A Series of (Un)fortunate Events: Chapter 16: Drugs, Drugs, and More Drugs

My life soon began revolving around my "drugs"--Prednisone and Apriso.  It's interesting how prior to taking Prenisone for my ulcerative colitis, I could NEVER remember to take my birth control pills regularly like I was supposed to.  With Prednisone and Apriso though, I NEVER forgot to take them!!  I guess when something really matters (read: you see results in your day-to-day life instantly and they prevent you from popping a million times a day) you can remember to take any pill you truly NEED.  :-)  Ha!

So, as with every round of Prendisone, you start on a high dose, and taper off of it.  I'm not really sure why this is the protocol other than that it's a powerful chemical and you can't just stop taking it cold turkey--that is dangerous, so I always go through the process of tapering so that my body gets re-acclimated to not having it.  Tapering = a long time though which can get really long.  When it kicks in so quickly and works right away, it is really tempting to stop taking it, but I can't do that.  Bummer.

Even though I couldn't feel the Apriso doing anything, I guess it was working because my stomach seemed to be in remission once I was completely tapered off the steroids.  It wasn't until later that winter when I took an antibiotic for a pesky sinus infection when my colon seemed to erupt like a volcano.  What we learned was that all antibiotics mess with the good bacteria in your stomach and so by taking one, it sends my stomach into a "tizzy" (AKA flare-up) and then I had to go back on another round of steroids (AKA-prednisone). Pretty sure I could have just suffered through that dumb sinus infection.  That's NOTHING compared to a nasty colon flare-up.  Ugh...

This journey has constantly been one step forwards, two steps back.  Every time I have had a flare-up, I know my doctor is going to say the words "steroids," and at first I am thankful and eagerly take them, but then as I take them longer and longer, I cringe because I hate what they do to my mind and body (the nasty side effects of gaining weight, anxiousness, and mood swings).  Pretty sure my husband would agree that he doesn't like the side effects either--namely those mood swings...they're hard for ME to deal with, much less him.   Poor guy! 

So, all that to say, Apriso seemed to be doing it's job for a while, however, I did have periodic flare-ups that just came out of the blue. 

One of the worst was at the end of this last school year (in May 2012).  It just knocked me off my feet and came up out of no where.  One Sunday I was sitting in church and literally felt my stomach rumble like a freight train was driving through my intestines, and I just KNEW what was coming.  That's one of the worst feelings ever. 

Again, I was going #2 in the bathroom 6-7 times in the night, plus going to school and teaching every day while frequenting the potty!!!  I was losing weight, losing strength, and going down hill quickly AGAIN, when finally I told Matt that I thought we needed to go to the ER because at times (and I love my doctor), but they just cannot get me in to the clinic quickly enough and this was the case.  So, I was given IV fluids (which almost instantly perk me up and at least make me FEEL better), a prescription for--YOU GUESSED IT: STEROIDS--and back home I went to rest up.  This flare-up seemed to really defeat me, and I got frustrated because it just started feeling like NOTHING (except for steroids of course) were working to keep my Ulcerative colitis in check...

Thankfully, we were able to get my stomach back in check...I took steroids for about 8 weeks (because of the drugs, I did make it through the end of the school year by the grace of God and a lot of help from my team). 

When I finally did get in to see my doctor a few days later, I was poised and ready with a thousand questions about what we could do differently in the future...little did I know he was ready with all those answers...what a journey THAT would all become...I had no idea what was coming down the pike!

More to come! 

(If you are STILL reading these chapters, let me just say a BIG THANK YOU!!!  I finally feel like after I started writing this blog people have gotten a window into my world, and it has helped people to "get it"--maybe not completely but at least a little bit better (I'll write another blog at another time about perceptions of UC and people's reactions when I tell them I have it...that one's coming later).  Anyhow, even my dad commented this morning that he has learned things about my story that he didn't know about me before reading my blog.

My goal is to write until I am caught up to TODAY and where I'm at now.  Honestly, it's been nice to write about the past and fill in some of those gaps because it has given me the opportunity to process what I'm going through right now before I actually blog about it.  Sometimes just a little time make things where they aren't so raw, and I am able to share my thoughts more clearly.  

But really--thank you for reading and taking the time to understand ME and what I'm going through.  I don't know if it's helped a single person, but I know it has been good for me to write it all down!!!

(It wouldn't be the path I would necessarily choose for my life to take, but that doesn't change the fact that the Lord has been present, provided throughout the entire process, and is still sovereign.  I am so thankful for everyone's continued support and prayers.  Keep 'em coming!!!  Thanks!!!!)