There is always HOPE!!
Well I’m just sitting here at home relaxing. I’ve been to the gym twice this week which was the first in about 2 weeks. Since around Christmas I’ve been dealing with symptoms from a slight flare up of my Crohn’s Disease some days are better than others so it’s touch and go. I went to the doctor on Jan. 5th and he said my crohn’s is active again and he recommends a more aggressive treatment of drugs. We’ll see how I feel by Jan. 21st when I see my regular after her return from vacation (other doctor I saw was my doctors colleague in the office). I’m not too excited about having to go on the treatment he is recommending which is infusion or injection treatment. The drugs can be a plus and a minus. Ideally the vitamins I am taking now will help put my body and cells back into balance that will take care of the underlying issues of Crohn’s Disease. I keep my mind hopeful and positive in beating this and not being on long term medication treatment. That is my ultimate goal anyway. The medication I’m on has me really fatigued so my energy levels suck big time. Next week I believe I’ll be feeling much better to get back on my training regimen again so I continue my journey of getting back in shape and my health back on track. Just fighting through my low energy levels is the major task for me. I will keep you all posted of my status.
I always am grateful for everyone’s support in my journey & battle with my disease. You feed my motivation to keep going and never give up. I believe there is always HOPE!!
Best wishes, have a great weekend.
Tonia Moore
on January 21st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
You might have to switch your focus for awhile Tonia. Instead of worrying about the gym, conserve your energy. No sense feeling guilty about something that’s out of your hands right now. Maybe get a second opinion before the new medication? Be with friends and family in the meantime.
The tide will turn babe.
on January 22nd, 2010 at 2:39 am
Thanks Mike,
I saw my doctor today and she too recommends the infusion treatment because it seems to be one of the ways to effectively treat my crohn’s and some fistulas that I also happen to have…some of the other treatments don’t effectively heal and treat the fistulas. They are gonna run it through my insurance to see if I can even afford it first off….it is a very expensive drug something like $2000 for the drug and then there is the infusion clinic fee also. If I can’t go that route then there is another drug she will put me on that is cheaper & works too but it just takes longer to take effect. The main thing is getting the proper treatment for my crohn’s and fistulas.
As for the gym…yes it’s touch and go. I try to listen to my body and not push it so on the days I’m feeling good i will get my work out in at least a little something. I’m not doing any crazy training anyway my workouts are on a more conservative level. But I am feeling much better as of today.
Thanks for your warm regards.
Big hugs!!
on February 21st, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Hi: My name is Gail and I too have Crohns disease. I’ve had it since the age of 25. Actually my brother and sister have it too. They both have had resections. I have been lucky so far and never had to have any surgery. I am 51 years old and I have been taking pentasa for the past 12 years. It doesn’t always work and I do have bad days and good days. I really feel for you and hope with your new medication you will beable to get back to where you want to be. My whole world revolves around this disease. Since my sister just had another surgery and she is always in pain and in the bathroom, I am always looking for more information that I can not get from the doctors.
My sister and I are always looking for ways to keep the weight on and the doctors always say try the food and see what happens. I get a little nervous doing that.
I have been on the internet constantly looking up nutrition, especially when it comes to bodybuilding. I was so happy to see your website giving so much information about this. I never came across anybody who actually bodybuilds and has crohns disease. I too am in the gym six days a week trying to put on some muscle mass. I would love to know what would be safe for me to take. I am just 100 pounds and 5 ft. with a small frame. I know I could never look as good as you, but maybe with a little input from a pro like I would be able to put on some size. I have been working really hard at the gym, but I need to eat. With this crohns disease, I never know what to eat. I give you so much credit and I admire you so much with what you have done with your body.
Sincerely.
Gail
on March 9th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
nitric oxide supplements
Great article and I like your thoughts on this. Will have to bookmark and stop back.
on March 29th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
How are you Tonia?
Haven’t heard much from you lately. I hope things are good with you.
on August 21st, 2010 at 10:09 am
Hello Gail & Mike I appreciate your comments and support.
Sorry for not giving much of an update…when my crohn’s flares up I’m not much of getting on here to do a lot of updating especially when I’m feeling crappy…haha.
Around Christmas time my crohn’s had flared up again…I was back down dealing with the symptoms and chronic fatigue for about 3 1/2 months. My weight dropped back down to around 108lbs and was not gaining any weight at all. I spent most my time in bed and in the bathroom of course. Watched a lot of tv…lol. In March after doing follow up tests and blood work I was diagnosed with anemia and another intestinal infection called c.diff the same one that almost killed me last year. I spent a month treating the infection with Vancomycin (very expensive stuff). I had to post pone the start date of my infusion treatment of the drug called Remicade until the infection cleared. But I had already been taking other med. treatments using prednisone, 6-MP, Colazal, and started Iron for my anemia. I also take my multi-minerals, omegas, & fish oils. Soooo in mid April is when I started getting better again…symptoms started sub-siding and I started back on the path of almost feeling normal again. That is because the infection was just about gone. April 16th I went to the doctor for follow up tests & bloodwork again to see what the status was of the infection & anemia, April 23rd I got the call from my doctor that the infection was gone, and blood back to normal. I was cleared to make the call to the infusion center and set my appointment for my 1st infusion which was on April 30th. I just had my 4th infusion done yesterday and all is going very good. As of now Aug. 21st I feel A WHOLE LOT better…practically normal living life again and back to working out again…my energy levels are still a struggle but I do what I can and listen to my body. My weight is back up to 139lbs now but I’m still missing about 30lbs of muscle mass. My real goal now is to lose the body fat that some how appeared on my body while it was gaining weight back from being very sick and so now I have about 10-15lbs of fat to shed. I want to get down to a lean (low body fat) and toned 125lbs or even 120lbs…I’m only 5′1″ so I won’t look too small. My diet I’m still working on and gearing towards the health first approach like high alkaline foods (I have a blog posted here about that). A bodybuilding diet is fine but needs some adjustments to it to be more healthy for the body as a whole and not just for appearance. I’m just trying to make sure I include fruits and vegies in my diet along with my lean sources of protein….and cutting out my candy & diet sodas
My problem is not getting enough meals in through out the day since 5-6 smaller meals are much better for the body & metabolism. That is where the discipline comes in. I used to always miss meals in the off-season but when it would be time to diet for a show I would eat more meals and my body would burn more calories & fat.
Gail I hope this helps you out some, my best wishes to you and your family with the crohn’s please feel free to email me anytime at tonia@toniamoore.com put the word CROHN’S in the subject line. This disease definitely sucks and I don’t wish it on anyone. I’m sorry that you’ve been dealing with this awful unpredictable disease for so long. That is my biggest fear. Keep fighting and never give up hope…talk to your doctor about Remicade if you’re still battling with your symptoms it’s helped me out a lot…and maybe even switching to 6-MP may help too. I’m off the predisone now…THANK GOD!!
Thanks again!!
Take care, God Bless!!
Tonia