Quickie Update

Well, my bowels seem to finally be recovering from Aunt Flo's latest catastrophic visit, knock on wood.  Last Saturday I began taking my 5mg of Prednisone every other day, and so far things are stable enough (although not perfect by any stretch).  I've definitely been pooping more, and the results have dropped from 4 to 5 on the Bristol stool chart, but I can probably blame myself for that.  I've been in kind of a foul mood, and haven't wanted to think about the IBD much, so I've been neglecting the blog and Twitter as a result- this is very irresponsible of me since I keep this blog as a way of keeping myself in line. I'm supposed to come here and confess the IBD "sins" I've committed- like drinking coffee on the weekends and eating too much junk food.  Then I'm supposed to feel guilty and atone for my sins by behaving (can you tell I was raised Catholic?).  Basically what I'm saying is that I've been making stupid food choices this week, and that's probably playing a role in the decline of my pooh quality.

My hair is still constantly shedding, and I've had some new joint problems this week.  My right wrist has been giving me trouble (this may simply be due to computer use) and my heels/Achilles tendons have been stiff to the extent that I limp when I walk.  I'm hoping these new issues will go away as the Prednisone works its way out of my body, but I might check in with my doc next week just in case. 

And that's all for now, folks.  More to come (eventually)...

Let's Talk About the "Other" Hole

At the risk of alienating some of my male readers, it's time to talk about the 'gina.  Specifically why I hate having one, and what it's like to gush from two holes at the same time.  I hope you're not eating while reading this.

I've always noticed a correlation between my monthly "gift" and my gut problems, but this time around it's much more of a pronounced bond the two share.  I'm actually home from work today because I was up all night with the trots.  Well, that's an exaggeration, I got up thrice to poop, but I've got firehole as though I'd been going all night.  I was having issues all last week and was cramping so bad yesterday I ran to the gym on my lunch break to do a few yoga poses. For the record, cobra and bow pose are great for lady pains.  

I was actually supposed to taper my Prednisone to 5mg every other day starting last week, but I knew Hurricane Flo was on the horizon so I waited.  It's a good thing, too, because I'm sure I would have shat myself at some point if I'd tried to wean while raggin' it. All last week I was exhausted, breaking out like a fry cook, and shitting like a cremee machine.  After what seemed like an eternity of PMS I finally started bleeding yesterday morning, and as of around eleven o'clock this morning my pooh was starting to get back into shape after a long weekend of loosies.  This is good because it means I'm getting back to normal, but it also really worries me because I don't want to have to go through this every two weeks.  When I get PMS or anything related to the timing of my period, it begins a week before my period, and lasts through my period, which generally lasts 5-7 days.  Two weeks on, two weeks off, it's a friggin' nightmare.  And I for one get terrible anxiety during the two weeks off, because I know what's eventually coming and it's exhausting.  My gastro seems to think that it'll get better once I'm fully in remission, but I'm skeptical.  I'm also extremely pissed off that, while doctors acknowledge the bowel/menstrual connection, there's nothing conclusive to be said about disconnecting the two.  Should there be some way to handle this with hormone treatments?  I remember when I was on so much Prednisone my period stopped- the one nice side effect that drug ever gave me!

I know women who have full remission during pregnancy, and other women who reach the brink of death when trying to carry a child.  I have no doubt that hormones play a significant role in agitating and relieving IBD, but to hear my doc tell it there are shamefully few studies on the matter.  If anyone out there knows of any, point the way! 

image source: dvdbeaver.com

oops.

Well, I fell off the bike yesterday (I know that's not the saying, but I like this picture).  I'm not beating myself up too much, as I've consulted with friends, family, and strangers alike and the consensus is that I should probably just start over.  I thought I'd done my research, but the whole intro part of the diet was something I didn't really prepare myself for enough. From what I've gleaned I'm probably doing myself a disservice by jumping in too fast.  But more on that later, about that slip...

One of my aunts passed away this weekend, and I had to meet my mom at the airport early in the a.m. and head out to Long Island for the services.  I made sure to eat a good breakfast before leaving my apartment, but somehow allowed my mom to convince me that my uncle would have something I could eat at his house for lunch.  I should have known better and planned ahead to pack myself some snacks, but I think deep down I wanted an excuse to see what would happen if I ate something non-SCD after eating only legal foods for a week.  So when my Uncle offered me home made split pea soup with ham in it- my favorite!- I couldn't turn it down.  I was even weaker, though, and had myself half of a turkey sandwich with a small slice of American cheese on potato bread as well.  I did have a gross looking mini-poop not long after, but I don't know that the reaction would be so immediate.  Otherwise I've actually felt better today than I've been feeling the past few days- a sharp lady pain today has me thinking Aunt Flo might be to blame for some of the symptoms I've been having (not many symptoms- slight tummy cramps and the occasional hint of blood in my stool).

So, back to starting over with the SCD thing.  I'm having an SCD dinner and will continue to strive to eat only SCD foods, but am starting to think of this more as a training period than the actual marathon.  My palate and my lifestyle need to recalibrate before I can really do this right, and I want to do this right. I need to take another look at the SCD chart and check off the "legal" things that should be "illegal" for me (cider is the first thing that come to mind).  I also think I need to focus on figuring out my medication situation.  I went to get some blood work done to test my Imuran levels, and it made me realize that I should probably get my meds regulated and stabilized before messing with other variables (ideally returning fully to SCD will then get me off of the meds).  My doctor had originally advised me to start the diet while still on Prednisone, but I would rather know that my symptoms are from weaning off the Prednisone and not bacteria die-off or over-consumption of grape juice (so far my only source of sweet besides honey).

I'm hoping that over the next few months the medication situation will get figured out, and hopefully I'll be ready for the actual SCD "marathon" come summer, if not sooner.  I don't see myself ever doing the intro diet for a full five days unless in dire straights, but I should definitely give it more than one day and try to move beyond it at a pace that's outlined nicely here at Pecanbread.com.  I'll also continue to build my arsenal of SCD recipes and work on improving my kitchen skills to make myself a more efficient, delicious batch cook able to handle this lifestyle for the long-term.

In other news, Aunt Flo has indeed reared her ugly head since I started working on this post, and she always causes trouble with my gut.  I'd really love to read a study about the connection.

Cuttin' the fat

Did I mention my high cholesterol? I think I did. Well, I've been trying to substitute meat with fake meat at least three meals a week. I've had a few fake baloney sandwiches, which are great because real baloney doesn't taste much different. Did I already write that here, or was that something to a friend? Well, sorry for repeating myself if the former is the case.
We had yummy fake-meat tacos last night, and sweet-and-sour fake duck the other night, but I've otherwise been eating whatever I want the rest of the time. Like today I went out for lunch and had a 6oz steak with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I've also been indulging in coffee an awful lot. Last Friday someone was giving away a coffee machine so I grabbed it for my boyfriend and then drank way too much Joe over the three-day weekend. Now I'm back to being addicted...tea just isn't cutting it.

I've been hiccuping still, but not as much as last I complained about hiccuping. I took a nice solid doody this morning, too. AND that bitch aunt flo has finally been making herself scarce! She's lurking a little bit, but now she's just ringing the doorbell and running instead of moving her shit in. I got real nervous though, someone I spoke to the other day told me she was spotting for THREE MONTHS(!!!) when she first had her IUD put in. Yikes!

I don't think I pooped today

I'm thinking about it and I can't remember if I pooped. If I did it must have pretty unremarkable.
Aunt Flo is still around- she's not making a big fuss, but she's definitely around and has been pretty consistently for the past two weeks. I'm not feeling any ill effects from her extended visit, but it's still pissing me off.

I found out my cholesterol is a little high, so I'm making some dietary changes (or trying to). This morning I had half of a bagel with cream cheese, a cup of coffee and some orange juice. Then we went to the grocery store and I bought some healthy stuff. I made a big thing of chili with fake ground meat and it was really tasty. I made cornbread muffins on the side. I plan to substitute my lunches with fake deli meat and start using margarine instead of butter. I picked up some fruit to snack on, like grapes, bananas, and apples, and intend to drink more soymilk. I could stand to lose a few pounds (by few I mean about twenty) so this should benefit me in more ways than one.

Oh, also of note, I stopped taking the Prilosec just to see how long I last without it.