Hello everyone!
I hope everyone is doing well! It’s the beginning of a new year and I thought I would give you a little update on the things that went on with me throughout the 2025 year. I am still doing well with the Skyrizi, but I have picked up something along the way that happened as a result of continuous use of steroids for my Crohn’s Disease.
While I was feeling well due to the Skyrizi, I took a chance and booked a few vacations. The first vacation that we went on was to Las Vegas. My husband and I went with 12 other people from a club that we’re both members of (Shiloh Eagles). One of our activities while we there was to go UTV riding in the desert. We had a great time, however, on the way back to the hotel, we almost died (literally). The shuttle bus driver that took us to the place in the desert, an hour away, decided he didn’t want to wait in the traffic that was stopped so he took to the shoulder of the highway! He drove several miles on the shoulder of the road, with a steep drop-off going 80 miles an hour! Everyone was screaming at him to stop but he just ignored us. When we got to the hotel safely, we just got off the bus and didn’t give him a tip. Later, a couple of us girls emailed the company to let them know what happened. Not sure what happened to the guy but I hope he isn’t driving the shuttle bus still! When I showed Bella some of the pictures of the ride, she just looked at me and laughed and told me not to wear that shirt again. I didn’t realize it, but I wore a sleeveless shirt and said, “But did you die” on the front! I think I may have jinxed us all!
The next vacation was to Gatlinburg, TN. Bella and I went on early morning hikes every day. It was so relaxing to be in nature. Somewhere along the line, one of my knees locked up for the rest of the trip and my sinuses kicked in. I believe it has something to do with the altitude or something. This isn’t the first time my knee was fine when I left, but locks up when I get to a higher altitude. When I got home, my knee and sinuses went back to normal. We did, however, have a bear intrusion. The last night we were at the cabin, we seen a bear walking on our front porch. The next morning, I woke up and looked outside to make sure the bear was gone. I seen that 2 of my car doors were wide open and it was raining. There was another car there also and 1 of her car doors were open as well. I went outside only to discover that a bear had been in my car!! My car seats and interior was covered in mud, however, nothing was scratched or broken, just very muddy! I didn’t have any food in my car but some gum he must have smelled. I’m still amazed (and thankful) that he opened my doors and pittled around in my car without leaving a scratch inside or out!
When I got home, I decided to go to the doctor to fix the things that I had put on the back burner until my Crohn’s got better. One of the problems was the muscle in my upper back continued to tense up and not go back down. It just stayed tense all the time on my left side. I was tested but short of having surgery to fix it, there isn’t anything else I can do for it. I did physical therapy but it didn’t work either. I do have a gadget that I place around my neck that has electrical pulses and heat on it and that seems to help some.
I also seen a Gynecologist to check my hormones. Long story short (kinda), I was put on estrogen but had to get off of it after using it for a month because I started bleeding heavily for 3 weeks straight and I’m in post- menopause. I did have a small scare because the doctor wanted me to do an ultrasound and biopsy to rule out endometrial cancer. Great! After the ultrasound came back normal, they didn’t do a biopsy but still don’t know why I bled like that. I should have left this one alone because it caused me more stress than anything.
The doctor also wanted me to get a bone density test because I hadn’t had one in a few years. The last few I have had came back Osteopenia. Well, guess what? I now have Osteoporosis in my spine and hips. I was 54 years old and was diagnosed with Osteoporosis…bummer. The reason why I have this earlier in my life is because the steroids I take for my Crohn’s is eating up my bones! I gained another doctor now. The doctor told me that she wanted me to take this medicine to build my bone back up and then I can maintain it after it’s built up. It sounded like a good plan to me until I found out what that consisted of. Now I have to take a shot a day in the stomach for a year or two, then a shot every few months to maintain it. They will check me again in a year to see if I need to continue the build up or can discontinue it. Man, I definitely wasn’t ready for this one!
I’m afraid to go get things checked out now! Every time I do, they find something else wrong with me!
An update regarding my health while in 2026 while finishing up this blog:
I am feeling the all too familiar signs of my Crohn’s Disease wanting to return. I have had some stress these past few weeks and I believe it may be catching up with me. I’m still feeling optimistic and I’m trying to nip this in the bud (if I can) before it gets full-blown. At the beginning of this week (2/23/26), I have been experiencing lots of gas, bloating and increased diarrhea. It has been keeping me awake during the night also. I have had anxiety with this because I feel I can’t go to places that are quiet anymore due to my gassiness. For anyone who has a stoma, you know you cannot control this and it can “go off” at anytime without too much warning. I have been in contact with my doctor but of course the weekend came around too soon and I won’t get any communication from her until Monday. Please say I little prayer for me as I try and control this before it gets too out of hand. She did mention a taper of steroids so hopefully this will help. For those who still have their health, be very thankful. This disease, or any other disease will change your life forever. Being unhealthy is like being on an emotional roller coaster. When you feel bad, you can experience anxiety, depression, numbness, hopelessness, abandonment, etc..When you are feeling good, you do all you can to feel “normal” again. When I am feeling good, I tend to overdo it because I know how feeling bad feels and I know I won’t be able to do the things that makes me happy, for the most part of it. It’s a viscous cycle, unfortunately. I’ll get off my soapbox now and start taking this disease one day at a time again.
Chow for now,
Kelly