How to stay positive??? Need some tips

[collagastritis84]

OK, so it feels good not to be the only young person affected with this condition, Olivia Is in her 20's as well. Its really been giving me me a lot of grief, this year has been rough to say the least. I never feel like going out and I'm always dead tired after work. I just hate the feeling of being out somewhere and starting to feel ill away from home. I think this illness combined with not wanting to go out and be social has started to make me pretty depressed. Also the anxiety from trying to get a proper diagnosis and the DR's not knowing what was going on hasn't helped. Thank God for my girlfriend! Although she doesn't really understand what i'v been going through, she has been pretty supportive in general. Once i start feeling better i think i'm gonna propose to her. I guess the biggest thing for me mentally is just staying positive. Can anyone chime in with tips for staying positive?

[Joefnh]

It is hard to stay positive when you feeling like you are. First you have stumbled across probably the best site on the web for support. The people here are second to none, and have helped me immensely. While I am not as young as you are (44 now) this started 12 years ago and it was not until this April that I finally had a diagnosis and treatment.

I am not sure if you have received any treatment yet given no diagnosis. That has to be your first goal, a diagnosis so that treatment can be started. Remember if you are not getting anywhere with your doctor, look for another. Learn about this disease and the treatments, having your research in hand when you see your doctor can help.

Diet is a key part of managing (remember managing not curing) this disease is the diet. Most of us are gluten sensitive and there are others that are also sensitive to dairy products . Even with the Entocort I noticed that the diet plays as much of a role as the medication does.

I lost 12 years of my life, basically like you coming home after work and falling down. It was not until I made significant dietary changes with a simplified gluten free diet and started the Entocort that I am finally starting feeling human again, not perfect yet, but it is amazing.

Staying positive is key and really living day to day will make a difference. Some days are better than others and on those days take pleasure in what you can do and enjoy it, an incredibly kind friend has recently helped me realize this fact. I am an engineer and a perfectionist 2 things that do not go well with chronic diseases. I am learning to relax and enjoy the small victories.

Take Care

--Joe

[tex]

Hope is the key that can lead you out of the pit of depression. Lemme tell you why:

Like you, I found that going to doctors, suffering through seemingly endless tests, and then being told that there was nothing wrong with me, when I knew damn well that I was as sick as a dog, (where did that strange saying originate,anyway?), was extremely depressing. It's the hopelessness that makes it depressing. I just assumed that I was doomed to live that way, for the rest of my life, because the best medical experts that I could find, couldn't find any reason for my symptoms. So I gave up on them, and went home to suffer in solitude.

Then one day, while reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, about the predicted uses for the then-new "pill camera", it dawned on me what my problem might be - namely, gluten sensitivity. At that moment, hope was born in my mind, and my attitude totally changed. From that moment on, even though it took a year and a half on the diet, before I saw remission, I never again felt depressed - because I had hope. Microscopic colitis/gluten-sensitivity exists in the digestive system, and it affects the entire body, but the solution to depression is in the mind, and that solution is in the form of hope. You can get your life back.

Incidentally, our youngest member is now 3, and enjoying life, symptom free.

Tex

[ant]

Positive thoughts....

I do not eat junk food anymore
I appreciate what food I eat more than ever
I have learned to cook
I have learned who my real friends are
I have been motivated to learn more about medicine and science
My eyes have been opened to Big Pharma and Big Farmer issues
Unlike many who suffer I at least know I have MC
I have "met" so many great people on this site
I have become more spiritual in my attitude to what life is about

all best, ant

[Joefnh]

Ant & Tex

Well Put


--Joe

[harma]

I agree with Joe, ant and tex well said. Tex I have no idea where the expression sick as a dog comes from, I only know it is a very common expression in Dutch too. When you feel awful and when really ill, literally translated "I feel sick as a dog"

[Gabes-Apg]

you are - what you are ... you have to accept the good, and the not soo good of that package!
once you accept that you have this condition with its perceived limitations, come up with diet and management techniques that give you quality of life, it will not seem soo bad.

live in the now, today. dont think about what life was months ago, dont worry about the future.

if you are feeling fantastic then get out there and do what you love, if you are feeling a bit poorly then rest and look afteryourself.

and ditto to what Ant said!

[JoAnn]

Thanks Tex and others on this thread for the positive reminders. Learning to manage your mc is a long haul and it's good to hear encouragement along the way whether you're a rookie or a veteran dealing with this. HOPE is the essential ingredient and this board is overflowing with it and shares it with everyone in need. I am amazed at the wisdom and compassion that so many share to help us all manage this. Thank you again, JoAnn

[collagastritis84]

Thanks for your support and words of encouragement..This board has been great, still "sick as a dog" but i do have days that are better then others. Once my dr and I get my diet and medications figured out i should be on the road to recovery.