I have a few things that I want to accomplish this year.

1. Finish scanning in all the family photos.
2. Scan all my wedding photos
3. Fix up our front and back yards including putting up a fence for the girls.
4. Learn a new programming language which will be determined later
5. Get Healthy

The last one is the most important. Right now I’m still having some issues with the Crohn’s Disease which has made my life pretty miserable. I’m on Humira right now and it seems to be working but there are a few side effects. The major one is that I have no immune system. If someone sneezes near me I get a cold, this has led me to being sick all the time. I’m really hoping this is the year that everything changes.

The other goals are pretty self-explanatory. I have been really slackass on scanning photos and I plan on spending at least one hour a day getting them all scanned and putting them on fullerfarm.net. I have pretty much finished the Fuller family genealogy as there is no way to get past Ezekiel Fuller (1650-1723) as all records are gone. I am working on the Chamblin side next.

I want to learn a new language to improve my skill-set.

Now the main focus of my blog will be me dealing with Crohn’s and dealing with our dogs Percy, Luna, and Soleil.

Life with three English Mastiffs is always interesting. Percy is out 10 year old male who rules the house. Luna and Soleil are our 6 month old girls. I’m not sure if my house, car, bank account, furniture, bones will survive.

So stick around and check back at least once a week and join me as I try to document a year in my life.

Here’s hoping that this next week will be just as good

At my doctor appointment today I was able to get off the Pentasa. I am now only on potassium, Imuran, and Nexium. Dr. Chaudhary wants to wait another month before we remove the gallbladder so that the Humira will have the Crohns under control.

All in all it was a good day.

I’m feeling ok today just really tired. I still have the rash at the injection site but it seems to have cleared up a little. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my PCP. It’s just a checkup so there shouldn’t be much to report.

I did my second round of Humira shots wednesday. No problem there except I now have a rash around the injection area that itches like crazy. I called the nurses about it and was told to put ice on it. I will get it checked out at my doctor appointments on monday and tuesday.

Yesterday I had a sonogram done. Didn’t show much just a bunch of gallstones. My gallbladder is causing me so much pain I really want to get it yanked out.

Today is Palmer’s birthday party at lunchtime. Adam spent the night so that he could go with us there. Tonight is Amanda & Freddy’s wedding shower for the whole family. It’s going to be a really busy day.

After dinner tonight my stomach is upset and making all kinds of noises. I really want it to settle down and let me get some sleep tonight.

In other news I found out today that my buddy Jim in now a patient of Dr. Chaudhary. Augusta is a small town.

On another note today was my nephew Adams 9th birthday. Time is flying by so fast.

I’m having the abdominal pains pretty bad today on top of all the other symptoms. No matter what I feel like in the morning I will be calling Dr. Chaudhary and setting up an appointment.

Also I’m trying really hard to convince Jenni that I need Punch-Out for the Wii. Please help. Tell her I need it.

Other than some mild abdominal cramping and gallbladder pains today was an ok day.

I’m using the pen delivery method. It’s really simple, take the caps off and “push the button Frank”. It’s almost painless but you are a bit sore after the injection due to the thickness of the Humira. My first dose was four shots and I felt some side effects very quickly. I got really dizzy and nauseous but was told that was normal since I had just taken two months worth of the medicine at one time. In two weeks I will take two more shots and one shot every two weeks after that.

One of the great side effects of me taking Humira is that it will also help my arthritis. Now this is something I am really looking forward to. Being able to move around painlessly is unbelievable to me. I think I am more excited about this possibility than I anything else.

I’ll be using this blog to keep track of my progress so check back if you are interested on how things are going. Below is a picture of me giving myself the first injection. I tried to get a video of it but the file was corrupted. Next time I will get one.

My first Humira injection

Day 1
Feeling sick even before I took the shots. I think I starting to have another flareup.

Here is an article I found from the FDA.

Source

Treating the Symptoms

Since there is no cure for Crohn’s disease, the goals of treatment are to control inflammation, relieve symptoms, and correct nutritional deficiencies. Treatment depends on which part and how much of the intestine is affected.

Most people with Crohn’s disease are first treated with drugs containing 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASA), which help control inflammation. Sulfasalazine (azulfidine) was traditionally the drug of choice until later evidence showed that newer ASA-containing medications were more effective at higher doses and presented fewer side effects.

Corticosteroids such as prednisone* can control inflammation as well. These drugs are the most effective for active Crohn’s disease, rather than for remission maintenance, but they can cause serious side effects, including greater susceptibility to infection, weight gain, increased blood sugar levels, thinning of the bones, elevated blood pressure, and personality disorder. Both corticosteroids and 5-ASAs are not approved specifically for Crohn’s disease. Use of approved drugs for unapproved indications is commonly referred to as “off-label.”

Drugs that suppress the immune system are reserved for patients who do not respond to less toxic forms of therapy because “they carry an increased chance of infection,” says Kaminstein. The most commonly prescribed, Purinethol (mercaptopurine) and Imuran (azathioprine)*, also not specifically FDA-approved for this indication, work by blocking the immune reaction that contributes to inflammation, and are particularly effective for maintaining long periods of remission.

Antibiotics such as Flagyl (metronidazole), which are effective against many types of bacteria, are often prescribed “off-label” to help relieve symptoms of Crohn’s disease, especially when it affects the large intestine or causes abscesses and fistulas around the anus. Other “off-label” medication use includes antidiarrheal drugs such as Lomotil (diphenoxylate) and Imodium (loperamide), which may relieve cramps and diarrhea.

Many Crohn’s disease patients require surgery to relieve chronic symptoms that do not respond to drug treatment or, like Gray, to correct complications such as an abscess that has begun to perforate. The bowel is cut above and below the diseased area and reconnected. But since Crohn’s disease often recurs after surgery, it is very important, according to Kaminstein, for the individual and doctor to consider carefully the benefits, risks and costs of surgery compared with other treatments. He says surgery should be used only after attempts at other forms of therapy have failed.

*taking now

So right now this is what’s best for me. Next month I am changing medications according to my doctor and going with an injection med. I don’t know if it’s Remicade or Humira

I am just ready to feel better. This flareup has taken alot out of me.

Friday I fell and hurt my shoulder. It’s not bad just pulled some muscles. The only problem is that I can’t take a full breath without it hurting. I am a walking disaster. Sunday night I was going to lay down and wound up kicking the table. This broke my toenail in half so that feels good. I went to see Dr Jester yesterday and he gave me valium to take the pain away and relax the muscles so they can heal.

Old Stuff:

I got my xray results back. They showed the 3 narrowings in my small intestine that are normal for my case. There wasn’t any change good or bad and I am taking that as a good sign. At least I am not getting any worse right? Day to day for me right now is in a state of flux. Some days I feel ok and want to do stuff. I’ll get on the computer, clean up the house a little, play the wii, etc. Most days I feel so horrible I just lay on the couch and watch movies and sleep. The pain from the crohns isn’t as bad as it used to be thanks to the prednisone. The gallbladder pain is intense. In my life I have experienced some pain and the closest thing I can relate it to my facial lacerations. As soon as the crohns is under control the gallbladder is going to be gone.

That’s it. You are all caught up.

I am in the process of getting shortterm disability because I am unable to function and focus on anything. I have already applied for a medical withdrawal from school.

Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll start getting better but right now I have never been more miserable.

Click and laugh.

I’ve gotten so used to my stomach hurting that with it gone I feel strange. I wake up in the morning and I feel fine. This is something that I can’t remember happening. Life is good and getting better.