It's invisible illness week guys, May 3-9!! Just because someone 'doesn't look sick' doesn't mean that they aren't! People who struggle with things like Crohn's, UC, Fibromyalgia, RA & so many others can't really control how they are going to feel from day to day.
These things can go into remission but depending on their triggers a flare up could pop up at anytime no matter what is happening!! One thing I've come to realize with my Crohn's is that I can sometimes control my physical appearance as far as make up & hair go so I like to take advantage of that. If I have the energy to get up then I'm gonna put make up on & make sure my hair is done. Sometimes I can't always get my jeans on because my stomach is distended or sensitive to touch so I just have to throw on some leggings & oversized shirt & go with it! This isn't just a thing for me either though, there are other people who put up with the same things. My disease can't be seen from the outside, unless you want to count the weight loss. For someone who has an incurable invisible illness the tiny things they can control seem like victories sometimes. Diseases are not always physically visible, & just because they are invisible to you doesn't mean that they are invisible to the patient or that it is all just in their head!!!
Help me spread awareness of invisible illnesses!! If you guys are interested in looking more into what it is like living with Crohn's & UC check out my favorite Facebook page about it: Crohn's sucks so why not laugh about it? ~Kaylee <3
I've realized recently that when you live with a chronic disease & spend most of the time sick, Netflix turns into a really good friend!! For the last few weeks I have been in the middle of switching medications & I've been seriously sick so I've been doing a lot of binge watching on Netflix. Among a couple of other shows the one that I have been watching the one that has been the most intriguing & has taken the longest so far is there series Bones! In high school I got totally hooked on this show because I wanted to be an athletic trainer so I would watch Bones & try to name the different parts of the body before they did.
Recently while watching I realized that you can tell quite a bit about a person by just looking at their bones. You can tell age, any kind of sports that they might have taken part in, any defects, & even if they had diseases. This made me wonder if they would be able to tell, just by looking at a set of bones, if that person had Cronh's or Ulcerative Colitis?? Does Crohn's leave any kinds of markers on the bones??
It may not leave markers but it can cause bone loss! So how & why does this happen?? One of the causes of bone loss in Crohn's patients is the use of corticosteroids such as Prednisone. Because it is such a strong treatment if taken for extended periods of time the steroid will pull potassium out of the bone causing osteoporosis. Corticosteroids can decrease the amount of potassium that is absorbed by the intestines from food. They can increase the amount of calcium that the body gets rid of during urination. They stimulate the production of a certain cell group that break down bones, as well as reduce the production of cells that build bone. They also reduce the production of Estrogen that aids in strengthening the bones.
The inflammation caused by this disease can also have an effect on the structure of a person's skeletal system. The problem here lies in the proteins known as cytokines. These tiny little proteins are what antagonize a person's inflammatory response. People who have a more aggressive case of Crohn's disease may experience more bone loss than others due to the use of more steroids to control their inflammation and symptoms.
Anybody ever hear of anemia? That can also tag along with CD as well. What is anemia you might be asking. Anemia is simply when your blood does not have enough red blood cells in it. I have personally had red counts so low that I was about .1 points away from having to go to the hospital & have a blood transfusion. Scary stuff right?! Kind of yeah, but totally manageable that's the good thing about it!!
Raise your hand if you have ever had a kidney stone. Almost everyone I talk to seems to think that kidney stones are for "old people". They totally aren't! I've had my fare share & I'm 19! Because CD patients can become severely dehydrated due to excessive bathroom trips & not being able to keep food or fluids in their bodies kidney stones are sadly almost a guarantee.
"Your eyes are such a pretty bright blue!" That was one of the compliments I have always received from people...until recently. Now comments like that are kind of few & far between. Due to the fact that my body produces way to much TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha). TNF-a is a protein that the body makes to cause an inflammatory response. Since mine makes way to much it has to have somewhere to go & in my case it decided to find it's way to my digestive tract especially my colon, but it doesn't always just stay in my colon. It can migrate to the eyes causing redness and swelling. The most common kind of eye problem in CD patients is known as Uveitis, this is when the middle layer of the eye ball swells. Symptoms include blurred vision, pain, redness, & a sensitivity to light. Another type of eye problem is called Keratopathy. This one is a build up of calcium in the cornea of the eye. Sounds nasty right, this one does not cause pain or vision loss but in order to diagnose it an eye doctor has to examine your eyes with what is known as a split lens. Episcleritis is, like the name says, inflammation of the episclera of the eye or the outer coating of the white part of the eye. This occurs when tiny blood vessels in this part of the eye become inflamed, dilate & then become red. This results in pain & tenderness of the eye & can clear up on it's own when or if the patient's IBD goes into remission but it can also be treated with topical creams or steroid eye drops. The last common eye problem is called Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) or more commonly known as dry eye. This is due to a deficiency of vitamin A & caused by decreased tear production or increased evaporation of tear film. This one can get pretty serious, it can cause eye infection, itching & burning, & can lead to night blindness. Vitamin A supplements, taken orally or given by injection, can correct the efficiency & fake tears can deliver relief to the patient. Long term us of corticosteroids can also lead to glaucoma. Almost everyone has had at least one canker sore in their lifetime, right?! Well Crohn's patients suffer from canker sores, but these are like canker sores on steroids!! I get a lot of these & oh my goodness they hurt!!! A better term to use when talking about the mouth sores that CD patients get would be ulcers. They tend to get really nasty & bloody! If you are in remission the chances of getting a mouth ulcer is super low. There are so many more problems that Crohn's & the different medications used to treat Crohn's can cause but these are just few of the common & not so common problems that patients face along their journey. I hope that you guys were maybe able to learn something or find some kind of help from this article! Thanks for reading!!! ~Kaylee
Hey guys!! The only post that I have written so far that has been about me was the first one where I briefly described who I was! I kind of just want to talk about what I have been going through recently.
Not to long ago I wrote a post about starting Remicade infusions and what Remicade is. So far I have had my first 3 infusions & I go back for infusion number 4 in a little over a month. Right now I don't feel to bad since I just had my third infusion but I know that the closer I come to my next infusion the more excited I will be! Sounds kind of sick right? I'm excited about having a needle stuck in my arm & sitting there for hours doing nothing, but despite all of that after I get an infusion I feel awesome. It's crazy how different I feel after an infusion. Granted right after I am usually absolutely exhausted & I go home then just sleep the rest of the day away the next day I feel great!
Infusion day has turned into somewhat of a holiday for my family. I always make sure that I am off work because well I really don't want to miss infusion day, & either my mom or dad make sure that they are off work as well. It can get kind of boring at times but the boredom doesn't usually last to long! If you're not the strongest around needles then I suggest maybe not looking at a few of these pictures. These are from my most recent infusion & we had one minor problem before the nurse started the IV fluids. After the initial poke the nurse was unable to actually find the vein that she needed so she just decided to move the needle around in my arm until she hit it...if that doesn't make you sick then you are an incredibly strong person!! I almost lost it right then, I turned whiter than I already was & my BP (blood pressure) dropped way way low but it ended successful! The picture just below here on the right was just a few seconds after she finally was able to get the IV in my arm & you can see how red it was.
After my nurse was finally able to get the needle in my arm I had a hot date with the scale! Since the amount of Remicade you receive is based on your height & weight they have to weight me every time I go in for an infusion. The scale showed me being a hefty 58.5 kg or 129 lbs meaning that since my last infusion I had lost 4 more pounds putting 16 pounds underweight! Yikes right?! But I am working really hard to get back up to a healthy weight. The struggle is definitely real when you have Crohn's Disease, but that struggle can better you as a person!
All of these picture were taken using my snapchat as well so there are words across some of them as well as one where I am wearing a flower crown because what else is there to do when you are chilling with your dad in the cancer center at the hospital. After my previous struggle with the medication that I was on previously the fact that I am able to feel semi-normal again with the Remicade treatments is a blessing.
Not gonna lie there are some side effects that accompany the infusions, but they are nothing compared to the symptoms that you experience when in the middle of flare up. The list seems endless what you look at it but the most common ones are muscle/joint weakness & pain, nausea, headaches and fatigue. Yours truly struggles with all of those after the infusions but they typically only last about 2-3 day which is totally manageable when I can eat things that I usually wouldn't be able to! Granted there are still consequences when I eat or drink something that I shouldn't but they aren't even close to what I am used to!
The medication isn't the only reason that I look forward to infusion day! I get to spend time with my parents, like I mentioned before, & we are making a habit of going out for ice cream afterwards. After a day of sitting & doing nothing there is nothing wrong with stopping for ice cream! It's only the best frozen treat that was ever made.
So all in all it was a success, I made it through infusion #3 & lived! Yay! If you guys are interested in helping to find a cure for IBD visit the CCFA's webpage. They have marathons & walks among other activities used to raise money for research!! They also seem to have the best resources for understanding IBD.
Click Here to explore the CCFA's webpage.
So I know that this post is all about me & what I am going through with infusion & I know that there are also a lot of pictures attached on here but I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!
At one point in anyone's life they are going to have to deal with their Insurance Company! And yes I meant to say deal. I have dealt with insurance many times but recently I’ve had the most inconvenient run in with then EVER!! Shortly after beginning my immunosuppressant I started having some real complications & got incredibly sick! Since then I have been back in my doctor's office 3 times & prescribed a different medication, one that probably everyone has heard of at least once. Humira or Adalimumab. Two weeks ago I went to my GI & he sent the prescription in. Almost a week later, after going through a whole truck load of stupidity, to try & get everything that was needed over to the insurance company so that we could get my medication & I could stop sitting up all night every night throwing up & nauseous, they denied us the prescription & notified us that we have to try Remicade first!
Now I know that you are sitting there probably scratching your head saying "What the heck is Remicade?" Remicade, also known as Infliximab, is a biologic that is used to treat both Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis in adults & children, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis Ankylosing Spondylitis, & Plaque Psoriasis. What it does, like many of the other medications prescribed to IBD patients, is it suppresses the immune system so that the manufacture of TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha) is slowed down. TNF-a is what causes the inflammation in autoimmune disease patients. Remicade, much like Humira, grabs hold of the extra TNF-a & keeps it bound up so that it is unable to make its way to other parts of the body & cause an inflammatory reaction.
Like all other medications patients take for Crohn’s you must have a doctor’s prescription to receive the treatment. The treatments depend on what your doctor suggests, most infusions take as long as 8 hours (so basically a whole day) but the time between the infusions is left up to the doctor. To be honest, I’m really not all that enthused about starting this considering I don’t have that much time!! Anyway like I stated earlier Remicade is an infusion, meaning that this medication has to be administered through an IV while at the Hospital. And because this medication is considered a chemotherapy treatment for patients, they have to go to the caner center of the Hospital to receive the infusion.
Some common side-effects that tagalong with this medication are headache, stomachache & nausea. Serious side-effects include pain & swelling of the injection site, joint & muscle pain, swelling of ankles & feet, easy bruising & bleeding, vision changes, seizures, confusion, muscle weakness, numbness & tingling of arms & legs, butterfly-shaped facial rash, chest pain, redness, & swelling of arms or legs, shortness of breath, fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat. Infection can set in during treatment & signs of this would consist of fever, chills, night sweats, persistent cough & sore throat, trouble breathing, painful & frequent urination, & white patches in the mouth. Liver disease is also possible, although it is very rare. Symptoms of liver disease are dark urine, extreme tiredness, severe stomach & abdominal pain or yellowing eyes & skin. Allergic reactions are also possible with this drug like any other drug. Some symptoms of an allergic reaction may include rash, itching & swelling (of the face, tongue or throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing, & difficulty swallowing.
Because this medication is a mouse derivative you need to make sure that you are not allergic to mouse proteins. A reaction at the infusion site is typically usually because it is a mouse derivative, but like I stated before if the reaction is persistent & severe you need to notify your doctor. Before staring any medications for autoimmune diseases your doctor will require a certain amount of blood work to be done to make sure that there will be no serious reactions to the medication. And although your doctor will have a list of your medications make sure that you remind them of everything that you are on so that they for sure don’t forget one! Because you are on a medication that will suppress the immune system make sure that you speak with your doctor before you go & get any kind of vaccine. If you do receive a vaccination before speaking to your doctor make sure that you don’t receive a live vaccine!
So not that I have probably just scared the pants off of you with the side-effects lets talk about the good that this drug can do! It really does more good than harm to the patient. This drug manages the inflammation caused by the aforementioned TNF-a that is the responsible for the inflammation in the intestinal tract of the Crohn’s & UC patient. With the inflammation under control the pain & ulcerations in the intestinal tract of an IBD patient. Once the inflammation is under control the patient can achieve remission & go back to living a somewhat ‘normal’ life. Because the cases are alway different in every patient the trigger are different for everyone as well so a normal life is different will be different for every patient. Alterations may have to be made anywhere from the food the patient eats to managing stress & anxiety! But hey, if you aren't running to the bathroom every 5 minutes & worrying about not making it to the bathroom life feels pretty normal!!!
Although the time it takes for this infusion to take place if a pretty big pain in the butt, if it can help me feel normal again & live life like any other 19 year old I’ll take it & I’m sure any other IBS sufferer would agree!! The next medication that I plan on addressing is Humira, the biologic that I briefly mentioned before. If you are interested in reading more about this particular biologic check out the websites that I referenced for this blog piece!
~Kaylee <3 This is just a little update on my if you are interested, I recently started Remicade infusions. I had my first infusion Friday March 4th & I feel so much better than I have in the last couple months!! I've been dealing with a few different side-effects since then but it's been nothing compared to what I was dealing with before I switched medications! I got to the hospital at 12:30p.m. & didn't leave until 4:30p.m. so it took a really long time, but they also have to watch for any indication of an allergic reaction. When the nurse first put the needle in my arm & turned sheet white & started to get extremely clammy. My ears started ringing & I started to get tunnel vision too. Needless to say I have never been good with needles & this was not the first time this has ever happened!! It ended up being kind of amusing though. The side-effects that I mentioned earlier are a small price to pay for feeling good, I think! The day after my infusion I actually felt like getting up & playing Just Dance 2015 with my little brother & my friend, granted that was overdoing it a bit & I was utterly exhausted afterwards, but it was fun & at least I had that much energy! I go back on the 18th for infusion number 2 & hopefully the side-effects may let up a bit. The sore muscles & joints have been the worst of it so far but that's nothing that I haven't ever had to deal with before!! I am so glad that we have finally found something that might actually work for me medication wise!! :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey guys!! So I recently found a youtube video made by Sara Ringer, the author of the blog Inflamed & Untamed & one of my personal favorite IBD writers!!! Whether you are researching Remicade because you are getting ready to start on it or you are looking things up about IBD & the treatments because someone you know, love or both has been diagnosed with CD or UC, I hope that this video will help!!! :)
People can be careless, I think we all know this. Careless about the things that they do, careless about how they look sometimes, & careless about what they say. They don't think before they speak, I'm guilty of this! Thinking should be something we all do before we speak to anyone, but there are somethings that you just should never say to a person who has Crohn's Disease.
Number 1: "You don't look sick!" This one can be really offensive! I know for me personally, I try really hard to look 'normal' when I leave the house. I'm pretty sureI'm not the only one who does that either. After losing so much weight most Crohn's patients have really sunk in eye and/or dark circles under their eyes. Because of the blood loss anemia is a huge possibility for Crohnies as well which means most of us are very pale. Crohn's can't really be visualized from the outside but it'd not easy & it's definitely not fun, so the next time someone tells you they have Crohn's please don't tell them that they don't look sick! Chances are that day they are feeling it & you just can't see how they really feel on the inside. Number 2: "I totally know what you are going through!" Please please pleas NEVER say this! The stomach flu is nothing like this disease! Trust me, the stomach flu is like a walk in the park compared to Crohn's. Crohn's is like having the stomach flu & the actual flu at the same time, all the time without a break. Until you have actually lived with Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis you really don't know what it is like. Number 3: "I have IBS so I understand how you feel." Okay once again, please don't say this to someone with IBD. IBS stands for Irritable Bowl Syndrome which is totally different from IBD. According to the Mayo Clinic Irritable Bowl Syndrome "is a common disorder that affects the large intestine. Irritable Bowl Syndrome commonly causes cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation." http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20024578 Unlike Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, IBS DOES NOT permanently alter the tissue that lines the intestines. I understand that IBS sucks! It has to with symptoms like the ones it has, but suffers of IBS don't have to worry about obstructions or losing parts or all of their colon like IBD patients do. So if you suffer from IBS or even if you don't suffer form it, sympathizing is great but please don't tell us that you totally understand or know what we go through on a daily basis. Number 4: "Oh my gosh! You've lost some weight! That's so awesome!" Uhm...no! Dropping weight is typically a normal thing for a Crohnie, when in a flare loss of appetite is very common as well as dehydration. What happens when a person looses their appetite for days on end? They tend to drastically lose weight when they really don't need to. I can tell you guys from personal experience that losing weight as fast as you do with Crohn's is a really scary experience. Although some people strive to be as skinny as a twig, some of us really aren't trying to shed the pounds! Most times when people are losing weight from Crohn's the weight loss isn't an impressive thing either. It is drastic & can sometimes look abnormal. It's incredibly hard to put weight back on as well. Number 5: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!" That's not necessarily true when you have IBD. Foods like apples can cause obstructions in the intestines that may lead to major problems. A lot of times when someone suffers from an obstruction doctors will have to go in & remove part of the small or large intestine if not the whole colon all together. You're probably thinking, 'But don't you kind of have to have a colon...?' Well yes for obvious reasons, but when the colon or parts of the colon are removed doctors are able to bring whatever is left to the abdominal region. This is known as an ostomy. So if this phrase ever pops into your head when a Crohnie is talking to you about their died you might change it a little to say "an apple a day bring the ostomy your way." There are ways that you can prepare an apple so that an Crohn's patient can eat it though. The apple would have to be cored as well as completely pealed. The smaller the apple chunks are the better as well. I find the process of eating an apple incredibly annoying. My suggestion is to just stick to apple sauce!
Number 6: "Can't you just wait until the next exit?" This one annoys me to death! If I say I have to use the restroom I really mean that there is no way that I can wait any longer! What people don't seem to understand about this disease is that those who have it typically have no control over when they have to go or what times they have to go. In this case no I can not wait until the next exit! Please keep this in mind if you are ever taking a road trip with someone who has IBD!!
Number 7: "You're looking a little pudgy..." I personally have gotten this comment a lot since I was on Prednisone. This one is almost as bad as number 4. It is so hard to manage your weight when you have IBD because you are either really sick & never hungry so you drop weight like crazy or you are on a corticosteroid & all you want to do is eat everything in site. Most times it is really good for an IBD patient to gain weight because they are typically so underweight it is almost dangerous, but it's not all of the food that they are eating that is causing the 'pudginess' it;s typically the water retention that goes along with the medications that they are on! This is just part one guys, I'll post part 2 sometime soon!! Seriously though, I hope that this may encourage you to think about what you say before you say it not only to IBD patients but also to everyone around you! I mean come on would you tell someone that they were getting a little chubby & that they might want to cut back a little bit...? I wouldn't! That would be little rude!!
"Oh my gosh! How am I supposed to function like this?!?" If you have ever been placed on a steroid you have probably had this same exact thought! In this post I am going to be talking specifically about everyone's all time favorite corticosteroid, PREDNISONE! I am totally kidding. If you have never been on Prednisone let me share with you some of the fun that you are missing out on. My personal favorite was the insane insomnia! I would literally sit up & not be able to sleep no matter how tired. I actually have the local late night TV schedule memorized & I know what channels to turn to when the infomercials start coming on. Seriously, I live my life on the edge!!! Some of you might be asking, "What is Prednisone? And why are you on such a terrible drug?" Well Prednisone is a corticosteroid that acts as an anti-inflammatory. Most times doctors prescribe this to Crohnies (definition: someone who has Crohn's Disease) to get the inflammation in the intestines under control. It really is a miracle drug but after a while the side effects begin to take effect & that is when the fun starts.
Side effects of Prednisone include: confusion, excitement, restlessness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, thinning of the skin, acne, insomnia, weight gain, mood swings, & high blood sugar which causes increased thirst, an increased need to go to the bathroom, & the feeling of being sleepy or confused. That's a whole lot & if you are a lucky one, like myself, you experience almost all of those, YIPPIE! It's kind of whatever you make of it though. The way I see it is that you have two options when you are diagnosed with Crohn's disease. 1. You can let yourself fall into a dark whole & become depressed, or 2. You can see it as just another road block in your way & knock it down with humor! There will be days when you can't get out of bed & you get a little down. That's where the humor comes in handy! HERE is a link to a youtube video of comedian Ben Morrison. Ben was diagnosed with Crohn's while he was still in high school & this is a clip from his bit called Pain in the Butt which is about living with Crohn's Disease. This particular clip is about his experience with Prednisone! It's super funny, & I guarantee you will laugh!! So like he said Prednisone causes a puffy face. There is actually a tern for this, it's called moon face! Lovely name right?! I can vouch for anyone who has ever experienced this that it is in fact far from lovely! Another lovely thing that tags along with the moon face is the weight gain. Prednisone causes an increase in appetite which plays into the weight gain, but it also causes you to retain water. The good news is there is a way to avoid that water weight! By drinking like crazy amounts of water you will flush your system & avoid the water weight. As far as weight gain due to eating, that's probably a good thing for a Crohnie. By the time you are diagnosed with CD people have typically lost so much weight that they are extremely underweight, so the weight gain can get you back up to a healthy weight!
Sara Ringer is the author for the blog Inflamed-&-Untamed. On her Youtube channel she publishes videos on life with Crohn's Disease. This particular video is about "How to Look Skinny on Steroids" of course the entire video is a joke & she emphasizes that point at the end of her video.
Like the picture points out the increase in appetite can be kind of nice especially if you love to eat (like me) & you haven't been able to eat for months!!!!
So like I mentioned earlier there are more side effects than just the weight gain. Another lovely side effect of Prednisone is insomnia! I personally hate this one the most I think! When it's 3 o'clock in the morning & you can't sleep because you are totally on a steroid high & running around like an energizer bunny. And of course when you don't sleep at night you are absolutely exhausted during the day! To curb this bad habit I talked to by doctor about taking something like Tylenol PM. That worked for a while but it was taking, what seemed like, forever for it to make me drowsy. I talked to my doctor again & he told me that it was okay for me to take ZQuil. Make sure though that if you are on Prednisone & in need of sleep that you talk to your doctor first before taking anything. There can be adverse reactions between medications. The last side effect that I really struggled with was the nausea that goes along with it. Making sure that you eat before you take it can sometimes make that nausea a bit easier to deal with & not quite as intense. I typically try to eat a little something, like some fruit, then take it & eat a little bit more.
I hope that you were able to take something useful away from this post, if not well then I hope you got a laugh from it! Thank you for taking the time to read my posts! :) ~Kaylee <3
Hi guys, my name is Kaylee. If you are reading this right now, then you have stumbled upon my blog! Yay! Incase you couldn't guess the picture below is of me & a good friend of mine that I named Buddha.
So what is my blog all about? The answer: Living with Crohn's Disease. What is Crohn's Disease? Crohn's Disease is an incurable, chronic Autoimmune Disease that belongs to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) family. Crohn's Disease was discovered in 1932 by Dr. Burrill B. Crohn, Dr. Leon Ginzburg & Dr. Gordon D. Oppenheimer, & can potentially affect the entirety of the Gastrointestinal Tract (GI Tract).
Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Due to the fact that Crohn's is an Autoimmune Disease the effects are mostly internal & unable to be seen unless the person goes for a Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, Chomeoendoscopy, or a form of Small Intestinal Imaging. These are only a few of the ways that doctors are able to visually see & diagnose patients with Crohn's. Because it can not really be seen it is sometimes called an "invisible disease". In most, if not all, cases though those who are diagnosed experience severe symptoms that cause changes in the body. Symptoms include dark bags under the eyes, weight loss, blood loss, fever, loss of appetite (which in some cases turns into dehydration) fatigue, persistent diarrhea, urgent need to go to the bathroom, Intestinal & Abdominal pain & cramping, & in some cases constipation.
A lot of times Crohn's is thought of a bathroom disease, but if affects way more than just how many times a person has to run to the restroom. I hope that by reading my blog you maybe able to help someone with CD or if you are ever personally diagnosed (which I hope never happens) you can help yourself. If neither then I hope you leave wanting to spread awareness about Crohn's & other types of IBD.
If you are interested in learning more about IBD or Crohn's or Colitis you can visit the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America then click on the lick posted right below this text!
