I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 1999. i am currently 29 years old, single(happily in a relationship)...but not married. So diagnosed at 19 i was fairly naive this disease. the word "disease" couldn't b used any lighter. DIS-EASE. In 1999, month of April actually i had to be rushed to the ER for dehydration and low potassium levels. 3 years prior i had stomach issues but it was just what the doctors called a "bacteria infection in my gut." So was sent home with antibiotics. back to 4-1999...i had the same tummy pain as i did 3 years ago, blood in my stool...no diarrhea. i thought the bacteria infection had come back. when your potassium levels drop you get cramps. so in the hospital they gave me something for pain and an IV bag with potassium solution in it to rehydrate me. i was hospitalized for 4 days...within those 4 days had to have diagnosed me with UC. i was sent home on 40mg prednisone, lots of asacol and a low fiber diet. i couldn'teatanything! i tried clear liquids, soft food, no dairy...etc. come to find out that soda(clear soda), bread, yogurt, soup was awful for me. i am 5'11" and weighed 103lbs. i was horrible looking. But i was alive.

So about a month andahalf of laying around drinking water, Gatorade, juice, eating scrambled egg sandwiches i recovered very slow. i had no energy, i didn't want to be out in public. i didn't get dressed everyday, didn't fix my hair, my gums even looked different. i was in bad shape with out all the nutrition my body was needing. i remember going to the gas station witha friend and couldn't get out of the car because the urgency was sooo bad that if i got up i was going to have an accident. i knew where every restroom was in town. and most of the time i didn't leave the house because there wasn't a 25 minute time frame when i wasn't in the bathroom. my father and i took a road trip during that flare to get away, he thought stress was making my health bad. our drive was about 1800 miles. i would have him pull over and wait sometimes for 45 minutes. when my dad wants to get somewhere...there is no goofing off, its go time. well that added to my anxiety of it all. i couldn't do anything about it. you will notice alot of the word "couldn't" in this article. i remember getting some relief during this road trip though. the peacefulness of the slow moving Midwest, versus the rush of a big city. when i came home from our trip i had a follow up apt with my GI. he took me off of the prednisone(tapering) and started me on methotrexate. this became my miracle drug. i kicked myself for not giving to to myself(injection) sooner. i stared at the needle and bottle for 2 weeks! the first injection...changed me. i felt amazing. like i wasn't sick. in remission. i carried on normally for 4 years...

in 2003 spring time. i began having symptoms again. really bad. 3x worse than last. i would visit the throne 30x a day. sometimes it was nothing but blood. i made another Dr.'s apt and did the whole prednisone, asocol, thing all over again. it seemed that the prednisone made the worst of it come out. like these cells had to do the damage then leave. i was told there was a possible cure coming out in 2001. i inquired. no such thing. first its from bacteria, then diet, now its hereditary. at this point i didnt know what i know now. i was back to the injections 1x week. for another 4 years...actually 3...i moved and insurance was an issue.

2007. this was the worst of them all. it started in july. i noticed some signs of it returning. i was starting a new job, just got my own place, traveling, new relationship, etc. it starts with diarhea that isn't painful but urgent. then if its not treated then... the next symptom was bloody stool...and then pain. oh goodness. the only way i can describe it it road rash inside your intestine. i was out of town at a wedding and it was hitting rock bottom. it was embarrassing...the frequent bathroom visits...intimacy was not even in question. so i return home and i had lost 10 lbs in 7 days. he admits me to the hospital. im so upset. i hate them places. I'm at one location for 13 days. i decide to have surgery to remove my colon. the procedure i wanted was only done by a surgeon an hour away. they drive me by ambulance to this location and my assigned GI decides that Remicade( i had one infusion at the 1st hosp) is working. I'm thinking to myself "this guy is nuts!" he had seen the colonoscopyresults they did at hosp #1. i don't know how he knew i was healing but he did. so i did some soul searching. {{{can i do this? do i have the patience to wait? what will i be leaving behind? i cant leave my boyfriend! wait my parents would be ....i cant ...im gonna do this, I'm going to see if this Dr is right. I'm going to pull through...I'm not weak...i am tough...i have done this before!}}}}} i got down to 107lbs. the put me on a feeding tube to put my bowl at rest. that lasted for 6 weeks. i had nothing go down my throat. i spit out my saliva. only because every time you swallow, your colon contracts...pushing its contents down to make room for what you are eating. i never chew gum. i was sent home with my feeding tube. the pants i wore home...were falling off of me. a home health care nurse came to my boyfriends house that night to show me how to change my food bag, flush the lines..etc. i just sat there and stared(our roommate took notes). i thought this was going to be a 12 on 12 off type deal...nope 24/7. i had to switch side of the bed to sleep on. this machine hummed andit pumped food into my frail little body. my boyfriend...my love...my hero...moved me in with him 2 months prior so he could watch over me. he had to wrap up my arm when i unhooked to shower. 8-22-07 i left the hospital and about 1 month later i was able to remove the feeding tube and slowly introduce food into my diet. i tried protein shakes, light sandwiches, odwalla juices, aloe Vera juice, probiotics, anything to help me get better. i basically had to eat somewhat junkie to get some fat content back. i could tolerate it in moderation. now on the road to recovery...

9 months later. im pregnant. i had been very skeptical about my health and being with child. everything was fine because i wasn't flared when i conceived. 2 months into i was getting sick again...same thing happened to me this time as in 07...feeding tube...hospitalized for 18 days...i had to eat because the feeding tubes gave me dvt in my arms. next spot to put the tubes was in my neck. i freaked! so i forced myself to eat 2000 calories a day. it was painfull but i had to for my child. i came home and was in a deep depression, i felt helpless. how do i know that i am giving my child what she needs? how do i know that i am getting what i need? i had to stop remicade because in my 2nd month i became allergic to it. so i am out of options now for medication. surgery is out of the question bc i am pregnant. so i decided to again soul search...i now have another life i am responsible for, as well as mine. i have to do whats best for her. i had a juicer, bought fruit, veggies, and protein shakes. i juiced 2/3 times a day. ate plain lays potato chips for fat and drank lactose free protein shakes. i didn't gain any real weight until i was about 7 months pregnant. all this time my child was healthy, right on track with growth...she was getting all of the nutrition she needed. they are like leeches. i was the one suffering nutritionally. i didn't care. i had 4 months until she was born and safe from my medications(solumedrol, asacol, pro-tonics, pain meds, cyclosporine...) she was born perfect. i juiced all of my fruits and veggies. in 2 days my energy level tripled. i couldn't run at this point, nor jump...i was very weak. i fell 3 times during my pregnancy because of my muscle mass decaying(steroids) they are suppose to bulk you up...but if you don't use them it does the opposite. i continued this until she was born and the months after while i breast fed.

2 months later...ugh again! i am going back to work, buying a house, new motherly stuff, breastfeeding, hormone surges, i was stressed! to the max. this time it wasn't as bad as it had been. because i put myself on a liquid diet for 2 weeks. STRICTLY...nothing but fresh juices from fruits and veggies. i went to jamba juice, juice it up...smoothie shops is what they are. drank protein shakes. i bought some protein powder from one of our whole food stores. i added that to smoothies i made at home. my symptoms were all that i usually get but on a lighter level...the only one that i had a hard time dealing with was urgency. the frequencies were bearable. i was taking meds for pain(which slows your frequency...HUGE help) and taking methotrexate again. Cant take that if you are pregnant.

now i am scheduled for surgery to have it removed on 9-9-09. they cant operate if i am in a flare. right now i am in remission. i will keep you posted on how it goes. scheduled for a total proctocolectomy(full colon removal) possible open(long incision) laparoscopic approach with an ileostomy(i hope i don't)

i also wanted to try everything under the sun before i had this major surgery. i came across this mineral detox called..."resolve colitis" i tried one day of it while in a flare(not bleeding) and the next day i had bloody stool. so i dont know if this stuff is too strong. you HAVE to drink lots of water with this cleanse bc of the large salt content! im going to finish it after the surgery bc it was expensive.

updated 10-8-09

1 month after surgery. i went into the hospital on 9-9-09 nervous about everything, on an empty stomach. the preparation took about 2.5 hours. i weighed 132lbs pre-op. i got myself to a high state of nutrition before the operation because i knew i would lose weight and lose it fast. i drank protein shakes and juiced all fruits and veggies. so they start my i.v., take a pregnancy test, ask for allergies, mark my abdomen for the stoma considering the bends and creases in my stomach. they wheel me back to operation room. it was cold and the nurses and doctors in there where all wearing masks and looking at me. Erie feeling, then i was out. i didn't know they were sedating me...i didn't mind to say the least. i woke up barely able to hold my head up. i stayed that way til the next morning. i woke up with a catheter, oxygen in my nose, a drain for the larger incision, an ileostomy, 15 staples among 5 incisions and a pain pump.

it took until the next day to get me to walk which i wanted to do little of. i couldn'tstand up straight, cough, sneeze, laugh...nothing to use my stomach muscles. i had to use this device to breathe into to keep pneumonia out of my lungs. i should have been more frequent in using it but im a little stubborn. i did it maybe every other day...but i took lots of deep breathes andit helped. i felt a little congestion but it never developed into it. when i did cough i had to kinda clear my throat-cough. i walked once a day around the nurses station...the 4th day i did it 2x and the 5thday i could standup straight., i told my boyfriend to make sure i got up to walk before the surgery so he made sure i did. a nurse came in to check my incisions and empty the bag every now and then. i was a little embarrassed but i learned how to do it easier than i would have if i learned on my own. 2 days later an ostomy nurse came in to show me how to change it, clean it, measure output, what to eat, what not to eat...basically no fresh fruit and veggies and no nuts. fresh fruit bc of the skin and seeds. i haven't had an issue with blockage. when i was sent home with my new "going #2" method i was happy that i was never going to have a colitis flare but i did get depressed. for 29 years i went the normal way...this wasn't normal. i didn't feel normal, i should have started the antidepressants but i didn't. it was hard to sleep on my right side, i freaked out about getting dehydrated, so i drank lots of water...which should have been drinking Gatorade, i had no appetite so i went and got a bunch of junk food. i couldn't wear jeans...still cant bc of the under the flesh stitches. i had the staples taken out at 10 days. i wrap my stomach to hide the bag, but it bulges when its full. i didnt eat too late bc i will get up in the middle of the night to empty. my biggest issue was motivation and self pity. i now weigh 125, and weight isnt from the colon being gone, my clothes are loose. i go Monday for a barium contrast enema. 2 days later i follow up with my doctor and then schedule the reconnection.

5 days after the reconnection.

i never thought i would see this day. let me pick up where i left off above. so i had the gastrograffin (baruim contrast enima) done and that was to reveal any leakage in the newly structured J-pouch that was now my "large intestine."  there was no leakage. i later had an appt with my surgeon to discuss what the techs found in the exam. nothing is discussed over the phone.  so at the appt with my surgeon, he said there was no leakage and he had to do a short quick finger test to see if the new anus was functioning properly.  it was too narrow. so i scheduled a anal dialation on the day that the take down was suppose to be.  so depressing that i wasnt getting rid of this bag but i had this surgery to have it done the right way and avoid any further complications.  the anal dialtion process, i was put out under anesthesia and woke remembering little.  my bottom did hurt yes but randomly for just 2 days.