My Side Effects So Far

You can say that many Crohn’s medications are great for you. They are! If your body adapts to them, you can live a semi normal life. I could imagine others who take medication suffer from side effects that are terrible. Here are a few terrible side effects that I have encountered so far.

My side effects so far...

• My eye sight- Over the last ten years, my eye sight has gotten considerably worse. I cant count how many times my prescription for my eye glasses has changed. This has become incredibly expensive as I had to get new glasses more than once.
• Cataracts- I know I spoke about this before, but I do have to get my cataracts done. I recently visited the eye doctor and she told me that I was not ready yet, because the cataracts were not ripe yet. Soon I will have surgery to have them removed. I received cataracts because of my long period use of steroids for inflammatory bowel disease.
• Stretch marks- This is an interesting one. I look down at my waist line, and I see stretch marks on both sides. How did they get there? They are not attractive, I will tell you that! I reached out to a dermatologist recently, and he said that it was normal for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He said it could have been from the extreme weight loss, some one hundred pounds I lost in just a few months. He then said it could have been from the steroid use.
• Osteoporosis- My bone density at one point was so bad. I was bed ridden for so many months, that they calcium that was between my bones was non existent. I had to go for injections once every six months to reverse the Osteoporosis.  This was extremely hard to handle, because I was very athletic before I got sick. I was in very good shape, and it hurt me when the doctor said, “You have bones like an eighty year old!.” For one year I visited a doctor who hooked me up to an IV. This medication helped me get rid of the osteoporosis. I am happy to report that my recent Dexa Exam has came back negative!
• Tooth Decay- Many of you have wrote about this, but I wanted to give you my input about this issue.  I had great teeth as a kid.  I took care of them, and never had a cavity.  After I started my medications for Crohn’s, I noticed such decay in my teeth and gums. I found myself going back to the dentist to get major work done on my mouth. He said that it was linked with the medications I was taking to help with my Crohn’s. My dentist has got me visiting him every four months, instead of every eight months. He wants to make sure that I don’t fall behind with my teeth. It is expensive but I have to do what I have to do.