My name is Stephanie and I have Crohn's Disease

Is that the first time I've posted that on here? It's oddly liberating. But it's not the type of thing I just come out and say. I'm not afraid to talk about it, but I wait for the right moment. I'm sure there are many people out there that I've known for a very long time who don't know that I do, simply because it's never come up. But this is something that I've dealt with for most of my life. I was officially diagnosed when I was 13, but had been dealing with symptoms for probably 2 years prior. Twice it's landed me in the hospital for a couple of weeks and a third time that was indirectly related. I've been up and down for years, trying a number of different remedies and diets. Sometimes they've worked for a while, other times not at all. (If you don't know what Crohn's Disease is, here's a link that's got some good, albeit medical, information.)

But in the course of getting ready for my sister's wedding, something just snapped inside of me. Trust me, I've been fed up with dealing with this for years, but at that point I got officially FED UP. It was a combination of being frustrated with just dealing with it day-to-day, and worry about a new drug that my doctor recommends, which could really help me, but has some potentially pretty awful side effects. Some things that I've tried to help me feel better, I haven't stuck with because I haven't been ready to make that commitment or spend that amount of money. But now, I just to do away with this. I've learned to live with it. Now I want to learn to live without it.

So I've started on a couple of new things over the past several weeks. First of all, I've started eating more anti-inflammatory foods and trying to cut out the inflammatory foods. Anti-inflammatory foods include fish, olive oil, green tea, walnuts, broccoli, green beans, ginger and colorful fruits. Inflammatory foods include red meat (which I've been cutting down on, not cutting out!), vegetable oil, dairy, refined grains and sugars. Some of that's been an easy transition. Others are more difficult. Part of it, is that now I'm cooking for myself and my husband, so I try to make sure he has things he likes, too. Also, fish smells. Bad. I'm washing my dishes much more often these days. And it's also usually pretty expensive. I've been keeping an eye on weekly specials at all the local grocery stores and making the rounds to where ever has the best selection. (And as a side note, I got a green tea latte with soy milk at Starbucks, and it may have been one of the best drinks I've ever had. Yum!)

Another new thing I've been trying is acupuncture. I've heard for years that it's been used successfully as a treatment for Crohn's, but I've never quite had the desire (or money) to try it out. But I figured, it's worth a shot. Western medicine hasn't been working, let's give Eastern a try! So I've been to two appointments so far. He says it's best to start with five and some people respond right away, and for others it takes a little longer, but usually by the end of five you/he have a pretty good idea of where things stand and how you're going to respond. It's been interesting. This may sound stupid, but I haven't quite worked up the guts to look at myself with needles sticking out of me. I'm totally fine with needles. God knows I get poked with them enough. But there's something about seeing the needle poking into you that I don't like. I never watch when they take blood and always have them cover it up if I have an IV. But anyways, the needles don't really hurt. You can definitely feel them go in, but it's not a poke or pierce like with needles we're all used to. How he described it, and I can see what he means, it's like a disruption of the energy that's flowing through your body. You feel a little "sensation" and then it's gone. Some of them have been a little uncomfortable, but that's it. No pain, just mild discomfort.

I don't feel like a brand new women yet, so I'm looking forward to these next three appointments, so we can hopefully get a better grasp on where things are with me. So often when I meet a new doctor, and I'm sure an acupuncturist is no different, I think it takes them a little while to realize how serious my disease is. From some angles, I seem just fine. I'm a normal weight for my size and I've never had surgery on my colon. To some, that would seem like a mild case. But once they start understanding my history, they quickly change their perspective. I am also, as my doctor often points out, a chronic under-exaggerator when it comes to my symptoms. I don't do it on purpose, but I've lived with them for so long, that what most people would rank as a 9 or 10, is more like a 4 or 5 in my book.

I'm giving these new things a try and if they don't work, then I'll be moving on to some other methods. But I'm gonna beat this. And I'm planning on doing sooner rather than later.