Bored

Introduction:

I’m rather ridiculous and fun. I love to laugh. I have a great group of friends who I love spending time with. I’m a high school teacher. 32. I love learning and growing in my personal life. I’m a born-again Christian. I like the colour purple. I’ve been out of commission for the past 7 weeks and am starting to go a little crazy.

Colitis Symptoms:

I’m currently exploring the double plus ungood experience of c-diff colitis, combined with a possible uc flare, gout-ishness, and waiting for the results of a mono test.

My Colitis:

I’ve been living back at my parents for the past 7 weeks and they are taking excellent care of me. I was diagnosed with very severe Ulcerative Colitis during my university years (about 8 years ago). I was optimistic and switched doctors when the original specialist told me they’d be removing my colon soon. I structured my eating around my class schedule, carried a change of clothes and rarely missed a day of school. I’d pretty much go to class and come home and crash in agony. Most of my friends had no idea what I was going through. Prednisone did it’s job (aka make me fat and happy) and I mostly just had minor to medium flares for the next 8 years. I revamped my diet, took my meds, explored natural medicine, and survived quite nicely. Typically resting my digestive tract and body enabled me to recover quickly so I wouldn’t suffer too badly for more than a week. I tend to forget unpleasant things and would consider myself a healthy person (in between flares).

This past September I had a lymphatic infection that I had to take antibiotics for. Within a week I was down with what I thought was a horrible flare of UC. You know the type where you poop 50 times a day and it’s mostly blood and pus. I hate hospitals but ended up in the hospital one night to make sure that my colon was intact due to severe pain. Things didn’t seem to be lining up and I didn’t understand how this flare had come on so suddenly. I was sitting staring at the Prednisone pills my specialist prescribed me when I decided that this just didn’t feel right. I ended up testing positive for c-diff and started treatment for that. The Flagyl they had me on made me wish I was on Prednisone instead. It had brutal side effects. I finished the course, but the C-diff is quite stubborn so now I’m supposed to take Vancomycin for C-diff colitis. My doctor called me this week to let me know that my uric levels are high (I’ve had a kidney stone before so I’m hoping not to add that into the mix) and then later to ask me to get my cbc done again since I might also have mono as well. (Hey, why not add that into the mix, right?)

I’m normally an insanely busy person with a very active social life. I teach spec ed teens full time, work out, and am very involved with my church. I’ve never been out of commission for this long in my life and man, does it take a mental toll! I normally don’t watch a lot of TV or have time to sit around, but now that’s all I do. (I think I’ve literally watched more TV in the past 7 weeks than in the past 7 years. Anyway, I don’t talk to a lot of people with UC and I’m bored. I’m most concerned about UC taking over my life and becoming a reclusive, pessimistic hermit. Okay not really, but seriously, sitting in my house gets old….

Where I’d like to be in 1 year:

Well today I was supposed to be doing the CN Tower stair climb with a friend that I did it with last year, but obviously that isn’t an option due to my current situation. So next year, I’d like to be doing the climb, in great physical shape and even beating my time from last year. I’d like to be healthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Colitis Medications:

I’ve taken Asacol since diagnosis. I don’t know if it even helps to be honest, but I’m scared to go off it. I think it makes my hair fall out though, which is annoying.
I took prednisone in my worst flare. It worked great and was worth the weight gain (okay, the face weight gain. haha).
I’m currently doing a heavy dosage of antibiotics in an attempt to avoid other meds.

written by Mandi