But recently I found some pictures that my Dad took to memorialize some of the things that I went through after Crohn's entered my life. This is one with my niece Banner, me and the nose-feeding tube and pump that I had in the hospital and was sent home with. I named it Jo-Jo after a friend of mine that had passed away. Having it was a real pain. Not only was it painful at times, making my nose and throat sore, but being plugged into the wall not being able to move around freely really sucked. It was one of the low points when I was diagnosed and the doctors were trying to get me back to health. But it's hard to be angry at something that is named after someone you loved, so it helped me deal with having it.
Everyday my Mom would mix up the liquid food that went into the i.v. like bag/container that fed me. She would mix the powder with water in a big bowl. There couldn't be ANY little clumps or bumps in it as that could cause obstructions in the tube, and once it was in there you really didn't want to have it removed and replaced.
You can also tell from this photo that my face is rounder than usual. That is called "moon face" and was a side effect of the Prednisone that I was taking. When I was diagnosed Prednisone was called a "wonder drug". It really was in a lot of respects; being an anti-inflammatory it helped with inflammation healing the open sores and muscle in the bowel, it made me ravenously hungry and thirsty, it gave me alot of energy and a feeling of wellness. But the side-effects depending on the dosages were not pleasant. I had hallucinations on high dosages, severe nervousness or restlessness. If I was sitting down I wanted to stand up, if I was standing up I wanted to sit down, if I was reading I had trouble concentrating, it caused severe indigestion and I would get a head rush spinning feeling when I stood up too fast, dreaded acne and it sucked the calcium from your bones causing a high dose supplement to be taken. The "moon face" was the most noticeable and almost anyone I saw at that time asked me if I had just come from the dentist after having teeth pulled.
In another post I will share my experiences before and after my very first bowel surgery. Ciao for now!