Dealing with Crohn's

I'd have to say that this has been a memorable year of dealing with Crohn's. I've sure had my ups and downs, more than my share of suffering, as well as more than usual share of procedures, treatments, and medications.

I've felt pretty good since my last Remicade treatment, and I've been pretty successful taking at least two Sucralfate tablets a day. I've only had a couple of painful bowel movement collections, and my energy level has been good. Of course, it has also been nice to have everyone on vacation, so it's been pretty mellow.

In January I've already got another "fun" procedure schedule. Since Crohn's can affect any part of your digestive tact, yep that's right, from your lips to your anus (hey wait a minute, that didn't sound right...) my doctor at the VA Hospital wants to check out my esophagus and stomach. I've never had an endoscopy before, but it sure doesn't sound like fun.

So I keep going, nothing else I really can do. I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible, and take my medications regularly. Who knows, while it could be a lot worse, maybe this is as good as it gets. I think I can deal with that. I still wonder sometimes though, how much better I might feel if I was more successful in mastering my thoughts.

More than any time before, this year I've been actively trying to train my mind. I've done some Yoga, some breathing exercises, and some meditation, but I wonder if I can't do better next year. Like so many other challenges in life, it all boils down to discipline. Not only do I have to have the discipline to make time for regular Yoga and meditation, discipline is also what I most require within my mind.

Recently I watched an interesting video of David Lynch: Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain. In the video he talks mostly about how Transcendental Meditation. I thought it was curious, because I remember as a senior doing a research paper on TM with one of my best friends in high school. He still is, even though we live far from each other. So I've downloaded some audio programs about TM, but I think that TM is something I need to explore in 2010.