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Friday, October 22, 2004
Specialist results
Well.. I've been to the specialist, and got some possibly great news. He thinks the Anaemia and Iron deficiency could just be long term iron depletion due to being sick for so long before and after the surgery in 2001. We compared the blood markers of my latest blood test to that of the one taken 8 months ago, and while it's slightly elevated, it's actually around the same as it was.. In some ways, a little better.
While the crohns could still be active, he believes it's not too serious at this stage. He's got me continuing the iron tablets for the next 3 months, where we'll do another blood test and do a comparison. If it's the same or worse, then we'll take further action, and if it's better, then woohoo.. i'll pull out my bottle of wine :)
Of course, I need to monitor for symptoms very closely over the next 3 months.
In a nutshell, if my crohns is active, then we think we caught it in time, and if not, then, even better.
Next specialist appointment is on Feb 4th.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Blood test results in
I got my blood test results back today. It appears my Haemoglobin (red blood cells) is up (which is good). It was 107L a couple of weeks ago, and now it's at 120L. It's still a little low though.. It should be between 135-175. But it's good news that it's not worse than the previous blood test. This could be due to my increase in my Iron (due to taking iron tablets). My iron is still a bit low though, so i'll continue with the tablets.
My Blood glucose level is down from 6.4 in the previous blood test to 4.5 in this one which is great.. one less thing to worry about. The higher blood glucose level previously may have been due to fasting too much prior to the first blood test. Apparently that can make a difference.
My good cholesterol is a bit low, and my bad cholesterol is a bit high, but the doctor isn't concerned as either are that bad.
Last but not least, the markers for my crohns disease are a bit elevated so it's official, my crohns appears to be active again.
Next step.. I'll see the specialist next friday where I'll likely need to get a colonoscopy to determine, where and to what extent it's active, and then we'll likely work on the management program.
Next update after my specialist appointment.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Health update
Well.. I've got an appointment to see my specialist on the 22nd of this month. I'm happy that they managed to fit me in (due to a late cancellation), because i'm starting to feel the occasional minor symptom. At this stage, i'm only experiencing the occasional hot flush during the night, and weightloss, and the occasional minor symptom brought on from the anaemia. I've also noticed a little bit of soreness occasionally on my right hand side of my gut, around the same area I had an abcess during my last bout with the disease but I'm not entirely concerned at this stage for reasons I won't go into here.
Next update will be either later in the week, or after my specialist appointment. Stay Tuned.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Health update
I went to my GP here in Sydney today, and to my misfortune, she agrees with the doctor in Brisbane and advised that my Anaemia and Iron deficiency, is more than likely due to a flare up of my Crohn's Disease.
I'm getting a full blood test tomorrow morning (after fasting tonight), so she and my Gastroenterologist can compare markers since my last visit to him 8 months ago. I won't know the results of the blood test until next wednesday unfortunately. She's requested I make an appointment asap to see my specialist regardless of the outcome though so i'm waiting on them to ring me back.
Needless to say, i'm not thrilled about having to go through all these medical issues again. The last time it happened, it was so bad, I ended up taking 3 months off work (throughout the year), and ended up getting 70 centimeters of Bowel removed. yippee!
The symptoms aren't too obvious at present, so hopefully we'll catch it on time, and get it under control with medication. As long as I don't need to go on Prednisone, i'm happy. That has to be the worst drug i've ever been on. It affects my joints and I end up walking like a 100 year old, and I go into fits of depression amongst other things. Hopefully It won't come to that.
I'll know more in about a week, so stay tuned if you feel like you want to know more about my current state of health.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Very Sick
You wouldn't believe it! I'm on holidays and i've come down with a virus, that's kept me bed-riddin for a good portion of a week. It's actually a long story, but I went to the doctors in Brisbane and had a blood test done, and to my horror it's found me to be very iron deficient and anaemic. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but in my case it means my Crohn's Disease is likely to be active again after being in remission for almost 3 years. I've come back to Sydney a week early so I can see my GP here, to get further tests done to determine if it's definately active. If it is, I can't begin to tell you how bad this is for me. I've been finally feeling good and healthy, and now, I may be on the verge of major sickness again. Anyway, i'll know more in about a week. Sorry for those expecting to see more photo's, but i've just been too unwell to get them organised.
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