I’ve been in what”s considered remission for about two years now. That doesn’t mean I am free of pain or issues, for me, it means I’m not as controlled or immobilized by my Crohn’s as I was in the past.

The last week or so I could tell something was brewing. It started with the odd twinge of pain in my belly and lower back, I started feeling nauseous after I eat and of course, my bathroom schedule changed drastically. Last night that something finally reared its ugly head, and it was bad enough that for the first time in a long time I took pain medication and my old friend Zofran.

I know this won’t last forever (fingers crossed!) although in the midst of a flare it sometimes feels like it will. Today I started Operation Get Back to Feeling Good and thought I’d share what I do to get past a flare and get back on track.

**Please note, this is what works for me, the following are only suggestions and not medical advice. Everyone is different and needs to find what works best for them.**

Rest

When I was first diagnosed, it was really hard for me to just slow down for a day or two to let my body rest. I had been accustomed to doing what I want, when I want and being practically forced to slow down was torture. I have found over the years that if I take even one day and just rest, it can make such a difference in how long a flare will hang on for. Nothing good came from pushing myself to the point of needing to go to the ER, in fact pushing myself often resulted a flare lasting longer.

Adjusting my menu

By this stage, I have a pretty solid list of what I call safe foods that I eat. Mine include; salmon, plain white rice, chicken breast, scrambled eggs, and smoothies (if all else fails). When I feel like a flare is headed my way, I will immediately stick to a few days of safe foods until it passes. If a flare hits me out of nowhere with no notice, until it passes, safe foods it is! If it’s really bad, I will move to a total liquid diet. Let’s just say my Vitamix and I have been quite close at times over the years.

Taking pain medications

I will admit for a long time I was quite resistant to taking pain meds. I had it in my head that taking them meant I was giving in to my disease, almost like it was winning. I had a very wise ER nurse tell me, There is no prize for suffering and that stuck with me. She also told me the longer and more intense you let the pain get, the harder it becomes to get under control; hence my several ER visits in the early stages of my Crohn’s. Now, I have zero problems taking them if I need them.

Heating pad

This is a lifesaver for me! I can’t even tell you how awesome a heating pad on my belly feels when I’m having those dreaded cramps of a flare. Best thing I ever did was invest in a good plugin heating pad. Ok, maybe not one of the best things, but it ranks pretty high up there!

Keeping your fluids up

As much as you don’t want to eat or drink when in pain, force yourself to drink water! Even better, drink something that will replenish your electrolytes because chances are, nothing is hanging around long and everything is running right through you. Dehydration is not fun, and it will end in an ER visit.

At the end of the day, if I can do a few simple things to avoid an ER visit or a hospital stay, count me in!

Talk to your Health Advisor

Pack Health is a great way to figure out what works for you.

Talk to your Health Advisor about what”s working and what’s not working. If you aren”t already tracking, get out your day tracker and start taking note of what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. The more specific you can be, the more specific suggestions they can provide.

They’ve worked with so many different people in such a diverse range of situations, so they get that everyone’s a little different. They’ll take the time to help you find a solution that works for you.  You never know, you may end up with some pretty awesome solutions for that next dreaded flare!