Digging My Way Back Up

Forgive the paraphrase, but I'm starting to feel like my long national nightmare is finally coming to an end.

I had a colonoscopy yesterday, and I have such extreme inflammation that he couldn't even get the camera through to the end. So that's colitis, and he took biopsies to determine its cause but his gut feeling -- ha ha that's how he said it -- is that it's Crohn's.

Now, Crohn's sucks but it is manageable and people live with it. It accounts for my other symptoms, like the pain and swelling in my hands and feet, and the sores in my mouth. My own guess is that I have had this for four years or so, starting with smaller attacks, getting progressively worse, and this was the big one. Remember, I was sick for most of the summer, too, just not this sick.

The really good news is that he put me on Prednisone, as well as another anti-inflammatory just for the colon, and I am going back to see him Thursday because he expects to see improvement by then! So I really think I may be back at work next week, although maybe not Monday, and maybe afternoons only for a few days, but we'll see.

I have lost over ten pounds, which is pretty funny because of course, I was about to go on Nutra-System to lose ten pounds. Not that it will stay off, because of the prednisone, but even so. My jeans will fit nicely this week.

I have to avoid high-fiber and dairy, truly the staples of my diet, and advil, my main crutch. Okay. So I didn't give this to myself, but I have certainly been aggravating it for the last few years with the highest fiber I could consume, and a daily yogurt, not to mention the advil.

I can't tell you how many times during this ordeal I have thought how glad I am that we went to DisneyWorld before it started.

I may not be back every day for a few days, but I'm back. Thank you all so much for everything.

WATCHING THE GOLDEN GIRLS :: ENTRY #1656