Introduction:
My name is Yolanda and I am 36 years old. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 1997 when I was 23, so I’ve been dealing with this disease for awhile.
My Story:
I started off like alot of young people, in college pursuing my education in Nursing. I was working my way through school as a medical assistant and eventually got a job in a hospital. Then,in 2002 the UC flare up’s got soo bad, I quit the hospital and became a high school teacher. They say those that can’t do….teach. So I taught medical courses… which I loved, I got married and had a child, life was looking good. In 2008, I started noticing I was getting “joint pain” as the doctors called it, in my ankles and hands. My gastro thought it was more like muscle cramps from lack of potassium, since I, just like so many other patients with Ulcerative Colitis had 10 to 20 bathroom visits a day. She told me to drink a bottle of gatorade a day to stay hydrated. So, I did… but achiness persisted and migrated to ALL OF MY JOINTS.. after a few months I was in so much pain I went to a rhematologist (on my own) and was diagnosed with Colitis associated Peripheral Arthritis. I was like a yo-yo, none of the doctors knew how to treat it, so I ended up in the hospital for a week with pancreatitis(overload of the pancreas), due to the Imuran which was increased. Long story short…does anyone else out there have this? I now have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and just recently “retired” from teaching due to all these complications.
Medications:
I have tried so many medications over the years: Prednisone, Asacol, Remicade, Methotexate,Tramadol, Imuran, Humira, Neurontin… I feel like a guinea pig, since doctors don’t know what to give me. I don’t want to be on any more meds, the side effects are sometimes worse than the treatment. I am looking into holisitic treatment and have changed my diet.
-Yoli
Yoli’s story is now entered into the 2011 Ulcerative Colitis Writing Contest!!!
You Can Join too, click here for details
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My name is Yolanda, and I am 36 years old. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis in 1997 when I was 23, so I’ve been dealing with this disease for awhile.
