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Need some advice about whether this will effect my crohns

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Crohn's Disease
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FitzyK23
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/14/2009 5:01 PM (GMT -7)
Hi all,

As most of you know, I have been very sick this week (non crohns related).  Turns out I have some kind of very nasty viral respiratory infection.  I haven't had a fever for a few days which is a welcome relief.  But I have a very deep very painful cough that my doctors are trying very hard to get rid of.

I am now taking an albuterol inhaler every 4 hours, Benzonatate too numb the cough sensation in my lungs, a specially made cough syrup with codine (I'm allergic to red dye so I had to have it compounded from robittusun dye free plus whatever rx drugs they add), plus tylenol extra strength when in pain.  The coughing is making my back and abs and neck and shoulder hurt.  I'm also turning my bathroom into a rain forest twice daily and sleeping w/ a humidafier w/ some other drug poured into it.

Anyways, the two rx cough drugs can cause constipation.  I am normally a D crohnie when it acts up and regular otherwise.  Since starting these drugs on Thursday I have only "gone" on Friday afternoon and it was quite hard.  I am thinking I am going to go less anyway because I am barely eating.  Just two small meals a day, no snacks.  I just don't feel like eating.  I am taking so many medications (plus all the crohns ones) and I am trying to drink drink drink to stay hydrated.

Do you think this could mess my gut up? I don't really want to take a stool sofener since I usually have D...but don't want to get backed up either. 

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Nanners
Elite Member
Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 14999
Posted 3/14/2009 5:09 PM (GMT -7)
I wouldn't let the C go on too long though. What I do when I worried the stool softner might cause D is take 1 instead of the usual two. Codiene cough meds are very constipating to me too.
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belleenstein
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Joined : Feb 2007
Posts : 1010
Posted 3/14/2009 5:16 PM (GMT -7)
Fitzy unless you have a stricture, you might want to try a fibre supplement temporarily and lots of water. Might make you more comfortable if you can get some bulk in those stools while you are eating so little. Or you could just wait it out. Either way, whether you are constipated or not should not affect the course of your disease. If you flare it is more likely to be because of the medications and stresses of being ill, so I think you should do what you feel comfortable with and not worry about it riling up your crohn's.

Much more important is for you to get this lung infection dealt with.

Hugs
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MMMNAVY
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Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 6927
Posted 3/14/2009 5:21 PM (GMT -7)
Fitzy how much can you walk around (if at all)?
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FitzyK23
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Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/14/2009 5:30 PM (GMT -7)
It all depends Navy. I spent most of the week on the couch but went to work friday and am going to visit a friend for a bit tonight. If I move slow I do ok but if I even try to go upstairs and back down too quick I have a coughing fit. When I first move from sitting to standing or laying to sitting or whatever I cough a ton. But if I am up moving for a bit I feel ok. I really think I am laying around too much and that I need to start moving more. I can't yell at all. I let my dog out and tried to call her back in and ended up hunched over hacking for about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the well wishes and I will keep an eye on BM's (as if us crohnies didn't do that anway). Generally a few sips of coffee will give me D when I am healthy so if I feel too backed up I'll have the leftover of my hubbys morning coffee.

Anytime I try new meds I like to throw them out here because sometimes someone here found it interacted w/ their gut bad. I know I have to take it either way but a heads up is always good.

Oh, and I also have a steroid nasal spray as needed. Thanks guys! I am SO sick of feeling like crap.
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Nanners
Elite Member
Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 14999
Posted 3/14/2009 6:10 PM (GMT -7)
((((FITZY))))) So sorry you are feeling bad. My husband had a horrible case of bronchitis a few weeks ago, and I have never heard anyone cough so hard. Poor guy couldn't sleep for days. Hope you get feeling better soon.

Hugs
Gail *Nanners*
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MMMNAVY
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Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 6927
Posted 3/15/2009 5:42 AM (GMT -7)
Fitzy, if you can walk around at all it might help (concerned about fluid build up on your lungs and for lack of words stagnation in your guts), but otherwise I think I might take a stool softener (I have used that pink one before). I have tried fiber (waffers) in the past and got alot of blood, but of course I had apple sauce with them (which was a very bad idea).
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straydog
Forum Moderator
Joined : Feb 2003
Posts : 18974
Posted 3/15/2009 5:45 AM (GMT -7)
I just came off 5 weeks of bronchitis. I am a oxygen patient with lung problems obviously. Then had a week reprieve when I got struck down by a virus for a week. I find usually laying down flat to be very hard to do and I cough more by laying flat. Can you prop yourself with some pillows? It smarts when you hack enough to make your body sore. Been there and done that. Hope you get to feeling better..Susie
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gachrons
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Joined : Mar 2007
Posts : 4527
Posted 3/15/2009 6:43 AM (GMT -7)
Hi Fitzy Have you had a lung X-ray to rule out pneumonia? Gee girl you are still not good.. a stool softener might help you .. and it might help to walk as you say a bit of moving around might help get the oxygen flowing a bit better... but get yourself back to the Dr. if you don't clear up soon.. lol gail
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Howlyncat
Elite Member
Joined : Jan 2005
Posts : 24909
Posted 3/15/2009 8:38 AM (GMT -7)
HI there
I had Pnuemo and I went from Bronchitis to that in no time flat
I had to lay upright and the guck coming out of me was horrible

From both ends
For me it did cause probs with the CD

But not severe

I wish you all the best Fitzy

LYN
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survivor49
Regular Member
Joined : Oct 2007
Posts : 241
Posted 3/15/2009 8:56 AM (GMT -7)
fitzy
i would be careful about pushing fiber if it is something that usually bothers you. i would use a stool softener (not a laxative) and make sure that you are drinking plenty of fluids. stool softeners help pull water into the stool, that way it is easier to pass. having an infection makes you more prone to dehydration, which makes you more prone to constipation. incresing fluids and giving the body a little help with the stool softener should make it easier for you to go, and not have a lot of side effects. good luck and all that
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Zanne
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Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 3763
Posted 3/15/2009 9:12 AM (GMT -7)
Gee, I had been wondering how you were doing. I was hoping you were better by now! I had something similar the beginning of February and I'm still not back to normal. For me the antibiotics give me the runs, so add that on to the runs I already have, and forget it.

I think I would start with the cup of coffee if I were you, and then move on from there. The codeine in the cough medicine probably has bound you up some (seems to have no effect on me). I got the same med, but I can take the red dye so no special compounding for me. It is magic as far as I'm concerned. The nights I took that were the only nights I slept. I had to sleep in a recliner because as soon as I got flat, I would have coughing fits that would last for half an hour. I actually found that cold (freezing) air helped me to breath better. You could try sticking your head in the freezer for a few minutes at a time and see if that helps, especially right after a few hits from the albuterol inhaler.
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FitzyK23
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Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/15/2009 9:52 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks guys! Coughing a little less today but still had a real hard time sleeping last night, meds and all. I did prop myself up w/ pillows which helped. I don't think it is pnemonia yet because my cough is not very productive and I don't have a fever anymore. I feel like the gunk is moving north though because I am now coughing up gunk from my nose instead of lungs and my eyes were crusty this morning. I plan on taking tomorrow off from work to make up the school work I didn't do over break. If I don't feel significantly better I will head back to the doctors. I have a red patch on the left side of my throat with some sores on it but I think it is just a sign of general infection, not strep. No fun.

We did have a showing on our house this morning so I had to get up w/ my hubby and I did the dishes and straightened up a little while he did all the dusting and vacuuming. I at least got myself moving for that.
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Sniper
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 6518
Posted 3/15/2009 12:01 PM (GMT -7)
Only thing I can recommend is a tablet that you drop in the shower and it smells great and helps congestion. I forget what its called though. I am sure the druggist would know. I have trouble will most meds but not C. so cant help there but do hope you feel better soon...
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MMMNAVY
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 6927
Posted 3/15/2009 7:32 PM (GMT -7)
oh and that baby soap that is for colds as well.

http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/product.do?id=7&productid=7&filterid=0

This is what Sniper is talking about:

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=149067&catid=382&brand=17888&trx=BS-17888&trxp1=HPFP&trxp2=0&trxp3=149067&btrx=BS-17888

 

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vietvet
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2005
Posts : 1510
Posted 3/15/2009 8:33 PM (GMT -7)
fitzy, it is allergy season in full bloom, all across the country right now. a lot of people don't know what is happening to them when they 'have this cold for weeks that I can't shake'. many people and doctors just aren't tuned in to the stuff floating around in the air. they say, "oh, no, i'm really sick". and they are.......head pounding and feeling twice it's size, postnasal drip filling your lungs to that deep wheeze and cough, with a complete lethargic exhaustion. even if you are a disbeliever, do yourself a favor and mentally mark this time of year. next year, around easter, if you are in the same situation, i can guarantee you have allergies.

loratadine (generic claritin) can be bought over the counter now for cheap, compared to when it was a prescription drug. i don't think i can tell you here, but if you shop around you can buy four times what you'd get in a prescription for about 1/240th that prescription price. a lot of folks try it and say it didn't help them.....but they were taking it a couple days expecting immediate relief like an ephedrin pill. it doesn't work that way. you start taking it at the first hint of symptoms and build it up in your system. it is a symptom blocker, not a symptom reliever. i remember the way i used to be before this stuff. it is subtle, and not a miracle, but it makes allergy season a whole lot more livable. and, it's better than all that stuff that stops ya up, although sometimes you have to supplement. i gotta sleep. and i can't sleep if my nose is plugged. regular nose drops (not the 12 hour stuff - it's kind of dangerous).

good luck, i hope you find relief...................and i hope sniper finds that bar of irish spring he dropped in the shower.

vv
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FitzyK23
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/16/2009 8:07 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks Vietvet - I do have seasonal allergies and I do use the generic claritin when they are acting up. However, this started with fever, body aches, etc - and I am coughing/blowing green. So there is definitely some infection going on in there too. Great thinking though!

I am going back to the docs today at 1 to have the eyes looked at. I don't want to mess with pink eye.
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FitzyK23
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/16/2009 6:30 PM (GMT -7)
Update -

Went to the doc, I now have pink eye too and have to stay home yet another day for the meds to kick in for that. No oral antibiotics still. They think it is viral but don't want to "mess with the eyes" so I have topical antibiotic drops. I was upgraded from cough medicine w/ codeine to Tusseinex which has hydrocodone. Hopefully I will get some sleep to night.

Oh, and I can only share this here. I pooped this morning!! Yay! It was way harder than my usual crohnie poops are but nothing too painful. Reminds me of what life was like before crohns. *sigh*
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HabsHockeyFan
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 3240
Posted 3/17/2009 6:14 AM (GMT -7)
Hey Fitzy...sorry to hear about how sick you've been. Adding pink eye stinks---I've had it several times. just remember not to touch anything if you go near your eyes.
I was concerned about the C you were having. Have you tried warm water bottles or heating pads when you are lying down? I am a D crohnie too, but any meds block me up and turn me to C. I usually spend a lot of time with the heating pad and in hot showers to keep things "running" easier.
Hoping you feel better soon
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bektold
Regular Member
Joined : Jul 2007
Posts : 456
Posted 3/17/2009 7:45 AM (GMT -7)
Uh, if you're "coughing/blowing green" that's not just viral. It may have started out that way, but technocolor snot means that bacteria has set in. I can understand caution with the antibiotics, especially considering how easily it can effect our guts. But if you aren't significantly better in a couple days it might be a good idea to revisit the idea with your doctor.

Although, with the green snotties, at least your festive for St. Patrick's Day!
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FitzyK23
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/17/2009 9:48 AM (GMT -7)
Ha ha, thanks Bektold. That's what I thought but I now have had TWO doctors insist I don't need antibiotics. Luckily it is not very green, just occasionaly green. I have been told in the past that the body can over come bacterial on its own too but just needs more time... They also made it clear at my Monday visit that they are not expecting the cough to go away any time soon and I just have to be patient. The new cough med worked a lot better though it totally knocked me out for 12 hours.
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Zanne
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 3763
Posted 3/17/2009 10:24 AM (GMT -7)
My Nurse Practitioner insisted I didn't need antibiotics in December when I was sick as a dog and then again in February. Both times I ended up back in the office about 10 days later, sicker of course, but with an appointment with my Doctor, who promptly put me on antibiotics. While I got better after the antibiotics, finally. The episode in February hasn't cleared up entirely yet. I still have some congestion, still have some cough, and the endless coughing before the antibiotic caused some broken ribs. Basically our systems just can't fight whatever this nasty thing is without some help. My husband and daughter both got it too, and they are still about the same as me, but neither of them needed the antibiotic to get to the same point. They just have a little more in their reserves.

So if you are still not better in the next day or so, insist that the doctor give you something. The fact that your symptoms are increasing and not at least stabilizing should be indicative of something, and green snot!

Hope you feel better soon, and I'm glad you got some sleep, that had to help some! :-)
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FitzyK23
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Joined : May 2005
Posts : 4219
Posted 3/17/2009 11:18 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks Zanne! I remember how sick you were!! Ouch with the broken ribs, no fun.
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Howlyncat
Elite Member
Joined : Jan 2005
Posts : 24909
Posted 3/17/2009 11:34 AM (GMT -7)
YAAAAAAAAA
Well we both pooped today I too am a usually D Crohnie but I have not had a poop for a few days
I was on the Hydrocodone(sp) and it knocked me out like you
But it did help clear up the pnuemo I had alot quicker.......

as well as get the gunck outta me alot faster too

I also got runny nose and my eyes were stuck in the corners but did not have pink eye

.

I drank lots of water which I normally dont do and finally ate something I KNEW would make me writher in pain BUT hey when ya got ta poop ya gotta poop right

I sure hope you feel alot better and sooner than soon my friend
Enough is enough me thinks

Keep us posted when up to it

LYN.

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