Sharon

Today I am grateful that things are going well with me. My name is Sharon and I have three children, 25,21, and 18. I also have three grandchildren, 3,2, and 1.....all in the same family. My husband and I will have been married for thirty years in September.

My symptoms of CREST vary from day to day. I have taken Procardia for circulation associated with Reynaud's, but am now on Norvasc. I like taking Procardia, because it made me feel warm. I had to change due to swelling and increased heart rate. In 1997, I had a liver biopsy and my esophagus was dilated; this helped me tremendously to swallow and even breathe. My gastrologist put me on Colestid to help me eat food. I don't know why, but, before I could not eat anything without getting very sick and having diarrhea. Now, I can eat anything as long as I take the medicine everyday. My liver and spleen hurt if I am under stress, so, changes have been made in my lifestyle to avoid stress. However, if I lie around, I become very inflamed inside, so, I try to stay occupied and busy. I take Naproxen for inflamation. My hands swell and my finger joints ache at times, but, I take some ibuprophen and try to forget about it.

My days are probably no different from anyone else's, except I may take a few more medications to treat symptoms than they do. But, I have been actively involved in my church and church-school ministry until this year. My husband now has a job that takes us to different places, so I get to enjoy sights that I have never seen before. We are living in a RV while traveling, which makes it difficult for me to get any exercise. If I don't get active, I become very inflamed inside. As a matter of fact, I usually wake up tremendously sore across my kidneys, liver, and spleen. But, after getting up and getting busy, the soreness usually goes away.

Other symptoms include itching on my face. I think sometimes that I could scratch the hide off! The only thing that I have found to make the itching subside is Elocon, which contains cortisone. I, also, have to treat indigestion frequently, and probably need to go in for dilation of the esophagus again.

Despite these annoyances, I still fish, sew, love plants, collect dolls, coins, and stamps, cook and clean (though limited, Ha!), babysit my grandchildren, and go with my husband to various places--(Right now, we're living by New Orleans and have a lot to do and see.) My favorite place to be is at our church in our hometown. I have found the grace of God to be sufficient to endure anything. He will never leave me nor forsake me.

GSharonAnn@aol.com