Dana’s Autoimmune Story

MEET DANA

My name is Dana, and I have severe Crohn’s Disease. I live in St. Louis and am married to my wonderful husband Micah. He is currently attending the seminary here to become a pastor, so that paints a pretty big picture about my faith! I am currently an occupational therapist working in a pediatric clinic. My kiddos are what keep me going when my body tries to protest!

 DIAGNOSIS

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease circa 2010 after a wisdom tooth extraction and brutal round of prescription Motrin. This set off my symptoms majorly and landed me in the hospital for a few days. I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy completed while I was there, as well as a blood transfusion due to severe anemia. They prescribed me Prednisone, and being the naive high schooler that I was, I thought this would be a magic pill that would solve all my problems. Boy was I wrong!! The next few years were an up and down battle, eventually leading me to start Remicade, which put me into remission. However, I developed some severe side effects which forced me to stop the drug. I also had a partial colectomy surgery to remove about 10 inches of my colon that had become sticturized.

Following Remicade, I flared badly and began Entyvio. This helped for a few months before I eventually failed the drug. My GI then switched me to Humira, which worked wonderfully for almost two years. I then failed that too! I’m currently on Stelara, which seems to be doing nothing for me. I am also following the specific carbohydrate diet (which I’m convinced at least keeps me out of the hospital), but it just isn’t doing enough for me. I need all the support and community I can get through this group! 🙂

 LIFE CHANGE

Decreased social life, unable to be as active as I like, and so much pain/sadness. 🙁

 HEALING

Specific carbohydrate diet, supplements, biologic medications.

 STRUGGLE

Pain and inflammation, as well as grieving my “healthy” body.

INSPIRATION

You can’t heal in the same environment where you got sick!

It’s helped me realize I need to be kind to myself and decrease stress to ensure the environment around me is not toxic!

Find Dana | @danaliveswhole