Day 2
#HAWMC Day 2
Day 2 of the 30 day challenge is about the disease I struggled with. In 2004 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis an auto immune disease that causes ulcers to form on the colon and large intestine. It's mean, it's nasty and it's extremely painful. These little ulcers can cause quite a bit of damage and have lots of very cruel side effects. For instance: explosive diarrhea or constipation, severe abdominal cramps, bleeding (sometimes more blood than poop), internal inflammation of the intestines, joint pain (sometimes debilitating!), skin problems, eye problems, loss of hair, mouth ulcers, hmmmmm...what else? Oh, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, nausea, depression... And that's NOT including side effects from the medications and treatments prescribed to help control the disease.
So after 7 years of various treatments: Asacol, Azathioprine, Corticol enemas, massive doses of Prednisone, and finally Remicade, my body stopped responding and I landed in the hospital with a flare that would prove to be the final straw. It was time to remove the colon and all of the large intestine. The disease had taken over this part of my body and was relentless.
I've blogged about the progression of my UC through out it's course as well as my struggle with depression. My first posting "Abundant Life" was about UC and how I came to blog. (I'd post the link but I'm doing this from my iPad and am evidently too dumb to figure out how.) Most of my postings are about living with chronic illness, joint pain or depression. A few other postings that may be of interest are: "Gut Rumbles and Liquid Diets" "The Color of Pain" "Clinical vs Emotional" "That Darn Colon" Waiting To Exhale" and " Life As I Know It". You can also search by labels: ulcerative colitis, depression, ileostomy.
This was actually yesterday's posting but we've been traveling and I didn't get it finished. Better late than never...
Day 2 of the 30 day challenge is about the disease I struggled with. In 2004 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis an auto immune disease that causes ulcers to form on the colon and large intestine. It's mean, it's nasty and it's extremely painful. These little ulcers can cause quite a bit of damage and have lots of very cruel side effects. For instance: explosive diarrhea or constipation, severe abdominal cramps, bleeding (sometimes more blood than poop), internal inflammation of the intestines, joint pain (sometimes debilitating!), skin problems, eye problems, loss of hair, mouth ulcers, hmmmmm...what else? Oh, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, nausea, depression... And that's NOT including side effects from the medications and treatments prescribed to help control the disease.
So after 7 years of various treatments: Asacol, Azathioprine, Corticol enemas, massive doses of Prednisone, and finally Remicade, my body stopped responding and I landed in the hospital with a flare that would prove to be the final straw. It was time to remove the colon and all of the large intestine. The disease had taken over this part of my body and was relentless.
I've blogged about the progression of my UC through out it's course as well as my struggle with depression. My first posting "Abundant Life" was about UC and how I came to blog. (I'd post the link but I'm doing this from my iPad and am evidently too dumb to figure out how.) Most of my postings are about living with chronic illness, joint pain or depression. A few other postings that may be of interest are: "Gut Rumbles and Liquid Diets" "The Color of Pain" "Clinical vs Emotional" "That Darn Colon" Waiting To Exhale" and " Life As I Know It". You can also search by labels: ulcerative colitis, depression, ileostomy.
This was actually yesterday's posting but we've been traveling and I didn't get it finished. Better late than never...
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