tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1340161811250570390.post2676172223358743586..comments2023-11-09T00:58:20.810-08:00Comments on My Baglady Life: Every CloudThe Bagladyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08752404476908925675noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1340161811250570390.post-91180333849323165522012-11-30T12:35:02.750-08:002012-11-30T12:35:02.750-08:00Wendy, I haven't experienced Crohn's but I...Wendy, I haven't experienced Crohn's but I have had cancer, and I can identify with the short-lived euphoria, wanting to do everything all at once because I'm better. Which may or may not be true - I still have four years' worth of annual checks before I can be told,officially, that I'm no more likely, statistically, ( bugger statistics) to get another cancer than anyone who's never had it. So I'm not actually "cured", they won't use that word for another 4 years - if then.<br />So it's limbo-land for me, not ill, not "well", though I feel great and everyone tels me how well I look. I think it's a kind of relief/reassurance for them actually to see someone who had lung cancer, surgery and chemo and is still here to tell the tale.<br />Any high spirits I may inadvertently display can largely be attributd to the SSRIs I've been taking for over 15 years. I tried to go cold turkey & nearly went barmy - I became a total bitch, a shrieking old bat. That'll teach me. Apparently it's the withdrawal that can turn you into a murderer. It has to be a managed withdrawal, a miiligramme at a time over months, apparently. At my age I don't think it's worth the hassle. <br />During the cancer treatment some people tilted their heads and told me how brave I was. I longed to say it wasn't courage, I just didn't have a bloody choice if I wanted to stay alive. So Wendy I can empathise a bit. You just get on with it, don't you? That's life, as they say. And Spike is gorgeous. anniecross1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1340161811250570390.post-49469196762052785882012-11-30T12:14:52.533-08:002012-11-30T12:14:52.533-08:00Oh, how familiar all this is! The underlying reaso...Oh, how familiar all this is! The underlying reason that patients like us - either as Crohnies or as depressed patients - are so misunderstood by other people is that their status quo is to be healthy. If they're not, then that's an ephemeral anomaly. They bounce back to their status quo and get on with life. They are incapable of comprehending what it's like for one's status quo to be miserable, where the feeling good part is the anomaly.<br /><br />Moreover, society has conditioned us to reject complaining. The funny part is, it's because of people like us that other people were originally admonished about their complaining. "There's always someone who has it worse," they say. And yes, there are plenty who have it worse than you or me, but relatively speaking we're the ones that the idiom references. We're the ones that healthy people are supposed to think about the next time they're annoyed their kids don't keep their rooms clean or that the neighbor slacks on mowing his lawn.<br /><br />I've suffered from chronic depression since long before I developed Crohn's, so I have a sort of unusual experience. I can't blame the depression on Crohn's, though certainly my experiences with Crohn's have armed the depression. I originally kept as much of it all to myself as I could. Eventually, though, I realized that short of scientific breakthroughs, the most important thing for any of us is for the general population to better understand us. That's something I <i>could</i> work on, simply by sharing my stories.<br /><br />I'm sure there are some who think I'm egocentric and just want me to shut up about Crohn's and depression, but I also know that I've personally affected how some people view patients like us - some of them, other patients themselves. That makes me feel useful, and I'm sure you know yourself how valuable that is.Travis S. McClainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15774869483357940473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1340161811250570390.post-77044725728202096142012-11-30T06:41:28.119-08:002012-11-30T06:41:28.119-08:00Usman Mehboob poke your bags where the sun don'...Usman Mehboob poke your bags where the sun don't shine!<br /><br />Glad Spike is enlivening the household!Helen Lashbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14806155400041511316noreply@blogger.com