Setback - Frustration & Patience

Post by **tex** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:42 am

Rosie,

Excellent point, and I think you're right on the money. I had the same thought, when I read Polly's post, - "Wow! If Polly can suffer a relapse because of stress, then it can happen to anyone".

I'm still unable to accept the claim by the medical community that stress cannot cause MC in the first place. Consider this:

Stress can cause diarrhea. Right? Diarrhea, if continued long enough, will eventually lead to a bacterial imbalance, or some other condition, which results in inflammation somewhere in the GI tract. Once inflammation enters the picture, regardless of where it might originate, pretty much the entire digestive tract will quickly become involved. Chronic diarrhea, (enteritis), can cause MC. Ergo, stress can cause MC. Now this is strictly my opinion, but I suspect that certain individuals, who have the genes which predispose them to the condition, and who are subjected to extreme stress, over an extended period of time, or who are exposed to extreme stress repeatedly, over time, can develop MC as a result of stress. At least that's how I see it.

Of course, a lot of people drift away from this site, after achieving remission, because they no longer need support, and/or they have a very busy schedule, but for those who leave early on, I definitely agree with you, that they are still in the first stage of "grief", namely denial, and they will probably never get past that initial stage, unfortunately.

Tex

harma · Post by **harma** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:16 am

Joe, I was wondering how you were doing today. You still have D? And how is the bleeding? Better I hope.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:31 pm

After Gluten, i think Stress is my next biggest trigger item. I have had issues with cortisol and reactions to stress for quite a few years.

pre MC i would keep going keep going when there were stressful situations occuring. Now i have taught myself to 'stop' breathe and pull back a bit, ie try not to solve everything or be a perfectionist. I will take time off if necessary (guilt free and not think that i am letting people down). I know very well that if I push and try to be superwoman that i will have D

this is sometimes easier said than done, but awareness and in some cases a change of attitude is all it takes

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:52 am

Hi Joe,

I haven't had so much time to keep up with this board lately, so hadn't realised you are coming out here in August! Where are you going to be? Let us know if there is any chance of a catch up.

Hope your flare is getting under control.

Lyn :australianflag:

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:06 am

Harma I am doing better, my GI doctor had me trying to taper off of the Entocort , by the 4th day my system went nuts. I was put back on the 9mg dose and after about 4 days things had settled down some. At this point I am doing well, thanks for asking Harma

Gabes, stress is the great multiplier I would imagine for any health issue. As you pointed out cortisol reactions are common when a person is under stress. The one area I am struggling with is letting go and not being the perfectionist. The problem is that my very nature is an analytical engineer; what I am working on now is separating work / life i.e. turning off the analytical part and relaxing a bit more, no easy task. Going back to a very famous quote "It's not easy being green" - Kermit translates very nicely into "it's not easy with MC" But overall life changes are what must be embraced to deal with this disease.

Lyn I will be coming into Brisbane on the 11th of August and leaving on the 17th on business. It should be a nice visit, I have been to Oz several times in the late 90's and those trips were mostly in the Sydney Canberra region. I have only been up to Brisbane twice on short visits. I will have a 5 hour layover on the way back in Sydney.

Gabes has been quite kind in helping setup the trip details including best hotel with kitchen facilities, and a plethora of information on good food stores and GF/YF restaurants. Without a doubt with all of Gabes help this trip will be quite a bit easier than her trip to France. I certainly will be following Gabe's advice on international travel with MC. Lyn if you happen to be in Brisbane or Sydney, we can certainly say hello, Canberra would be quite a distance to drive though. Gabes after your done the book deal with Tex & Polly, you need to open a MC travel agency.

I think overall I need to send a big thanks to Gabes for all her help and support. I was more than a bit worried about the travel given the new diagnosis of MC & crohns, but with Gabes guidance and experience I am really looking forward to a good trip!

--Joe

ant · Post by **ant** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:15 am

Gabes after your done the book deal with Tex & Polly, you need to open a MC travel agency.

and a global paleo good food guide. Then travel would be perfect!!!

Best, Ant

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:12 pm

Ant
global chain of Paleo food outlets!

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:38 pm

Joe,

Hmm, Might be tricky to get to Sydney then (Brisbane is out of the question). But I'll keep the dates in mind and you never know what might happen. I'll PM you if I can come up with a way to get there then.

Lyn

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:43 pm

No problem Lyn, thanks for asking. Does lake George have its water back in it yet? I've seen it both ways and its an amazing sight.

--Joe

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:04 pm

Lake George is dry.

Too many years of drought. Some tourists wrote to the newspaper complaining last week, that they went out to see this lake and there was nothing there!

For those who haven't been here, Lake George is a good sized lake just north of Canberra, that periodically dries and fills. In cycles that generally take a decade or more. When it dries they fix the fences and run sheep and cattle on it. Then when it fills you can often see the fence lines in the water. There have been quite a few people die in boating accidents on the lake - due to it being shallow it gets fairly big waves during windy weather. Which seems unbelieveable if you look at it now.

Lyn

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:06 pm

Lyn I remember seeing the fence posts disappearing into the water just off the road (route 31?), then several years later we drove by there again and the water was gone. Quite an interesting place.

--Joe

Kimberly M. · Post by **Kimberly M.** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:47 pm

Hi Joe,

I'm soo sorry for your setback. I'm new to this sight and feel a litlle awkward jumping in and posting. I don't know many of you well but my heart goes out to you. I am new to this disease also and have quickly understood how frustrating it is.

Hang in there and hopefully you will find the answers you need soon.

Kim:)

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:03 pm

Kimberly (now we have two kims we will have to have a means of distinguishing who we are talking to

Dont feel awkward,
sharing our good days and our bad days is very important to maintaining our sanity in relation to living with MC. and we all appreciate it when someone takes the time to reply to our posts

you will see from threads of the past, that the support of the wonderful people that is the PP family is invaluable.

you dont have know us, you know the pain, discomfort, upset, frustration etc of life with MC, that is more than enough!

good luck to you as you adjust!

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:00 am

Hi Kim, thanks for the kind note. I believe Gabes hit the nail on the head. MC is a very frustrating disease composed of ups and downs. Having a forum like this is invaluable. The ability to share with others both our bad times and good times is an incredible resource. For most of us we will experience times where the disease is under control and others when the disease seems to rule our lives.

This last flare up I described in this thread, was due to my GI doctor wanting to have me try to taper of the the medication Entocort after 2 months of use. For me and many others 2 months is not enough time heal, and the reduction in the medication allowed the symptoms to return. Since that time I have been put back on the higher dose and am doing quite well.

Welcome to the site Kim and thanks so much for contributing

--Joe

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:21 am

Welcome Kimberly,

Such a great name - my step daughter's name

Feel free to just jump in and settle in to the site. Basically, there is nothing that we don't discuss except politics and religtion and not worth discussing them anyways. Please ask questions and share your stories since the support and knowledge here is invaluable to helping with your daily trials of this disease. There is light at the end of the tunnel and with - in my case - adherence to strict diet and sorting out intolerances - you can get a better quality of life.

Again Welcome.

Maggie