How to cope with it all?

Having a really hard time right now. My teeth are falling apart thanks to my Crohn's. Now I need another one pulled, along with a wisdom tooth. It's complicated so their sending me to an oral surgeon. I see them Thursday.

Meanwhile next week I see my GI, who is going to want to start Methotrexate. Since the Cimzia alone doesn't seem to be enough to get me in to remission. That scares and worries me. Last year at this time I got pancreatitis from the Imuran. So I have no idea how I'm going to react to this one. Worried mostly about nausea.

Then on Wednesday I see my GP again. My triglycerides came back as 574. Way too high, and I have no idea why? Plus we've been trying to get my blood pressure down and heart rate down. I'm on a new antidepressant but it doesn't seem to be helping. Still severely depressed, especially with so much going on, and lots of anxiety.

Really don't know how to cope anymore. It starts to feel like that fight just isn't worth it anymore, when your body just keeps falling apart no matter what you do.

I'm sorry that both of you are having such a rough time and I have no great advice! I do find mindfulness stuff helpful....approaching each day with no expectations and then focusing more on the present moments instead of looking too far back or forward. Also, when I am in pain, I shrink time down to 10 minute increments and think, "Can I handle this for 10 more minutes?" Then I take on the next 10 minutes....it feels less overwhelming for me that way. I used to go to bed thinking "tomorrow will be better," and then I'd get disappointed when it didn't happen. Now I just try to find joy in whatever I can and try not to think too hard.

I really thought surgery for me would make my life so much better, and in many ways it has. But I have absolutely no control over when I am going to need one of my "poop-a-thons." And this is remission! I don't even have safe vs unsafe foods like I did when I had my stricture. Today at work, I was in meetings and I was dying for a couple of hours before I could go spend 45 minutes in the bathroom. It makes working and just living hard. But we have no choice but to try to plod along and make the best of things.

Jen, I have read that methotrexate sometimes really does help put people in remission along with the biologics...I'm still hoping this will work for you.

Thank you all for the kind words. Been crying a lot tonight, I think it might help to get some of it out. But I really think I need more help in the anxiety/depression department. I don't think I could ever hurt myself, but I did tell my husband that if a bus ran me over tomorrow I wouldn't be sad to be out of all of this. I know that's not a good way to think, and I have a teenager that needs me, but I'm just tired of the fight and suffering.

I used to consider myself a strong person, but pain certainly has a way of working you down. My GP wants to put me on pain medication, just at night so that maybe I can sleep (another problem I wake up in pain all night long). Sad that my teeth feel like a tipping point for me, but I just feel like that was the last straw for me lately. That and I'm a HUGE baby about having dental work, no matter how much I have done.

I just try not to think about it too deeply. I escape into books, video games, Lego, whatever I can. Sometimes, when it all gets too much, I have myself a good cry. That helps, too.

I understand about the dental work. I've had three wisdom teeth removed (4th never made an appearance) one root canal, have three crowns, and dozens of fillings. Like any other healthcare professional, having a dentist you like is hugely important. It made all that work so much more tolerable, because my dentist and his staff are pleasant, interesting people. So they'd be talking about stuff while they work on my teeth, and I'd chip in when I could. It felt more like hanging out than a medical procedure. The dentists before him contributed greatly to the deterioration of my teeth because they treated me like a child, making me that much more reluctant to come in.

Try to stay positive! Crohns has it's ups and downs thats for sure. Try to find something to take your mind off things like mentioned above. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I understand how you feel. I had stricture surgery at end of October after putting up with it for 6 years. Didn't want to have it done earlier as have such short amount of small bowel left that they thought I would end up on TPN permanently afterwards. So stuck with it until I was having obstructions twice a week and was then rushed in as an emergency in September. I was so ill and lost so much weight (I'm 6'3 and weighted under 9 st 6lbs) that I had to have central line fitted and had TPN for 5 1/2 wks before they would operate. Anyway 6 hours of replumbing later and all sorted. Went home after 5 days and can now eat whatever I want. But.....

Over last 18 months my appetite has been rubbish and everyone just kept saying it was due to the stricture. I was also bone achingly tired and just put this down to the lack of food, Lupus and arthritis and just well, feeling like cack. While I was in hospital I kept saying about my appetite and kept being told it would be back to normal once I could eat again but I need to have 4000 calories a day and said it wasn't the stricture causing this but no one believed me. Well they did numerous blood tests due to the TPN and it turns out I have hyperparahyroid syndrome which I have since found out causes loss of appetite, exhaustion, bone pain yada..yada..yada. Everything I had been complaining of for last 18 months. Only treatment is to find which of the four parathyroid glands is causing the problem and remove it. The NHS will only do this however, if the calcium level is sky high of you have repeated kidney stones. Trouble is I saw my new gastro team last week and I have lost 7 kilos since leaving hospital and if I lose more they will put me on TPN. Seems mad that they would rather spend thousands on TPN every month than do the surgery all because of NHS funding guidelines.

To top it all off suddenly I have developed an infection in the site where the central line was, it was removed before I left hospital and the dr who took it out hadn't come across one like this before so fear he has left some of the tissue cuff inside the artery which is causing the problem. Something else to sort out. Back to work next week even though feel like a walking zombie but need to get back to normal.

Sorry, waffle over. Just when one thing is sorted, something else crawls out of woodwork. Wouldn't mind but the Crohn's itself has been in remission for ages. This is all the after effects caused by it.

To all who are having a hard time, hope you find some good days really soon.