Well, I know Jesse knows the story, but he hasn't been around lately. I think a couple of you may also know the general story. My b/f has severe Crohn's disease and has since he was 16. He was misdiagnosed for almost 2 years before they caught it so he's had chemo for cancer and many other harsh drugs that have had lingering effects. Currently we are in a battle with Social Security. When he lived in TN, they kept him on the state health care, their equivilent of SSD. However, when he moved to FL to live with me, they only gave him a month to find new care, and well, FL sucks, so that didn't happen. For the first year he was here he was okay, he had left-over meds and it was under control. Last June, he fell VERY VERY ill. He had pancreiatits(sp?) and his gallbladder had stopped working. They pumped him so full of meds, he wasn't himself and does not remember the week and 1/2 stay at the hospital. :( We moved hospitals due to some issues...lack of respect and no one was willing to help us file with SSD, or help see him on some kind of payment plan. At our new hospital, they have been very helpful, and he is on a plan for a year that covers ALL costs, except for meds and surgery. This means no one has taken his gallbladder out! Which is still non-functional. It's not infected though, so at the moment it's not a threat. Our new hospital, Sacred Heart, they did admit him for another week, they did a blood transfusion as he was EXTREMELY anemic and they gave him better medication to counteract the reaction he was having to meds the OTHER hospital had given him. Anyway, he was offically "better" at the end of August. But then at the begining of Sept, it all came back. We went to the ER, and to our suprise, they found NOTHING wrong with him. Which scared me. They said they saw "no active sign of Crohn's" We did our best too keep him comfortable, and kept going back to see if a different doc would catch something the others hadn't. They all said the same thing "no active sign of Crohn's" On sunday night, we drove him back again, hoping and praying that someone would have some answers for us. We got, I swear to you, THE BEST ER doctor in the world. That man listned to EVERYTHING. He did a CT scan, which no other ER doc would do on him. The verdict was that he was simply in a Crohn's flare, and the other doctors choice of detection (barium solution and x-rays) was actually MASKING the innflammation, which is why they never saw it!!!!! DThe doc gave him enough Prednisone to last him till the end of Nov, which is the boost he's been needing, and he gave him some pain killers to last a few days, long enough for the steriods to do their work, and the pain of the inflammation to disapate! I AM SO RELIEVED! And so is he!
I know that's a long story, but honestly, that's the reason I joined here. I haven't had a flare in years. But under all the stress of Justin being sick, I've begun to spiral out of control. I know that's what triggered it, and it's been a stresser on our relationship. Coming here has allowed me to vent my pain and has kept it out of his hair so that he can recover a bit easier. His disease is very much affected by stress, so we do all we can to make things to smoothly. I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I woke up monday, tuesday AND today with NO PAIN! :) I'm just so excited, I feel like I'm going to explode. I had to share!!
Hope I didn't run anyone off with all of this! LoL! Thanks for listening, you all are a GREAT bunch of people! :)
<3
Katie
So glad you and your boyfriend are feeling much better!! Take it easy, don't be stressing so much. LoL
CinDee (I should listen to my own advice) :)
Hahaha I give that advice too, and look at me. Thanks!We are all glad you found us too..... you keep me 'young' with all your expressions and lively conversations~~~ Thank you Katie!!!!Glad to hear it vicki! I LOVE getting posts from you :) Oh, and I keep myself young...I just turned 23 and I still feel like I'm commiting a crime when I don't get IDed for alcohol. O.o Haha I feel like I'm still 16 inside!
I feel good when they don't ID me for Denny's!!! The over 55 get meals at a good price, but I'd rather pay the full price than tell them I'm over 55!!! Hee.....
My well wishes are with you and your boyfriend. I'm under a tremendous amount of stress and can only imagine what you two are going thru. I love hearing from you and love your sayings and input. Your posts always make me smile.
Phatgirl2 Katie, Very happy that you are finding resolution for your boyfriend. Excellent news! Glad to hear things are going better for you two.
And can I add an, "AMEN SISTER!" to your "and well, FL sucks." Florida's Dept of Children and Families (or whatever alias they go by now) is a nightmare.
LOL thanks Lynk, nice to know someone understands what I mean by that. You know they denied him state help because *I* make too much? O.o WE'RE NOT MARRIED!!!! One person you talk to says "that doesn't matter, you live together" and the others say "no, its individual based" It's F$#&*#ed up is what it is. :| Deanna - Thank you :) Phatgirl - You see? We are ALL crazy and stressed and we're not new at this! So don't feel alone :) vent to us! keep venting! Sometimes it's the only thing that works :) It's kept me sane for a couple of months now. :) I am shocked that they did not do a CT sooner.....I have been an ER nurse for 5 years and I can honostlysay there isnt one doc that I have worked with that would have done Xrays in that situation...what the hell kind of ER docs do they have down there anyways? I am just glad to hear that he finally got a good doc and his problems addressed... As far as feeling criminal when your not carded....that wears off and is replaced with disgust pretty quickly...I went to a club about 4 yrs ago ( I was 28) and I started to show my ID to the bouncer...he didnt even look at it and instead said..."Thats okay mamm!" I wanted to tell him to bite my ass! I take it as a compliment anytime I get carded now! LOL I always feel like I'm going to be stopped later by a cop or something! Why they didn't do a CT scan is BEYOND me. They kept making him do the contrast thing, and it never showed anything. The first doc was just clueless, he barely knew what Crohn's was. The second was a JERK JERK JERK JERK JERK JERK. I wanted to PUNCH him. Let's not even go there. And the third was well..we saw him for 30 seconds and he was pretty much NOT going to give us any meds, I think he was one of those "everyone's addicted to pain pills" guys. And the 5th, that was our miracle ER doc :) AND THIS IS THE GOOD HOSPITAL OUT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's over an hour away from our house! But believe me..the one BY our house is FAR worse. We've actually been to that one, waited for 10 hours, and only seen a NURSE. The doctor didn't even SEE him!!! I don't even think that's legal. And then they perscribed him NSAIDs!!! WHAT?!?! He has ACTIVE ULCERS! Are you kidding me!!?!? And when we complained, they said "then you don't get anything" :| So this is why we go to the OTHER hospital, an hour away. And I'd rather have to go to them 8 times to get a Doc thats willing to listen, then have someone who doesn't even SEE Justin give him meds that could hurt him even MORE. *sigh* I hate FL... Anyway, just thought I'd say hi and congrats on finding a good doc who knows his business. Doctors ARE human though. They are just like the rest of us, only they spent more time in college. Doesn't change the fact that some are very intelligent and sharp, but most of them are just like all the other idiots running around. They just have degrees from big universities. lol There's a horror movie idea: "NIGHT OF THE EDUCATED IDIOTS!" MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! happy halloween
Jesse What a nightmare Katie. I can so relate to how hard it is to get help. I am fighting the OR system now. You are so special to this board. For whatever reason you came here, we love you AND you are way beyond your years in wisdom and humor. I am so glad you found us I'm glad you had enough sense to stick with it. My great uncle
Yay. I love you guys! :) I feel all warm and squishy inside. Like a wet mitten. Hahahahahaha Sara - He's already had that. They had to do it immediatly when he was diagnosed, because it had gone for so long untreated. They first thought he had lymphoma and had him on chemo UGH! He's had a small bowel resection and part of his stomach and colon removed! He can't afford to lose any more! :( He's doing SO well now! I HATE being at work, because it means I'm away from him. He's cleaned the house non-stop since monday, it's just amazing. He even made dinner for me last night :) I can't tell you how long it's been since he's had the energy for that! Jesse - I'm SO glad to hear you're doing well! And apparently so is your g/f (I assume?) I'm getting a kick out of all the horror films on T.V. as well! Have you seen the preview for "8 films that you were never meant 2 see?" I REALLY hope it plays here. :( They said it'll only bein 350 cities. ARGH! We're not that big of a town :( I'm afraid we're going to miss it! Check it out online, it's an After Dark production I think.... Hugs to everyone! :) <3 Katie
YAY!! I am so glad that the both of you are feeling and doing much better!! I am glad you found good care also. Since everyone is feeling so much better we really CAN go camping now! Katie... You crack me up!!!!!
haha, I just clicked on "page 3" to see what you wrote, and so it didn't show me the last thing I posted...and I had NO idea what you were talking about. LOL I had to go back and re-read. I don't even know what I say half the time. Haha Well, I do I just..don't care? LOL I do..that doesn't sound right....I fly by the seat of my pants, that's all! How would you do that? I can just imagine someone flying with some sort of winged contraption clothes-pinned to their back pockets....I need to go home..I've been at work too long Wacky Katie!! Go Home!!! It's too late for you to be out!
and cousin both have severe Crohn's and they took their doc's
word for a long time that nothing was wrong. Well, they both
ended up have to get a lot of their insides removed. I'm glad
you finally found a new doc that could help.
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