of being immunosupressed. I was aware but was not prepared for what has happened to me this year. Since february 2008 I have had infection after infection pretty much every 3 weeks. I stopped my azathioprine through my own choice in april to give my immune system a fighting chance, however that doesnt seem to have made much difference. I understand being in a hospital enviroment im more susceptable but can anyone say theyv picked up this ammount of infections in such a small space of time.

 

I started to wonder if it was the tablets or if chrons disease in general makes your immune system weaker. I get thrush every 4 weeks for no reason, ear infections are a big thing as our colds and sore throats after drinking alcohol. Im starting to get very fed up as im also getting say to say cramps and D anyway. At 19 i am on prozac because my mood has been constantly low because im ill all the time and iv never been so scared about getting another cold.

 

anyone experiencing the same problems or could enlighten me a bit more about our immune sytems with corhns im starting to get desperate......

 

many thanks

claire hunt

As i student nurse im quite good with hand hygiene. its frustrating because im on lots of vitamins and things like that. iv been on about 5 different types of antibiotics this year. i used to get ear infections as a child but hadnt had one for years so i was quite frustrated. Being a student at uni its getting me down more because noone understands why im so tired and miss out on things. I want to be able to drink and enjoy myself but find it very hard. Have a consulatant app in a few weeks buti never seem to get anywhere :( x

Hi Claire! When I was in x-ray school, I was very nervous about getting infections when I had to do clinicals at a hospital. I would check the patient's diagnosis before I went into a room and if it was something that could be passed airborne, I would wear a mask & just say I was getting over a cold & I didn't want to get the patient sick. Once school is over, maybe you can get a job at an outpatient clinic in a setting that doesn't have a lot of infection, like orthopedics, OB/GYN, etc. In the meantime, take your vitamin C!

thanks for the messages. I was told my B12 levels were normal which suprised me because i had my terminal illeum removed so i can hardly absorb any of the good stuff, hence the vitamins. I am dosing up on so much vitamin C. Iv been at uni since september studying and it hasnt been as bad but still getting all the bugs first. if anyone has a big guarentee i get it next within days and its so frustrating. I dont no where im going next in february on placement but fingers crossed my bodys getting used to it. It would be the worst thing ever if i had to give up nursing because its my life and i love it so much.

Another question i have a few skin tags around my back passage. have been passing blood quite often with stools, had a sigmoidoscopy and it was all normal, he told me the tags were so small they were hardly noticable. so how come i can feel them all the time when i go to the toilet. Im even starting to think there the reason i experience pain when having sex as i have explored every other possiblity. Will i ever be normal for just a few months

sorry for the rant