loveandcf

So now that we have established the core parts of CF lets talk the “other” parts of CF

The things you can and will find if you search “complications of Cystic Fibrosis” will be along the lines of Respiratory complications,  Nutritional complications and Reproductive complications. Much like my last post this blog is not about what you can already find but about my personal experience and opinion. CF is a very complex and misunderstood disease, it takes time, a whole lot of reading, asking questions and it is not something I can explain in 1,2 or even 5 post so know now that this blog will be broken down in many many post and it will take many detours from the original path but that’s what is necessary when attempting to explain or give a better understanding of something as complex an CF.

When you hear lung infection you automatically know that’s not good but again its a bit more complex than that. When a CF patient hears lung infection here’s some of the things they get to think about.  Aspergillus- A nasty fungus that’s present in everyday life, harmless to most people, impossible to avoid and detrimental to 15 % of CF patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa- Most common recurring bacteria in CF patients, near impossible to get rid of and responsible for 60% of deaths in CF patients, Burkholderia cepacia- I call this the “devil germ”  its a group of bacteria that is found naturally in wet dirt, soil and rotten plants. This bacteria is possibly one of the greater of the many evils and leads to damaging lung infections and deterioration of lung function. MRSA- common bacteria that normally lives on the skin or in nasal passages and can enter the body easily through a cut or sore causing major staph infection for most CF patients. All of these germs and bacterias just add insult to injury so to speak. Now that you see what we thought was just a already scary lung infection is an even scarier, nastier lung infection let me tell you that when a CF patient is growing most of the above germs then not only feel worse than normal but they cant be around other CF patients in fear of spreading the germ. Sounds kind of crappy huh? But what I didn’t express is that some if not all of their closest friends are in fact of CF patients. Selfish..I told ya. CF is now not only taking their breath but its resisting treatment and secluding them from their friends.

CF don’t stop here though.                                                                                                                                                               Due to thick mucus secretions that clog or “stop up” the ducts in your pancreas fats and proteins don’t reach the intestines meaning gaining weight is often a up hill or loosing battle. Sounds so good don’t it “Eat whatever and stay thin” well how does feeding tube sound? In my household the worst issue with eating is when hunger is just not present. It don’t matter if your hungry or not. You must eat and you must eat excessive amounts to attempt to maintain a healty weight. The pancreas is also a huge affected area in most CF patients. Because the pancreas controls the level of sugar in your blood, up to one in five people with CF may develop cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. So now they eat, eat, eat and have to take insulin, insulin, insulin. In addition, the bile duct, the duct that carries bile from your liver and gallbladder to your small intestine, may become blocked, causing  liver problems. Now we are up to scary lung infection, secluded from friends, eating until you could pop, giving shots of insulin and possibly on the fast track to a no good liver. Shall we keep gonging?

CF goes into a personal zone and affects the reproductive system. The same thick mucus secretions I mentioned above also block the tube connecting the testes and prostate gland making many CF men infertile. However certain fertility methods and surgical procedures may sometimes make it possible for men with CF to reproduce. Women with CF may be less fertile than other women, it’s possible for them to conceive and to have successful pregnancies but not without the chance of affecting up the symptoms and causing great risk. Here we are again with a simple solution right?  Take birth control. Oh except I forgot to add most oral contraceptives aggravate certain symptoms of CF. So is the right path to take the path that says you can not naturally conceive a child because of CF. The same CF that has caused the scary lung infection, temporarily kept some of your friends away, made you eat when your not even hungry, made you give yourself shots and is messing with your liver?

Where will it end?

Check back tomorrow for part 3 =)

XoX

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