I need advice...

Hey Guys,

I need advice. So everything was going brilliantly. Kicking ass in college, loving life, enjoying myself. Then of course I reach my final year and am diagnosed with colitis. I have five of the worst months of my life before slowly finding remission. I head back to college, finish strong, everything is back on track. Get a cool a job after graduating... and become terribly ill. Again having some of the worst months of my life.

My medications weren't up to the task and so as a last resort before knocking on the surgeon's door I'm started on Humira injections. Which are incredible! I've never had so much relief and can't remember feeling this good. I can actually eat goddarned popcorn again. #awesomesauce #lolcakes

The problem is that I want to travel. I've always wanted to travel. Desperately. I need to see the world, to live it. Staying here on this island for the rest of my life is not an option. Yes, there are ways around this. I would be able to source my injections and meds in a number of countries (I hope). But I want to go off the beaten track. I want to travel across Asia, Oceania, South America, Africa, and the not so new New World. I want to experience all that I can, and sleep with as many exotic women as is humanly possible. lel.

I can't do any of that while I'm taking an injection which costs well over 1000 euros every fecking Wednesday.

I am so tired of it all. Sick you might say. :P

I'm hoping that at least one of you sexy beasts has knowledge about any options that may be open to me. Options that I don't know exist.

I'd originally been planning on joining the British Navy or some such organisation to do this (my country's navy does feck all). But astoundingly they won't accept someone who takes well over 60,000 euros worth of drugs each year. Go figure.

I also think I need to find a way to vent. I am so angry. Alllll the time. And all anyone I know does is tell me to man up. I am doing my best. I am trying to be constructive and to move forward. But I feel like I need to scream. Preferable without waking my housemates. It's gotten to the point where I don't even have any interest in my chosen area of study. It all seems so *insert applicable swear word* tedious and goddarn boring now.

I.Am.So.Ducking.Tired.Of.It.ALL.

Maybe I should just try creating my own science startup haha (I swear that was funny in my head). If there is no way around this for I'll need something ridiculously interesting and difficult to take my mind off of it all. Otherwise I can't guarantee that I won't lose my mind.

Ehh.. End Transmission.


(And yes I'm fully aware that I'm rambling. I'm tired and cranky. And there's no Downton Abbey on tonight)

I assume you're saying you can't travel because of the cost of the medications and not because of the limitations of your UC? I have come across a few threads on this forum where people have gotten help directly from the drug manufacturers purchasing humira/remicade. Check their website. Also, if you want to sleep with women, you might want to stop using the phrase "awesome sauce."

Haha noted Charlie. It was however a joke... The whole post supposed to be a light hearted attempt at explaining my situation. :)

You may be able to get some injections early and bring a stash with you. the problem is refrigeration. when you are in industrialized countries it wont be as big of a problem because you can keep it in a cooler with ice and than when you get to the hotel you can refrigerate them there
however, with less developed countries you may not always have access to fresh ice and refrigeration and instant ice packs can get kind of pricey

Yeah, a ulcerative colitis diagnosis is one heck of a head trip, especially since most of us were young, healthy, social, active, and adventurous people when diagnosed and hate to have uc change that in us. If you're doing well on humira then you should be able to get out there and see the world. Try not to let your diagnosis be a limitation to your life's ambitions.

I found a similar topic post on healingwell about an individual who was doing multiple month backpacking trips with humira. I guess he got a number of months of humira pens, staid in hostels with refrigeration. You're going to have to bring your medications with you. Do not anticipate them being available anywhere but home (they're likely not).

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=3319188

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=3438598

Remicade is always an option, instead of humira. I get one injection every 8 weeks for remicade

I wanted to do things in the future too. I am thankful I had surgery. The thought of a life full of flares, medication and worrying about affording and finding medication made me very uneasy. Surgery isn't for mild cases of course, and there are no guarantees with surgery either, but in my case, the disease was so severe, there were no other options. Looking back, it was probably for the best. I was getting really tired of all the meds and misery. Humira is pretty mainstream, i would imagine you could get a few months supply and travel - you may even be able to get it in some places. it's just a big risk, what if you stop responding to humira and you're on a 6 month trip? What then? It's so up in the air, i hated it.