I recently had a flare-up of my Crohn's Disease. For those that aren't aware of the terminology, "flare-up" refers to the fact that my auto-immune disorder became active. For those of you that are aware, you know that this was a very painful and long experience. After this most recent flare, I decided I needed to keep a more detailed and close watch on what was going on in my life. There are so many factors that can lead up to a flare and controlling all of them is nearly impossible. I have found, though, that I can plan out for eventualities. I seem to have hit the proverbial wall with my progress.
With this blog, I will be documenting all of my known flare catalysts. The reason I say "...my known..." is that Crohn's Disease is notorious for not being a very uniform condition. In laying out all of my catalysts, I am hoping that others that suffer can either use the information as a starting point -- and not make my mistakes -- and either affirm or disaffirm whether or not the condition is non-uniform. I already know that my diet, stress, amount of sleep (or lack thereof), and exercise (or lack thereof) play into when I have a flare. Here's hoping I start to find a bigger pattern in how they work together while sharing some of the telltale signs I have learned about myself.