My journey with CF began 21 years ago. I was diagnosed shortly after I was born, when the life expectancy of a patient with CF was in the mid-30s, and that was if I was one of the “lucky” ones. Today, however, advances in CF care have been life-changing for those who once feared what their tomorrow would look like. As a 21-year-old CF patient, I am thrilled and proud to say I look forward to many tomorrows and am filled with joy just thinking about how blessed I am. Looking back just five years ago however, things were not as hopeful.
In October 2019, I was 17 years old and having serious health issues — frequent hospitalizations, dozens of antibiotics, hours of daily chest therapy, and finding every little way to improve my health that I could with little or no success.
It was my senior year of high school and I decided to do cross-country in the fall. I heard about the great benefits of running with CF, and while I saw improvements in my lung function, despite my best efforts, I still had trouble fighting off lung infections.
I ended up in the hospital for a two-week duration to help fight off the chronic lung infection. After two weeks of IV antibiotics, I was discouraged to find out my lung function was no better when I left than it was upon my admission, and the bacteria in my lungs was still present. It was a hard truth that I was beginning to accept. For the next two months I did everything I was supposed to do to stay healthy, but in reality, I was the furthest thing from healthy.
The next month, I had slowly been coming to terms with the fact that there’s only so much I can do, and so I put my health in the hands of God. But then, the greatest blessing and miracle of my life showed up literally at my front door: a medicine called Trikafta®. In the first couple months, I experienced all the typical side effects that I heard others with CF experienced, like daily headaches and a very productive cough that lasted a few days. I didn't mind them, however, because I was finally able to breathe with a little more ease and not fall into a full-blown coughing fit whenever I laughed too hard or talked too much.
Fast forward almost a year later, in August 2020, I began experiencing a new and persistent side effect: digestive issues. While it is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of this symptom, it affected my daily life and, to this day, I have yet to be certain on why I have been experiencing this. What is this side effect? To be completely candid, for the past three years I have taken daily laxatives due to chronic constipation. I have seen my fair share of specialists, ER visits, and tried anything I could that might bring relief. While my lungs were feeling great, my digestive system was not doing so hot.
By December 2021, I was still experiencing chronic stomach issues, but I put them aside because I was just thankful to have healthy and working lungs. I continued making my health a priority and beginning to run again was one way to do just that.
To be honest, finding the motivation to run was very hard. Although it was easier than it was during my senior year when I did cross-country, it was definitely still a struggle. Trikafta helped make running easier, but it still comes with plenty of challenges. There wasn't a run that I was able to complete without using my inhaler or stopping for a walking break. But regardless, I was proud to be running and even began to enjoy it. I set my stomach issues aside, stopped trying to solve them, and, instead, became content with temporary solutions. They were like a Band-Aid, not truly resolving my issues.
Now as I’m writing this it’s June 2023 and I have been consistently running for my workouts. I want to push myself a little harder to give myself a challenge. Over the past two years, I would run a couple miles and call it good. I never made it much farther, but I was just happy to be running.
Currently, however, I have two new goals. First, I want to figure out the “why” behind my stomach issues and stop covering them with a quick fix. My second goal is to run a half marathon.
I’m not concerned with how long either of these goals take me to reach, but I am determined to continue working towards them.
I have done everything “right,” so to speak, when it comes to my gut issues, and have been back and forth about the possibility of Trikafta being the culprit. With that said, I spoke with my CF care team, and we decided it wouldn't be a bad idea if I took a break from taking Trikafta to see if it would benefit my digestive system. After only five days of not taking this medicine, I noticed a slight increase in cough, but my constipation somehow got worse. While I was only off Trikafta for five days, my care team encouraged me to begin taking it again so that my cough doesn’t get out of hand and my stomach doesn’t get any worse.
It's hard to say whether Trikafta could be causing my chronic constipation or if there is something else going on. I rely on communication with other members of the CF community to hear other perspectives and experiences in hopes that others may help uncover an answer for me.
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