[14132]

I posted this in the crohn's section but thought I'd get some feedback in here as well. Any ideas and does it sound familiar...Hello all!This is my first post as I am relatively fortunate in my life with Crohn's. I recently discovered that a few other symptoms are probably linked with my Crohn's and I wanted some feedback on what works for others.Here's some of the symptoms, not all of which I'm sure are related and most haven't been told to a doctor yet as I'm just putting together this link and was just thinking I had a bad diet or something.- Fatigue (#1 concern) - trying to get ready to juggle part-time grad school with full-time work and family!- Unrefreshed sleep - This has been getting worse. I can sleep for 8 hours and still am unable to wake up in the morning and on the weekends it's not unusual for me to be able to lay down at 7 and not wake up for 12 or 13 hours and then still take 2 or 3 hour naps.- Dull & achy- Used to have migraine's that seemed to be triggered by either excercise or really bright sun or overheating (never figured these out) and they seem to have faded.- off & on headaches that seem real dull.- cheeks turn rosy red almost like a rash and get real hot when I break a sweat.- eye sensitivity- used to get dizzy though I haven't noticed this in a while.- jaw pain in the back of the jaw almost at the joint, especially after drinking anything sugary.- hypersensitivity to smell after excercise- Almost ADD type concentation problems (i'm guessing b/c of the sleep thing)So that's a laundry list of stuff that may or may not be related. What I'm trying to figure out is if other people have similar symptoms and what they've done to treat it before I go to my doc.As far as background on my crohn's, it's been in remission mainly for 3 years. Only been diagnosed for 6 years when I had to have an ileosectomy due to a colon blockage. First symptoms were repeated fistulas in high school but the doctors never seemed to put it together until after the main surgery.Since then I've managed to be off all drugs except month B-12 shots for nearly 2 1/2 years and have very rare cramping and almost never battle with crohn's type diarrhea. When it comes up it usually comes as cramping. In that case I'm lucky I suppose. I just would like to figure out what people due for the fatigue so I can do all the things I want to do. Any ideas of what others do would be greatly appreciated.Thanks to all for reading the long post!!!P.S. - As a side note I'm attempting my first marathon in 1 month as my way of giving the finger to Crohn's, wish me luck!!! I'm mainly trying to figure this out so I can survive that and then move on to surviving grad school.

 

[M&M]

Hi Linc, and welcome.

I don't know that I'll be able to be of much help to you. I don't really know anything about Crohn's or the symptoms that go along with it. The only advice I could give you would be the same advice I give a lot of people who come here with a lot of symptoms looking for help or a diagnosis.Journal your symptoms! It sounds silly, but it really works. Buy yourself a special calendar, or agenda, or organizer, and journal your symptoms everyday. I'm talking every single symptom. Use a system, like 1-10, or 1-5, to rate the severity of each symptom everyday. Write down everything, even what you eat, how much you sleep, and everything else. It's a pain, but it's worth it in the long run.Then, after a few months, try to get in with a good doctor, and take your journal with you. Sometimes, as you mentioned with trouble concentrating and remembering, we have trouble remembering exactly what symptoms have been the worst, and which ones bother us most. But, if you keep a thorough log book, it will be easy to spot any trends. And that will help your doctor, and it will help you in managing your own symptoms as best you can.I wish I had better advice, but I really don't know much about Crohn's disease. Keep us posted, I hope you can figure out what's going on with your body, and maybe start to treat it!It does sound like you've got a break neck schedule, you must be constantly on the go. Sometimes, a hectic schedule like that will exacerbate any problems you are having. Keep us posted!