Top 10 ways to cause a flare with Crohns

Keeping your Crohn's disease under control can feel like a full-time job. That's because it is. Avoiding potential triggers can help prevent a flare-up. You may be doing things that are detrimental to your health. Do you know what they are?

1. Smoke

Photo © hinnamsaisuy

Smoking cigarettes has a significant effect on Crohn's disease. The entire body is affected by smoking, including the digestive tract. Inhaled smoke enters the stomach and intestines as well as the lungs. Tobacco is a known digestive tract irritant that cause bloating, cramping, gas, and stomach rumbling.

2. Don't Drink Water

Photo © Carmen Dirica

If all you give your body all day is coffee and diet cola, you can't expect your digestive tract to treat you well. Water is essential to the good health of your entire body, as well helpful in preventing constipation and replacing fluids lost from diarrhea.

3. Don't Exercise

Photo © Ambro

If you could spend 30 minutes a day doing something that would not only benefit your Crohn's disease by decreasing the severity of your symptoms but also improve your overall health -- …wouldn't you do it? That's what exercise can do. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends 30 minutes most days of the week. It doesn't have to be a contiguous 30 minutes; you can also do 3 episodes of 10 minutes, or 2 episodes of 15.

4. Ignore Stress

Photo © africa

Stress does not cause IBD, but it will worsen it. Everyone has stress of one form or another -- the important thing is your reaction to it. Turn stress into something positive: Use it to fuel your creativity and spur yourself into taking action on your problems. Don't let stress fester until it affects your health.

5. Eat Large Meals

Photo ©David Lat

We all love to eat, but eating 3 large meals a day is not the best strategy for optimal digestive health. Instead, try 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day. You won't have that heavy feeling after eating, and your body will receive a steady stream of fuel all day, instead of repeated spikes and dips.

6. Skip Sleep

Photo © winnond

Most adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Are you scheduling this amount into your day, every day? Maybe you have trouble getting to sleep, or staying asleep. Try practicing better sleep hygiene to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.

7. Eat Trigger Foods

Photo © Petr Kratochvil

Trigger foods vary from person to person with Crohn's disease, but some basic themes are: fatty foods, fried foods, fibrous foods, and milk.Learn what your trigger foods are and how to avoid them.

8. Drink Alcoholic Beverages

Photo © Boaz Yiftach

This is a hard one, especially for younger people. But beer (which tends to be gassy), wine, and mixed drinks (which often contain other triggers such as fruit juice or caffeinated beverages) can be hard on the gastrointestinal tract.

9. Eat Processed Foods

Photo © Master isolated images

Processed foods often contain additives such as sugar or fat substitutes. Many of these artificial flavorings are known to be gastrointestinal irritants. Even people who do not have a diagnosed digestive condition may experience gas, diarrhea, bloating, and pain after eating food additives.

10. Don't Seek Help

Photo © Stuart Miles

Help can come from friends, family, coworkers, and your health-care team. Seek help from those closest to you for ideas on how to stick to your treatment plan and reduce stress. Don't be afraid to accept support and good advice when it is offered from a trusted source.

Everything does happen for a reason

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there; they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.  You never know who these people may be; your roommate, neighbor, professor, long-lost friend, lover or even a complete stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you and at the time they may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower or heart.  Everything happens for a reason.  Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck.  Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul.  Without these small tests - whether they are events, illnesses or relationships - life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere.  Safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.  The people you meet who affect your life, and the successes and downfalls you experience, create who you are; even the bad experiences can be learned from.  In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to.  If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally; not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love, and they are opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.  Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again.  Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen.  Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to.  Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself; for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you, either.  

Twitter

The 46 Stages of Twitter

1. Hear the word Twitter. Scoff.

2. Hear it again from someone else. Scoff again.

3. Hear about famous celebrity who is apparently "On Twitter." Scoff, but make mental note to check it out.

4. Log into Facebook to comfort self.

5. Sign up for Twitter.

6. Give up because it seems dumb.

7. Loudly criticize others on Twitter.

8. Follow @johncmayer, @aplusk, @rainnwilson, @wilw, @oprah, and one other person you actually know.

9. Post tweet that is a variant of: "Trying out this Twitter thing."

10. Attempt to dig a little deeper into Twitter.

11. Notice rampant usage of words: "Tweet," "Twitter," "Twitterverse," "Tweetie," "Tweetdeck," and something called "RT."

12. Scoff again, this time in confusion.

13. Tell friends you "tried that Twitter thing, but didn't get it and it's stupid anyway."

14. Log into Facebook because that site at least makes sense.

15. Read story about Twitter somewhere.

16. Log back into Twitter.

17. Try to avoid saying Tweet, Twitter, Twitterverse, Tweetie, Tweetdeck, and ReTweet.

18. Respond to @rainnwilson.

19. Curse self for fanning out.

20. Log off for 4 months.

21. Come back, just to see.

22. Post something relatively funny.

23. Get RT'd.

24. Discover that RT means ReTweet.

25. Make it your life mission to get RT'd.

26. Install Twitter app on your phone.

27. No longer ashamed to say "I've gotta Twitter that."

28. Attend events with the sole intention of "Tweeting" them.

29. Pray to get RT'd.

30. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

31. Close computer.

32. Open computer. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

33. Think in 140 character sentences.

34. Compulsively check phone all day every day.

35. Tweet that you compulsively check phone all day every day.

36. Alienate actual people in your life in an attempt to impress ones you don't know.

37. Lose weight because you forget to eat.

38. Place phone by bed so you can check first thing in the morning.

39. Defend Twitter to the death from detractors.

40. Hear self, and vaguely recognize that you have become "That Guy."

41. Feel like, and start to behave like River Tam.

42. Vow to quit Twitter to preserve sanity.

43. Read this and change mind.

44. Think to self, "I should twitter that."

45. Recognize irony.

46. Twitter it.

Keep in Mind

Here are 11 things we all need you to keep in mind…

1. You never really know how much the people around you are hurting.  You could be standing next to someone who is completely broken inside and you wouldn’t even know it.  So never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.  And remember that there are two ways to spread light in this world: You can either be a flame of hope, or a mirror that reflects it.  Be one of the two every chance you get.  
2. The most important trip you will likely take in life is meeting others half way.  You will achieve far more by working with people, rather than against them.  Giving someone else a voice, and showing them that their ideas matter, will have a long-lasting, positive impact on the both of you.
3. Relationships don’t create happiness, they reflect it. Happiness is an inside job .  Relationships are simply the mirrors of your happiness; they reflect it and help you celebrate it.  They are mirrors because they are a perfect reflection of your thoughts and beliefs.  To reflect means to encourage you when you feel weak and challenge you when you feel strong, thereby returning you to your center.  And to celebrate is to share the natural ease and joy of living from your center – of living in the now with clarity.
4. Compassion comes back around.  The son who tends to his chronically ill mother, ignoring his own exhaustion; the neighbor who gives a helping hand, even as his own needs go unanswered; the one who donates a couple dollars to someone in need, even if she has to break her last five dollar bill to do it.  Maybe you don’t hear the names of these unsung heroes in the news, but surely the universe hears their names and treats them accordingly.
5. Timing is everything.  There is a time for silence, a time to let go and allow your friends to launch themselves into their own destiny, and a time to cheer for their victories, or help them pick up the pieces, when it’s all over. 
6. Actions are the loudest form of communication.  What you do speaks so loud that others will have a hard time hearing what you say.  So practice what you preach or don’t preach at all – walk the talk.  And remember that there is often a major gap between what someone says and what they do.  Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
7. A healthy relationship keeps the doors and windows open.  Plenty of air is circulating and no one feels trapped.  Relationships thrive in this environment.  Keep your doors and windows open.  If a person is meant to be in your life, all the open doors and windows in the world won’t make them leave.
8. People are more what they keep silent than what they say.  Pay attention to their quiet gestures.  If you cannot understand someone’s silence, you will have a hard time understanding their words.  
9. What others say and do is often based entirely on their own self-reflection.  When you have people speaking to you who are angry and upset, and you nevertheless remain very present and continue to treat them with kindness and respect, you place yourself in a position of great power.  You become a means for the situation to be graciously diffused and healed.  A Zen teacher once said, “When somebody backs themselves into a corner, look the other way until they get themselves out; and then act as though it never happened.”  Allowing people to save face in this way, and not reminding them of what they already know is not their most intelligent behavior, is an act of great kindness.  This is possible when we realize that people behave in such ways because they are in a place of great suffering.  People react to their own thoughts and feelings and their behavior often has nothing directly to do with you.
10. Sincerity is giving without expectation.  Good character and true friendship is all about how a person nurtures another person who is vulnerable and can give nothing in return.  So when you have been through tough times and come out the other side, look around you.  The people still standing beside you are your true friends.
11. Not every relationship is meant to last forever.  Some people aren’t meant to stay in your life.  Some people are just passing through to bring you something – perhaps a lesson you need to learn, or memory that makes you smile years later.  When the time comes, it’s okay to let go andmove on with your life. 

April vs Crohn's

April vs Crohn's update - for my friends, family & loved ones: 

I am no longer in remission. The disease is active again. The last test I had showed precancerous cells. The "plan" is to increase the remicade infusions from every 8 weeks to every 6 weeks. Then in 8-10 weeks have another more techy test to check out these cells.

this explains why I've been so tired. Not tired like I need sleep or stayed up too late, but tired like physically tired, like I just ran a marathon.  

Crohn's news

So I had that University of Minnesota colonscopy appointment. Awesome experience overall, very glad I went there instead of Minnesota Gastroenterology. 1 doctor was there STRICKLY to watch the monitor that showed the pictures from inside, 1 doctor was there to guide the scope, and 1 doctor was there just to watch my vitals. 

All in all, it went okay. Not fun by any means of the imagination, but you know. Okay. 

Anyway, I got the test results back on Monday night that I have Crohn's Disease (wooo, big surprise there), and that everything else was as expected. Great. 

SO I know I have to make an appointment with the new doc to follow up after the appointment, but have been working lots of overtime, been busy, bla bla bla. I get a call from the main Doctor that did the monitor watching. I guess there was a type/error on the test results I got. There is an "Indefinate Dispasia" which is medical jargon for "strange cells we don't know what they are, we're worried". So he goes on to ask me if I've set up the follow up appointment yet, and I told him no, I've been busy, and he is all hurry hurry rush rush gotta get you in quick quick quick, he will talk personally to this guy about this, bla bla bla. 

Huh.

Then he tells me I may have to do the test again. Well SHIT. I don't want to do it AGAIN!! Augh.

* heavy sigh * 

Stupid Crohns.

April Update

Greetings Land of Osbourne readers,

I know you've all been dying to know how I am doing and how John is doing. I know you love the cool stuff I post here, uplifting, thought provoking stuff, but I know you also love the Osbourne updates. So here we go.

I went to the University of Minnesota and had a colonoscopy for my yearly Crohn's check. First of all, may I say - what an awesome place. I use to go to Minnesota Gastroenterology - where I felt more like a number, where it seemed like they were more interested in quantity of patients, not quality of each person.  The U of M though - awesome. I had 3 doctors in the room with me during the procedure - one to JUST watch the monitor, one to watch my vitals, and one to guide the scope. They took 9 biopsies too check for cancer. (yay). I have to wait 2 weeks for THOSE results. I am pleased to announce that there IS a portion that is NORMAL. Yep. NORMAL. However the rest is riddled with disease, scar tissue and other fun stuff. The doctor said that my situation is Chronic but not Alarming. So....that something right? I need to set up a follow up appointment. Been so busy haven't had time.

Speaking of busy - I am insanely busy at work. I'm now taking advantage of the opportunity of overtime. Not only for the obvious fact that the money is nice, but also because I am super busy. They've increased my responsibilities. Hope to get some additional financial compensation as well at some point.

John had bronchitis - he actually went to the doctor which is nearly a miracle in itself. He was  on antibiotics. It worked out that his job had him stay home a week due to lack of jobs to do, but financially that really hurt us. We filed for unemployment, so that will help. They are still quite slow at his job, so we're praying that things pick up so we can get a little more caught up financially.

My Dad made me an awesome little table to put behind our couch. Because we have a bay window, the couch wont go flush to the wall, and of course Katie & Ozzy want to look out the front window and bark or just look, and they both fell behind the couch several times.  So sad! I felt bad for them. Anyway - the little table Dad built was custom made and designed so they won't fall anymore. I'm happy and so are they. :)  

Mom and Dad got new living room recliners for themselves and let us have their old ones. (which are in pretty decent shape I might add). its awesome to watch TV or Movies in those chairs! )

I think that is all that is new and shaking in my world right now. Hope you guys are all happy, healthy and enjoying our awesome fall weather.

-April Osbourne-