The last few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind with my health too. Lots of last minute tests, trying to take advantage of having already met my insurance deductible, and trying to find some answers before I left Texas. I really wish I could say that I was feeling 100% better, but I am still fighting to feel well and have felt pretty frustrated with how slow things are progressing. But there has been some progress. Just slow.
My overall/usual Crohn's symptoms are improving. I usually have pain in my lower abdomen, along with intestinal issues. The pain is pretty much gone, and the intestinal issues are not happening daily anymore. But during my last week on steroids, I started experiencing a constant stomachache. That was about 10 weeks ago, and it hasn't gone away. It doesn't matter what I eat, if I eat, or how much I eat, that stomachache is just constantly there. When I mentioned the pain to my mom, she reminded me that all of the women in my family {grandmother, mom, 3 aunts} have had their gallbladders removed. So I mentioned it to my doctor, and he thought I had the right risk factors, so he ordered a CT scan. That came back without any definitive results, so I also had an abdominal MRI.
Thankfully, it's not my gallbladder, and the two scans ruled out all the bad, scary things {i.e., lymphoma}. The MRI did show that my liver is slightly enlarged and that I have a few cysts. So I will have to monitor my liver enzymes and repeat an MRI in a year. Both Humira and Entyvio can cause liver issues, so it's not surprising that it showed up on the scans. Most likely it will resolve itself, as I remember having elevated liver enzymes when I first started Humira. The reassuring thing is that while the scans showed some abnormalities on my liver, my recent bloodwork showed normal levels on my liver enzymes. So my doctor is not too concerned about that right now.
But the liver stuff doesn't explain my constant stomachache. I officially stumped my doctor, so we went for the trifecta of tests, and I had an upper endoscopy. That procedure came back clear as well; it did show inflammation in my stomach, but no clear cause. So my doctor concluded that my stomach aches are being caused by stress.
I certainly have had my fair share of stress this past year. But personally, I think that it's Crohn's causing the inflammation, that is just made worse by the stress. Crohn's can cause inflammation all over the body {in your joints, even in your eyes!}, so it's not surprising that I have inflammation in my stomach. So it seems like my stress is making my physical symptoms from Crohn's worse, not causing them. I know I am not a doctor, but I do know my body and it makes the most sense to me regarding how I have felt the pain in my stomach.
-------
I had one more Entyvio infusion before we left Texas. And today I had my first Telehealth appointment with my new doctor in Virginia. I liked him; he was thorough and knowledgeable, so I am thankful that I felt comfortable with him from the first appointment. He's ordering some more blood work {a lot of it a repeat, but necessary to set up my infusions here}, and will wait to receive all my records and test results from my old doctor. Then we'll go from there, getting everything set up and moving forward with care.
I'm hopeful that another few months will bring more improvement. I'm just praying for the strength and endurance to make it that long. I'm pretty tired, and very ready to feel better :)
No comments:
Post a Comment