1. Crohns Zone

Pull up a stool (not that kind, that kind)

Why did I ignore my body.? Why did I ignore the whispering? Why do flamingos bend their knees round the wrong way?

Welcome to the new zone … The Crohns zone. It has demanded it’s own area, it can no longer be ignored.

My body started proding me properly in February 2019. It had been whispering for a while. Silent farts, noisey wind reflux, bloating, side pain, weight, loss and to be Frank I didn’t actually realise how constipated I was until I wasn’t.

It was in February 2019 when on holiday that I suddenly realised I hadn’t stooled for around two weeks. Increasing pain in my right side, a visit to the doctors and appendicitis suspected. Told to go straight to A&E.

To cut the twaddle and hazy memory … I will bullet point the year.

  • Five stays in hospital
  • One by ambulance
  • Right side shouting and whispering … anyone poked it and I would hit the roof.
  • bloating
  • constipation
  • pain
  • steroids causing hallucination as they (unhelpfully) reacted with my Parkinson’s drugs.
  • Blood tests and stool tests always gave bad results – apparently ‘inflammation levels’ always all over the place.

Today March 2021 – big wake up call. Been ramped up to severe and done some research. I must accept that Crohns is a proper ‘chronic condition’ which must be treated.

Soooo … this week I am being given injections fortnightly to try and get me in remission.

Scared and worried about injecting

Scared and worried about prognosis

with Parknson’s I honestly have never thought ‘why me’. But Crohns has sent me rantloopy.

Two chronic conditions it would be a joke if it wasn’t so flamming awful.

The symptoms dovetail in some kind of evil carpentry joint…

For example

Crohns causes toilet urgency at random times, Parkinson’s causes inability to walk at random times.

Crohns is affected by diet, need to eat often Parkinson’s medication interacts with food, need to eat at certain times and not too near meds… which I am now taking every 2 hours.

Apologies to the apostrophe police. Just noticed Crohn’s and Parkinson’s are both apostrophe S. Is that because they both possessively own me.

And now for the positive humorous twist on the situation ….

Toddle-loo