Posted 10/29/2007 7:42 AM (GMT 0)
I have to agree with everyone here. When I was diagnosed I too was nauseous and very fatigued.
rest--Rest is VERY impt. Even when you start to feel better, make sure to not overdo it cause it'll make a BIG difference in the way you heal. I was in denial so as soon as I started to somewhat feel back to normal, I went full force normal mode and crashed and burned after 4 weeks and made myself worse. I am now back in to trying to do the resting thing again and am trying to find a good balance.
I too am not in remission yet and looking for the right meds but I think the one I just got put on is starting to work as long as I rest. <crossing fingers> Looking forward to remissionville. =0)
Tips I think might help because they worked for me.....
food--listen to your body. When I was first diagnosed, I was on a liquid diet and slowly reintroduced back into my system. As I ate more types of food, I made sure to document so if there was a food that didn't agree with me, so I could avoid it until I felt a bit better and then retry to see if it was just that one day or if it really didn't agree with me. Some others on here are on specialized diets that they say totally work for them like "makers diet." Some do supplements--vitamins--probiotics etc. I personally take them because I learned about it on here--if it worked for others, might actually do me some good. Be careful tho... some sites profess to "cure" diseases such as ours so do your research. If that was the case, we wouldn't be on here.
support--What I can say is that you found a very great forum with a great set of people in it. There are some that are like us that are newbies and others that have had crohn's for a long time that can share their wisdom with us. A lot of us with autoimmune issues aren't blessed to be with people that can empathize with our situations since they have NO idea what we are going through--plus some of us don't look "sick" which is irritating because our feelings/sickness are invalidated by people. So use this site. It has saved me from beating people over the head that just don't get it.
education--I would also like to add that once you're feeling more up to it, try to educate yourself as much as you can about this disease and don't freak out when you read the stuff. ALL of us are different so the disease manifests itself in different ways. For example most info I read on the websites and books talk about only having diarrhea. I swing between diarrhea and constipation all the time and when I saw others that had those same symptoms and gave me tips on how to balance it really helped to ease my mind that I wasn't a freak.
Being overwhelmed--I know when I was first doing my research and newly diagnosed I felt like I was given a death sentence and I cried for weeks. You are also learning a lot of information at once, I had to reread articles/books after about a month because everything blended together. As time goes on, I am able to separate what "could" happen to me with what IS happening to me and then it's not as scary.
Emotional stuff--Over time you will go through a variety of emotions: anger, fear, frustration, depression, anxiety, hate, acceptance, etc. and sometimes all of them at once which is very normal. Which brings you back to support. These guys are great for giving you virtual hugs when you don't think anyone is suffering like you. I am still working on those stages myself--just when I think that I've got it, I get all discombobulated again. Like Kandice21 said it helps when you are able to change your state of mind and "you have to think you will get better before you will." Some people get it really quick and are able to change their state of mind, others take a bit longer. I have a coworker who told me I wasn't crazy for being in denial and making myself resick by trying to go back to my old life. I just had to learn the hard way. She said that she was in denial for 2.5 years before she realized the importance of changing her state of mind and even now, she goes through the variety of emotions occasionally.
you are your best advocate!--If you don't feel something is right, get a 2nd opinion. A lot of people that I personally know don't want to rock the boat when they have issues because they are afraid of getting their doctor mad. We employ these doctors. If they don't treat us nice, then find someone that will. I am fortunate to live in a big city so I have these options. Hopefully you do too.
Hang in there.....It does and it will get better!