Chapter 17: Summer + Anxiety
Chapter 18: Change in Summer Plans
Back to the story...by July 16th, I began Predisone (ugh!!!!) again and within a few days my symptoms were already improving by the end of that week. It's amazing how that tiny little pill can work so effectively SO QUICKLY?!? Of course, I also had to go on Xanax with it because it has continued to make me feel like I'm going crazy (mentally) each time I'm on Prednisone.
Throughout this process, as we met with my GI doctor, he just told us that the medicine that I was taking (mesalamine) to keep my ulcerative colitis in remission, was just really not doing anything at this point. In his words, he said "there is little to no evidence that it is doing anything to control your flare-ups at this point. We need to change the course of action."
So on July 25, I began a drug called Imuran (known as 6MP) which is an immunosuppresant that many people with auto-immune diseases take to help their symptoms. (I continued to take Prednisone because you have to taper off that drug and had started only a few days prior). On the 5th day that I took that drug, I began to notice that I was breaking out in hives...badly!!! It's hard to tell in this picture, but it would run up both my legs and all along my arms. It was crazy hot, made my legs and arms feel really tight and tingly, and uncomfortable!!!
With all the problems that we were having regulating my medicine, I hesitated to even bring this up with my doctor but knew that I should share it with my doctor (seriously, hives? Come on. We have bigger fish to fry!?!?) I notified my nurse at the GI doctor's office and she asked me to call back if it continued. Because I continued to break out in hives each day after that, my doctor absolutely wanted me to stop that drug, and even after stopping, my hives continued for 5 more days!?!?! Crazy huh?
By now it is the beginning of August, and I am preparing to go back to school (after a very relaxing summer--JK!!!) and workshops are starting up. My good friend Bonnie even had to run me to a pharmacy during one workshop at the U of A because I broke out and was unprepared with my daily dose of Benadryl!!! Thanks Bonnie!! You're such a good friend!!!
Anyhow, all summer long it felt like it had been one thing after another. Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, my dad was in the hospital being treated for several possibilities: prostatitis, a tick bite, and he had to have surgery to have his gall bladder removed!! What a whirlwind few weeks! It was awful. I'm glad my mom, MK, and my sister stayed sane to be able to help take care of us!!! We were a mess.
One Monday I got a call from my doctor's office telling me what the "new plan" was...even though I was bummed that I had just crossed off another possible treatment, hopefully we were working up to something that would ACTUALLY work and do the trick long-term!
More to come!
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