The wait and see approach is not a good technique when dealing with chronic illnesses; they rarely get better by themselves, so it’s important to fight your corner, ask the questiosn and push for action!
Be your own advocate and ask the questions, especially if you think something has been missed. You know your own illness better than anyone else, and that includes your doctors. If you are experiencing new symptoms or the early warning signs of a flare, you need to mobilise, get heard and get it sorted.
Too often have I been told to take pain killers and see if my symptoms persist by my GP’s; this may be palatable for a sore throat, but for anal pain, stomach cramps, or 12 trips a day to the toilet, I want to be prodded, poked and tested please, as this shit ain’t normal.
Recently I had what I believed to a peri-anal abscess or fistula brewing; I know this because it will be my fourth a peri-anal abscess; I know what it feels like, I know what happens next, and I know how quickly it can go south.
Having called my GP, I was not content with taking two days’ worth of antibiotics and calling back on Monday. Instead, I successfully pushed to be seen in the surgical assessment unit, where my presence got me back on the colorectal team’s radar and in for an emergency MRI.
Now, here’s the kicker! I already had an MRI booked the very next day, but it was not a scan of that part of my bowel. Planning ahead, I had the paperwork in my bag, and humbly suggested: “Why not see if we can change it to a scan of my bum?”. You don’t ask you don’t get, right…
When I got to my MRI appointment, the memo had not been passed on (I get it, I am crap with email too), so again, I was my own cheerleader; I fearlessly asked the MRI team:“hey, I think the SAU emailed through a change to this, could you just confirm”.
Boom, they found the email and actually praised my pro activeness. Not only that, the MRI guys were so awesome, they offered to undertake both scans at once, if I was willing to drink the MRI juice in double time, and stay a bit longer.
Coming out the other end, one scan revealed a small collection of fluid in my bum, which was caught early, and the other scan unveiled some active inflammation in my intestines, which I did not expect… but did explain my fatigue. Both of these signalled active Crohn’s and I am now on Infliximab to combat both ailments. WIN!
As an IBD sufferer, you know what your symptoms are and where they lead, so waiting to see what happens is almost always a self-fulfilling prophecy. Take action and push hard to get to where you need to be, because I bet, 9 times out of ten, you will be right.