Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
At the moment I am feeling a bit low and confused by this whole disease called CC and finding it hard to deal with all the various other problems arising from this condition so please excuse me if I rant somewhat.
I saw my GP last week and he had concerns about my general health, he felt I still did not seem to be improving a great deal regardless of the fact I have now been taking steriods for 10 weeks (firstly preds for 6 weeks and now Entorcort for 4 weeks). Apart from the fact that I seem to have RA in my ankles he felt something else was underlying. He requested blood test mainly general blood count etc and also liver and kidney function. Today I got the results back and it seems I now have Thrombocytosis!
My confusion is that the steriods aim is to reduce the inflammation but these blood results indicate there is still a major problem going on with the CC and RA. I am so lost, at the point of tears most of the day due to the depression of trying to battle and find a way to live a normal life once again. I awake feeling like I have not slept, throughout the whole day I feel fatigue, sore completely around the right side of my abdoman and today had 4 BM's that were loser then what they have been of late.
My doctor tells me I have to be positive and I am trying so hard to be that way but the depression is always there and it is not making it easier to deal with the physical side of the illness.
Has anyone else experienced these problems? Once again sorry I just feel I need to write this down maybe it may just make me feel a little better.
I think your doctor is probably worrying you unnecessarily. Thrombocytosis is simply a fancy word for the presence of high platelet counts in the blood. A high platelet count is common with an inflammatory bowel disease - there is nothing unusual about that. The confusion exists because you and your doctor think that those meds should have eliminated the inflammation by now, but that just doesn't hold true for everyone with MC. It can take a long time for the inflammation to subside, and until it does, the platelet count is probably going to remain elevated.
Do you know what the count was? Was it over a million? If not, there's probably nothing to worry about. If that's all he could find wrong with your test results, you're doing pretty good.
Your doctor is right about remaining positive - worrying won't help, and it can make your symptoms worse.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Mini...I am so sorry to read about your Dx and ensuing discouragement. I know how depressing it is to be sick and not see much headway or to feel like it is 1 step forwards and 5 steps back!! I know Tex is right about worry not helping the situation, but it is hard, isn't it? This is such a day to day thing, isn't it? I hope that Tex's calming assurances did the trick and you can stop that worry spiral and trust that your body is doing its best to cope with what's happening and will eventually begin it's healing. A wise woman once told me, "It's not time until it's time." That has helped me more times than I can count!! and applies to so much in life.
Sunny
I do not know the count as I got the information through the receptionist and see my GP again in two weeks. Oh I think it is just me feeling let down, I was hoping for maybe a miracle. My mind wants to run and my body crawls.
mini....that phrase "my mind wants to run and my body crawls" says it all. That is EXACTLY how i feel....if only we could get our bodies to do out mind's bidding!!
Oh yes if only, I think like me you no doubt get very frustrated by the illness. Remembering back to 4 years ago before this problem started and running my dog along the cliffs I often think how I would like to do that right at this moment.
When I read about others on this board who have managed to overcome this disease, I have hope. We may not be able to see the end yet, but we know that it's there and we have to keep trying to reach it. There are many, many people who have come and gone here. I have to believe that they are in remission and feel that they no longer need this support system.
I thank each and every one of the "veterans" on this board who are in remission and no longer need the support, but are sticking around to help and encourage newbies like me.
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
We all stay here because we have become family and we still need the support of our exstended family here. When I have a problem I bring it to the board for opinions and help. Greatest place on earth. I have been In a remission for about three years I think. I still have occassional flares when I forget and eat something I shouldn't. And yes there is always hope. Love Oma
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
Oh thank you guys for your kind words. Wow I really was on a low a few days ago, over active mind, story of my life. I was concerned due to the amount of sick time I have had from work and how my manager was going to view the situation. Although there are employment laws to protect us for each law there are as many loop holes.
Well the good news was today she called to speak to me and was very understanding and told me not to worry and to get well and how much I was missed by my managers and my team. Needless to say this has cheered me up so much, it was a great concern to me as we all have financial responsibilities.
So I spent a few hours this afternoon on some retail therapy and felt so much better, now I should be in bed fast asleep but, needed to post a reply to say thank you all x
Wow! You were up late! It was 2:40 am where you are, when you posted that. You seem to be taking up one of my bad habits. LOL.
That's great news, though, that your supervisor is so understanding. I'll bet that being relieved of all that stress will help your general health to improve, also.
By the way, I don't believe I've ever seen shopping described as "retail therapy", but that's certainly an appropriate description. LOL. I'm glad you felt like doing that.
Thanks for posting that - it's always nice to see good news, once in a while.
And I hope that good news will help you to sleep better now, too.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Mini.....I am so happy that the people at your job are being supportive. I finally told my boss a few years ago and she was very understanding....turns out that she had also suffered from some kind of digestive disorder and was very sympathetic.
Take care, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
What can I say LOL.......since I have been on the steriods I have nights when I find it so hard to sleep (an image of me at 5am when I am still awake ).
I have the same problem, fairly often, and I'm not taking any steroids. Ever since my symptoms fully developed, I can only sleep for an average of about five hours per night, and some nights, when I have trouble getting to sleep, it's a lot less than that. Usually, though, on the nights when I get only two to four hours of sleep, the next night I'll be able to sleep for about six hours, to make up for it. LOL. I've been in remission for about four years now, but I haven't been able to break out of that sleep pattern. If I manage to get to sleep early, I just wake up early. <sigh>
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Take care, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
(an image of me at 5am when I am still awake 
).