Things have not been good for the belly lately. As many of you know I have Crohn's Disease (a small intestine problem) and this is the second flare up I've had this year. I was diagnosed when I was 21 and that was a bad year, but otherwise for 7 years I hardly had any major issues so that was a good run. When I have a true flare up I have a lot of stomach pains, bloating, sometimes I have fevers or get nauseous or sick. The bloating is rediculous (and uncomfortable) - I'm not even exagerating when I say I look 5 or 6 months pregnant. My belly button even pops out like when I was pg; it's sad.
I was feeling aweful on the Lake trip, though I rarely let it hold me back (I'm not the type of person to sit back and miss out!). Once I got home they did a CT scan of my abdomen (I HATE drinking that nasty contrast) and they found lots of fistulas in my small intestine (inflamation which causes very narrow passage ways). I'm on prednisone (a steriod) temporarily and that covers up a lot of the symptoms (and I feel pretty good on it but they don't like you to be on it long).
Soooo..... now they are going to start me on Remicade infusions to try to get rid of the inflamation. That involves getting the medicine by IV and it takes 2 hours! I'll have to do that every 2 weeks for 3 sessions, then every 4 weeks, 6 weeks, etc. I might get my first one this Friday but they haven't told me yet. I hope insurance pays for most of it. Even the CT scan cost us over $500. Sometimes I wonder what insurance is supposed to cover?! But insurance woes is a whole other post. ;)
Well, not fun stuff, but I'll keep ya posted. At least I don't have to have surgery which is likely the next step if the meds don't work.
5 comments:
Wow! Adria, I had no idea. I'm so sorry. I hope you get better soon! And $500 for a CT... holy cow!
maybe my deductible is $500 and that's why? it's all so confusing....
I hate insurance stuff too. It probably is your deductible though. Sorry you are going through all this! I think I've heard that the Prednozone can make you put on weight like crazy which is why I think they don't like anyone to stay on it too long. I have a friend with a thyroid problem who is on steroids and she has that problem. Just FYI in case no one at the doctor's office told you. I have heard that they don't like to mention it b/c they think patients (esp women) won't want to be on it.
Yeah...I know, insurance sucks...try having a bay in the NICU--yeah...we're broke!
I hope the treatments you receive help you feel better! That sounds very uncomfortable! Feel better!
Hope you feel better soon and the stuff that you're on now helps without surgery! And yes, I agree with everyone, insurance is a pain in the ass! We're dealing with all that now with this baby. Not good times.
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