Me & My Crohns

It’s been ages since writing my last post. Since then I have been on a honeymoon which spanned 3 countries. I don’t want to brag too much, but it was bloody amazing. The wife and I went to Dubai, then onto Cape Town, ending the trip in Mauritius. These places were incredible, each one with its own unique characteristics. Dubai has the Biggest everything, Cape Town is green and mountainous and Mauritius is a tropical beauty.

The main worry before we went was my health. All of my holidays in the past 3 or 4 years have involved a serious Crohn’s flare up. So in preparation for this holiday I went to see my Doctor. I got a fresh stock of Steroids, added to this was a mix of pain killers, fortisip, Imodium and inhalers. All of these were “just in case” items that would help me cope with a flare up and hopefully make it back to the UK without visiting foreign hospitals.

The doctor wrote out a medical certificate that could be presented to airport officials if required. This was to help avoid the special rubber gloves and the not so glamorous bent over position. The certificate showed my illnesses and medical requirements. I took several photocopies of this document for fear that the airport officials would take one and not return it. Fortunately customs seemed happy and didn’t search me or request any info on the drugs I was carrying. I had put them in my hand luggage for safety and ease of access.

I went with intentions of being good with my food. I didn’t want to temp fate by eating “dangerous” foods. The plan was to stick to easy to digest foods; sticking loosely to a low residue diet. This worked well, up until the first flight. The in-flight meal came. There was an array of foods, not all necessarily tasty looking, but it was complimentary! I watched what I ate, removing things like sweet corn and mushrooms but inevitably some danger foods slipped through. After a week or so I began to feel confident and started trying a few different foods. To be honest, I felt great. I didn’t really have many problems, nothing worse than at home. There was a day in the middle where we ate some fish and both had a dodgy tummy. I don’t count this as a Crohn’s thing though.

One embarrassing point in the holiday was on the return flight home. We had to stop and change planes at Dubai. After getting off the plane and entering the main building I was desperate for the loo. In most of the Dubai toilets there are 2 different types. 1 is your normal kind; the other is a hole in the floor, with grip on the floor for your feet and a handle either side to hold your body weight up. This was the only loo available, and I was desperate. So I used it. Not a great experience; you don’t feel comfortable or confident, plus you have to get the aim perfect or you risk, erm, spillage. Not a dignified experience. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

The day after we got home I had a flare up. It was quite bad, requiring strong painkillers and after seeing the Doctor, a high dose of steroids was started. The IBD nurse seems to think it was the changing pressures inside the plane. She says it affects most people, but having IBD can make it a little worse. I think it is more the stresses of long haul flights and the depressing thought of being back home after such a fantastic holiday.

After a week back at work, Im already wondering when my next break is. Ooh, how lucky, it’s Christmas. About time too!