Cystic Fibrosis is a respiratory and digestive disease. It affects the lungs and pancreas more than anything else. It affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. It causes these fluids to become thick and sticky. They then plug up tubes, ducts, and passageways. But there are other things that it affects too. Here is a short list of some things that it also affects and how it affects me:
-Growth failure: A lot of us CF'ers are short. Most of us are only 4'11 to 5'1.
-Vitamin deficiency: I have to take several vitamins in order to get my vitamin A, D, E, & K.
-Sinuses: I know a lot of us have to have sinus surgery. Our sinuses just get stopped up and it makes it hard to breathe.
-Liver: I have been having liver problems lately. I don't know what's going on and what can happen with your liver.
-Bones (such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and clubbing in the fingers): I have arthritis and clubbing in the fingers. Clubbed fingers look like this:
Mine aren't that bad.
-Intestines (such as Appendicitis and smelly bowels): I have also had appendicitis and your bowels can smell pretty nasty.
-Lungs: Trouble breathing, low lung function, bronchitis, pneumonia
-Heart: I haven't had any heart problems that I know of
-Spleen: Nothing with my spleen either
-Stomach: I have to take replacement enzymes. While you were born with enzymes in your body, CF patients weren't.
-Pancreas (such as diabetes): I have CFRD. Cystic Fibrosis related Diabetes. It is type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
-Reproductive (such as infertility and delayed puberty): I don't know if I'm infertile. I am currently getting checked for it. I also had delayed puberty. I didn't start my menstrual period until I was 15 years old. That's kind of late for a normal female.
SYMPTOMS:
Can include cough, repeated lung infections, inability to gain weight, and fatty stools. The main signs and symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis are salty-tasting skin, poor growth, and poor weight gain despite normal food intake, accumulation of thick, sticky mucus, frequent chest infections, and coughing or shortness of breath.
As you can see, we go through a lot. Cystic Fibrosis is a life-threatening disease. Sometimes resulting in double lung transplants or worse case scenario, death.
There is currently no cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
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