Pain in the Gut

Along with all the other incredibly enjoyable symptoms of Crohn's Disease, one of the main one's i've been dealing with lately is joint pain. For me this seems to go hand in colon with fatigue, so as well as feeling sore most of the time, i'm also battling the zzz's the majority of my day.

The main pain I suffer from is on the bottom half of my body, from my hips, to my knees to my wee footsies. I also get a lot of back pain, and as my job means I type all day my fingers and wrists seize up too. 

This seems to be a common occurence for many Crohn's patients so I am by no means alone in my gripes. 

All this pain and annoyance is irritating, but when combined with the other symptoms associated with the disease it can leave you waking up feeling you've been ravaged all night. Without any of the satisfaction. 

Conventional painkillers have ZERO effect on me, proabably due to becoming immune after popping them like sweets over the years. Stronger pain relief tends to make me queasy as my diseased guts kindly reject any help they are being offered, and things like Tramadol and morphine send me into a blissful coma where I am barely capable of quoting my own name. 

So you see it's difficult for people like myself to manage this pain. Especially when you hold down a full time job and have a cat and a 36 year old man to rear. I can't take anything too strong while i'm working as I have to be at least a little aware of my surroundings and my own name, and anything too weak and i'm a doubled-up wreck attempting to remain upright at my desk. 

Having a crohnic illness also means exactly that; being crohnic means it is not going away and therefore not easily remedied. It is a difficult balance of finding the right medication and pain relief to suit each particular body - not an easy task for any doctor. With me and most Crohnie's it's a case of trial and error. In my case LOTS of error along the way. I am now on a drug trial, which is doing well to keep my symptoms under control, but the pain in my joints and guts is so unpredictable that regular meds just don't cut the mustard for this Crohnie. 

The past few days i've found it quite a struggle to walk and my legs have felt like lead - walking like you've been sitting on a horse for the past 48 hrs is NOT a good look. Trust me. Even Clint Eastwood would probably knock me back at this moment in time. 

Anyway I have to go before my hands turn into claws. I have an romantic evening of smearing myself with deep heat planned. x