Ulcerative Colitis: MY STORY (part 1)

I want to write about some random health things as of late, but in order to do that, I need to go back about 10 years.  Hold on to your hats and get excited.  Not really... but I'm sure maybe you're about to learn something new about me!

Before I delve into my own story, I want to give huge props to my younger sister, Heather, who is still dealing with various health problems that have yet to be healed.  Here's a link to a blog post she did to kick of the new year:  Heather's Story... that can give you a quick update if you're out of the loop.  Having to watch Heather suffer in pain, frustration, and confusion has made me overlook a lot of my own issues, as they pale in comparison to her health mysteries.

Nevertheless,  I do have my story and I'd like to share it.  For no other purpose than to give you new insight on who I am, where I've been, and hopefully where I'm going.  :) This is my story-- Part 1!

Disclaimer:  This story relates to my diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis (ulcers in the intestines).  There will clearly be mention of "poop" and other digestive issues, so if you can't handle that... stop reading now. :)

It was the summer of 2002 and I was in my last months at BYU.  I was scheduled to graduate in August after completing my final internship.  Life was good. I was living with my sister Brittney in a condo, interning at the Boys & Girls Club in Provo, and working at Jamba Juice.  I was excited to graduate with a degree in Recreation Management & Youth Leadership and pictured myself getting a super cool job in Utah, working in the outdoors like Aspen Grove or something.  My future looked good and I was sporty and active.

At that time, all my favorite foods were complete junk:  hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, fast food, pizza, HOSTESS HO-HO's, cookies, donuts, and so on.  What am I saying, those are STILL all over my favorite foods!  No wonder I have issues.

Anyway, throughout the summer of 2002 I started noticing some issues.  I had major diarrhea all the time.  I was often stuck on the toilet for so long, I'd be more than 30 minutes late to work.  Sometimes it was like clock-work:  I'd show up to work, but at the exact time every day, I'd have this huge rush of diarrhea come and had to ask to be excused to the bathroom... which often took longer than a normal human would need for a "potty break."  It was ridiculous.  At one point I noticed blood in my poop.  It was marbled through, like the poop I remember finding from my dog after she ate a crayon or something.  This was weird and rather alarming to me.  When I finally mentioned it to Brittney, her response was something like, "Uhhh... that's not normal!  You need to get that checked out."  I continued to do my thing throughout the summer and live on the toilet.  I even joined the Provo summer book club because I had nothing better to do than read books on the toilet!  It was my second home and I went through toilet paper like crazy.

Are you loving this yet? :)

Well finally my parents came into town for my BYU graduation-- the week of August 26th-- and in that same week, we scheduled some blood tests, poop tests, and a colonoscopy.  Happy graduation to me!  I wasn't sure what to expect or what the results might be.  After the colonoscopy they took me to my grandma's house, where I was totally passed out on the couch for who knows how long.  The funny thing is I finally woke up when everyone was gone, and all I found was a paper on the kitchen counter that said "CROHN'S DISEASE" in big, bold letters. What?!  What is that?!  What is going on?!  I kind of panicked.  I had no idea what that was, but anything with "disease" in it doesn't sound good.  There was also a paper with a list of all the foods one should avoid, which certainly included all of my favorites.  My heart sank.  I think I literally had the thought process:  "No hot dogs or Ho-Ho's?!"  Haha... my biggest worries.

I'm not sure how everything played out from there, but eventually the rest of the fam showed up, we went to dinner at Applebee's, and I was on my way to... I didn't really know where.  I guess I was just glad there was a name to all of my problems.

Crohn's Disease:  a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, especially the colon and ileum.

This disease can effect anywhere from the small intestines, large intestines, or even up into the esophagus.  I had a little friend in PA that was suffering from Crohn's Disease, but her case was much worse than mine.  She was in and out of the hospital frequently and really had some issues.  It was sad.  And we suddenly shared something in common.

Well somewhere down the road, the doctors decided I didn't have Crohn's Disease, which I guess was a good thing.  Instead, they diagnosed me with Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis:  a serious chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine and rectum.

As I understand it, Crohn's has the potential to really destroy you from the bottom up (no pun intended)... but Ulcerative Colitis resides mainly in the large intestine.  And that keyword "chronic" was a bummer to me-- this was something that would never go away, but was going to be something I'd deal with my whole life.

*sigh*  Hello poop.

The good thing is I've never had serious abdominal cramping, fevers, or other common symptoms.  I can function pretty normally, although I have definitely had my moments of poop and diarrhea!  Shortly after all this came about, I went on a date with a guy I really liked at BYU.  He was like my BFF boy and we had so much fun together.  One night after going to a play, I excused myself to the bathroom.  Yeah... I was in there for 30+ minutes, no joke.  I walked out sheepishly when I returned and I was just relieved it was HIM waiting there for me, and not some new guy.

So this was the plan.  I was on medication to keep the diarrhea under control and to try to strengthen my immune system, digestive walls, and eliminate the ulcers just clinging to my intestines.  I took 16 pills every day (4 pills, 4 x/day)... but the little beads inside the pellets would just come straight through me and end up in the toilet.  It was annoying.  My dad told me it was essential for me to find a full-time job with benefits so I could have insurance for my medications.  OR ELSE.  Or else?!  Yeah... or else I'd have to leave Utah and move home to Pennsylvania where I could utilize my dad's insurance.  That was the last thing I wanted to do.

I started working at Kiddie Kandids that fall, while still working at the Boys & Girls Club.  No insurance yet but was working towards a full-time position.  A couple months went by until November showed up....

I'd spent the night at my friend's house and when I woke up in the morning, it felt like I'd broken my hand.  It was so painful and I was super confused how it literally came out of nowhere.  Overnight.  Did I hit my hand against the wall or something?  I couldn't grip anything, unbutton my pants, squeeze anything, etc.  Tons of pain.  The next day I woke up with more pain, only this time it had spread to my wrist... and the next day the pain was up to my shoulder.  It was really strange, but more than anything, it was maddening.  I couldn't function!  I could barely get dressed and held my arm in a sling against my body because the pain was so intense.  After a few days, I asked my grandma if she could take me to the doctor.  I hadn't showered and felt completely disgusting after those days of pain and helplessness.  The doctor informed me that I had a case of Arthritis, which was often a side effect of Ulcerative Colitis.  Uhhh. random?!

Arthritis:  painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.

It made no sense to me at all, but the doctor didn't seem to be surprised.  They added a new medication to my load that was supposed to help the arthritic pain subside.  I remember calling home and crying to my mom over the phone.  I couldn't take care of myself.  I couldn't lift my arms.  I couldn't do anything.  And I just sat there in my pity party of pain.  She suggested that maybe I needed to move home to recover and gain my health back with good doctors they knew of in PA.  That was the LAST thing I wanted to do!

Three days later, I was packed up (as much as I could be) and on a plane to Pennsylvania...

TO BE CONTINUED...  :)