Going with my Gut: A Journey to Wellness

Today is the last day of IBD Awareness Week, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect. One year ago at this time in December, I was experiencing miraculous changes in my health. You might remember that I had my jpouch reconnection in March 2017 and the following weeks and months were pure misery. It's truly amazing how time has almost entirely erased the pain, but March-December 2017 was the hardest part of my health journey to date, and that's saying a lot because I have had many other horrible health experiences over the last 10 years. Now that I've had distance from the events, I know why those months were the worst. For one, they were filled with a range of horrible physical symptoms including 20+ bowel movements a day and 10+ bowel movements a night, but I had dealt with similar symptoms prior to surgery, so it wasn't just that. What made it monumentally worse was that I knew something was wrong with my body and I didn't get proper medical support or

My blog entries seem to be more spread out as I continue to get healthier. Some days my health is not the first thing I think about when I wake up or the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. Hallelujah! This summer brought lots of new experiences and one of the biggest ones was my first big trip with my jpouch. I went to Seattle and Vancouver for 10 days and it was a fantastic experience. I took some precautions like telling my GI I would be away and he was sweet to say he would be standing by if I needed anything. I carefully packed all of my medications and enough for a few extra days for just in case and kept all my meds in my carry-on. I packed pads and pantyliners for security along with some go-to snacks. It was so fun to see friends and explore new surroundings. I took a wonderful teacher course too. However, there were some physical challenges. Eating differently didn't agree with me and I dealt with some loose stool and butt burn. Still, it was a wonderful trip

Dear Family and Friends, I’m fundraising on the behalf of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation because I believe no one should have to deal with the fear, uncertainty, and pain caused by Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). As you know, my life has changed since my diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in June of 2009. I can vividly remember my first signs that something was not right. I was 25, living in New York, and finishing up my first year of grad school for elementary education. My symptoms started out gradually, but got worse fast. I yo-yo-ed between diarrhea and constipation. I remember feeling horrified when I saw blood in the toilet for the first time. After I saw a gastroenterologist and had my first colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I barely knew what the diagnosis meant, but I remember feeling grateful that my problem had a name. Little did I know what a rocky road was ahead. Today, even wit

In 3 days it will be my one year anniversary of my Jpouch reconnection surgery. Damn, it's been quite a year. Since my last post in December, I am happy to report that I have seen incredible improvements in my health. It all really started with saying goodbye to my old team of doctors (see my November 19th post about breaking up with doctors) and finding a new team of respectful practitioners who have strategies to help me improve. I was diagnosed with pouchitis (inflammation of the jpouch) and here is the description from the Mayo Clinic: "Pouchitis is a complication of J pouch surgery. It occurs in about one-quarter to nearly one-half of the people who have the procedure. Signs and symptoms of pouchitis can include diarrhea, abdominal pain, joint pain, cramps, fever, an increased number of bowel movements, nighttime fecal seepage, fecal incontinence, and a strong urge to have a bowel movement." Minus the fevers, that was my experience from March 21-December 1. So, the n