people say the most foolish things

I like Texan's T-shirt idea: "CROHN'S: Just because I look okay doesn't mean I am".  I'd buy a tee like that!  Of course, then I'd be announcing to everyone around me that I have Crohn's which I haven't done in my office yet...but still!  Maybe one day when I AM ready for everyone to know about my health issues, I'd wear that t-shirt to work.  I'd definitely put that saying on my Facebook as a piece of flair.

thats really unfair on her. So many people think diet is  a cure but the is no cure. I have perianal crohn and my Dr. says there is no proof that diet will affect any type of crohns

And to Kitt Kat - I kind of think having crohns is comparable to the flu. I mean yes, the flu is temporary and crohns is life long... but the naseau, vomitting, urgency, joint and body pain, fatigue, etc. all go along w/ the flu. I think it is kind of a good way to describe it.

But what really IS the flu?
Colds don't count, that is just coughing, stuffiness and generally feeling "blah". I always thought anytime you felt ill and had nausea/vomitting/diarrhea all together or two-at-a-time that was the flu, and it usually only lasted a day or two before you began to feel better and were able to resume normal duties.
Are there 24hr bugs or are those usually a form of food poisoning?

However, I wonder now if that was EVER the flu in light of the sickness I experienced just before my hubby proposed to me.

I was about 25 and had experienced my fair share of 'colds' and 'flus'. If what I had in the past was considered the flu, then what was THIS I came down with?
Vomitting. Diarrhea. Fever. Chills. It was late summer and I was going to bed in sweat pants/shirt and socks to keep warm. I woke every night SOAKED with sweat and would have to change not only my body clothing, but also my bedding: pillows, pillowcases, sheets and matress pad, because they were soaked with sweat. Soaked, not just damp...soaked like someone had poured a bucket over me as I lay sleeping and it pooled off and around me. I was unable to eat/drink ANYTHING. I tried broth. I tried water. I tried warm water. I tried tiny drop-sized sips. It didn't matter what I drank or how I drank it, if it hit my stomach it was immediately coming right back up. All of these acute symptoms lasted for 6 days with absolutely no let-up.
I had no medical insurance and would not go to the hospital or Doctor, even though I'm sure I was becoming critically dehydrated.
I lost almost 15 pounds that week and when I was finally able to return to work, I *looked* like I had been home sick for that entire week. There was no question of 'faking' it.
That experience is now what I think of as "flu" and I am not sure how to 'rate' the flu other people complain of? ...the 'flu' I experienced all my life until that one experience. Granted, since I didn't go to the Dr I do not know exactly WHAT it was, but I know it was a miserable experience. It rated right up there with the Jaundice/Hepatitis I experienced in 2006.
heidi