Ask an ill person

[robvalue]

I’ve got ME, Crohn's disease, anxiety and depression.

Feel free to ask me anything about that, or anything else you want to know about me.

[onlinebiker]

What' s your credit card number, expiration date and pin?

[robvalue]

What' s your credit card number, expiration date and pin?

I think it’s all a load of 8s until you run out of room.

[Brian37]

Is Chron's manageable or is it progressive?

[robvalue]

Is Chron's manageable or is it progressive?

It is very unpredictable. It can get worse, or go dormant. Most of my life it has been managed with medication to a degree, but with me still having to endure a lot of pain. I’ve required two surgeries so far when medication has no longer been able to control the symptoms, and I could have eventually died if I didn’t have the second one, due to blockages.

My first surgery involved removing a 30cm piece of bowel which contained the disease and which had become compromised, but sadly it has a high risk of reoccurring, which it did with me. In extreme cases people have to have their whole bowels removed.

It is pot luck what kind of specialist you get. I’ve had some awful ones, some okay ones, and some amazing ones. Luckily I’m currently seeing the latter.

[Silver]

What is your avatar depicting?

[robvalue]

What is your avatar depicting?

It is Jack, the protagonist of the Wii game Madworld. (One of my favourite games ever.) He has a chainsaw fixed to his arm, and he’s butchering the shit out of someone with it.

[brewer]

Are you still on the infliximab?

Tell us about your past and current diet.

What new Rob-fu moves have you added to your arsenal of death?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

If the Crohn's and ME were to be cured (or go into remission, whichever is applicable), do you think that would help with the anxiety and depression?

Boru

[robvalue]

Are you still on the infliximab?

Tell us about your past and current diet.

What new Rob-fu moves have you added to your arsenal of death?

I’m now on a similar infusion, as my specialist decided infliximab was no longer effective enough. In general it’s working well.

From 2011-2016 I was on an extremely bland low fibre diet. Any fruit and veg needed to be very soft, usually meaning peeling, cooking and mashing. I often ate jars of baby food as it was pulverised fruit. I mainly ate white bread and bland cereals like corn flakes. It was depressing as fuck and really unhealthy, but it was necessary to keep me from getting blockages.

After my operation in 2016, I slowly migrated onto a full diet. I’ve been able to eat just about anything. The adhesions which were causing my guts to get tangled and easily blocked were successfully removed.

Right now I’ve reverted to mostly low fibre again although not as strict as before, to give my guts a chance to get going again. I should be able to return to a mostly normal diet, just avoiding putting myself under too much digestive stress at one time. I’m seeing my specialist soon to discuss what happened, and he may have different ideas!

Sadly my kung fu prowess and video-making energy in general has been lacking for a long time.