According to my editorial calendar, which I just looked at for the first time in a week, I blogged seven days last week and yesterday.
But you and I both know my last blog post was last Wednesday, when I wrote about spending Thanksgiving in France.
A few things have happened since then.
On Thanksgiving Day itself, I decided to bask in the glow of family, relaxation, and Thanksgiving traditions. I ignored my laptop and phone all day, and it was glorious. I didn’t really like my topic for that day, and I figured my blog readers would totally understand me not blogging on Thanksgiving.
On Friday, my best friend Bethany drove in from out of town to visit. We spent the whole afternoon together. I had plenty of time that evening to blog, so I didn’t worry about it.
Until my stomach started hurting. A lot.
And then I threw up. A lot.
I have Crohn’s Disease. I am no stranger to uncomfortable digestive issues. And yet, with all my experience, Friday night was pure agony. I lost count of how many times I dragged my exhausted body from bed to the bathroom to expel bile from my body. And in-between all the vomiting, my abdomen would go through flashes of severe pain, until finally it would recede to merely mild pain, long enough for me to sleep 30 or 45 minutes at a time.
After sleeping late Saturday morning, I felt a lot better. My stomach cramped when I drank water, but it was nothing compared to the previous night’s pain. Still, I thought I should at least visit the Urgent Care Center.
Aside from the steroids and anti-nausea drugs that helped me sleep, that was a total waste of my time.
I was supposed to go shopping in Greenville on Saturday and help my best friend Rachel decorate her Christmas tree, but clearly I had to cancel. Luckily Rachel and Luke are wonderful people who rearranged their plans to come to Greenwood to see me, and we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol with Dan and my parents.
My stomach never stopped with the cramping, but I thought for sure I was better after a whole day of keeping fluids down.
Nope.
Another awful never-ending date with the porcelain bowl.
Sunday I couldn’t get out of bed. I had finally stopped throwing up, but only sleep prevented a return of severe pain. Even the smell of food made me nauseous, so Dan sprayed our room and the hallway outside of our room with Febreeze. He also went out and bought me a lavender-scented candle for the room, along with some more Gatorade and Jello, in case I felt ready for clear liquids.
Dan also got in touch with the on-call gastroenterologist in Greenville whose over-the-phone diagnosis was that I didn’t need urgent medical care as long as I was keeping down some fluids. He was also able to schedule me an appointment for Monday.
Sunday night I could finally leave bed to spend time with Harry and Celia, who I hadn’t seen since their wedding. Dan and I teamed up against them in a riveting game of Trivial Pursuit that was genuinely very close, all the way to the end. Then Celia cheated on Dan’s and my behalf with the die roll so that we could get a shot at a final question to tie, and we got it right! So the four of us are going to dominate whenever Jeopardy comes out with Family Style Edition.
I finally saw a physician’s assistant and gastroenterologist (mine wasn’t working yesterday, alas) who were both basically unconcerned with my two days of throwing up. Apparently it could have been a stomach bug or food poisoning with really bad timing.
My actual problem is much bigger than nausea and abdominal pain.
I’ve lost weight again.
A LOT of weight.
I was pretty steady at 110 lbs for at least a year and a half. I was last weighed by a medical professional in May. Of course, I’ve been under a lot of stress in the months since then.
I am now 98 lbs.
I am 5’2, and I weigh 98 lbs.
Please please please pray that I gain weight on these steroids. The gastroenterologist gave me a second tapered dose, so in total I’ll be on steroids for ten days. Steroids can be a wonderful short-term solution, but I haven’t been on them long-term in 7 years. If I can’t put on weight in the next few weeks, I might have to be on steroids for longer, which causes pretty detrimental side effects.
I need to get better, but I also can’t stress about getting better, because stress just aggravates my Crohn’s.
Please send me your thoughts, prayers, good vibes, and butter-laden favorite recipes.
I’m so sorry to read this! May your belly feel better and some weight come back soon.
Thank you! I’m feeling much better, so hopefully the weight will come back next.
I’m sorry you’re going through this! I hope you feel better really soon. My gallbladder stopped working two months ago and I was barely keeping fluids down. It is so miserable! I hope this moves by quickly.
Oh, wow, I can’t imagine my gallbladder going out too. I hope you’re also feeling better!
hugs! Lots of happy thoughts going your way!
Thank you!
You’re a fighter, Brita! I will be praying for your healing and that no more bouts of vomiting will hit you. Thank you for sharing so openly about your journey with Crohn’s and also the joys that you are able to have in spite of your struggles.
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. I am feeling much better, and I promise, more Crohn’s posts will be in the future. 😉 It’s an invisible illness, one for which I hope to increase awareness.
Definitely in thoughts and prayers. I have a friend who is facing cancer, and has had issues with weight because of the two times she had leukaemia before then. She’s about your height and weighs 180 lbs. I’ve witnessed first-hand the struggles someone can have with that, and my heart goes out for you. <3
Thank you so much. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated. 🙂
Oh no, this sounds awful. Inflammatory bowel diseases are terrible. Are you able to eat now? I have a recipe of a wonderful butter-filled calorie-bomb cake, but I’d think that maybe you need more proteins than that. However, I hope and pray you can gain some weight, and that you’ll feel better and continue to do so!
I am eating now! My appetite is back to normal, but my normal appetite is still pretty light. I’m hoping to have at least a few really hungry days on my steroids. I’m halfway through them. Since I get full so quickly, I’m basically trying to maximize my calories per volume in what I eat. Or choose foods that are “empty calories” that won’t fill me up, to snack on in-between normal meals. A butter-filled cake sounds great!
I saw a nutritionist for two years as a teenager who had me on a highly restricted diet, including gluten-free, and about a million herbal supplements. Taking 40+ pills a day and greatly restricting what I could eat didn’t keep me off prednisone at the time. Carbs are actually one thing I can consistently eat even when my stomach hurts or I feel nauseous.
Thanks, Christie! I’ll check out her recipes. 😉 Tell Andy, Kat, and your folks I said Hi.
Oh, how awful! I’m glad you’re doing better now. . .as for butter recipes, this oregano garlic butter chicken was pretty good. Or cinnamon rolls, just butter the dough extra hard!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Panfried-Chicken-Breasts-with-Oregano-Garlic-Butter-108172
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/08/easy-cinnamon-rolls-from-scratch/
Those look delicious! Thank you. 🙂
That sounds absolutely miserable! Especially to be feeling so awful during the holiday season. Hope things are taking a turn for the better and you’re back to normal to enjoy all the Christmas treats!
I’m feeling a lot better now! My appetite is back to normal, which is still light, but at least I can manage to eat even when I’m not hungry. That’s one thing most people don’t get about trying to gain weight. When I’m sick, my lack of hunger is also a physical inability to eat. When I’m well, I’m just like anyone else who can snack mindlessly even while not hungry. So that’s my current plan! 😉
You poor thing! I hope you are on the road to recovery and that your medication works wonders for you. Praying!
My meds are doing wonders, thanks! I’m feeling loads better. 🙂
oh, that sounds awful. I’m sorry you had to be so sick. I hope you’re feeling better now! I know how it feels to be that tiny. My story is certainly not as hard as yours. I just got down to around 89 lbs after having my second child and nursing. Lucky for me I’ve gained it back. So I hope that you can gain that healthy weight back and stay that way! Good luck.
I’m praying for you sweet girl!! I hope you are finally feeling better. I’m sure that was really scary and frustration to not get many answers.
Oh, maaaaan. 🙁 That’s really rough timing! I have several friends with Crohn’s. It ain’t fun. While I don’t have it, I understand the need to gain some weight (5’7.5″ here and only 115) as I have a heart arrhythmia problem that is acute primarily because I don’t weigh much. Sometimes having high metabolism isn’t such a good thing. I’ll be praying that you pack on some pounds and can get off those steroids!
I’m so sorry to hear that you are suffering like this, Brita. Please know that you will be in my prayers.
Brita–As someone with similar chronic health issues (similar in that they are also auto-immune in nature), I know it can be a drag when people offer unsolicited advice. However, I really want you to feel better, and I truly think this will help, so I hope you’ll have a look at it: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/06/12/katys-story/ (I personally did the Wahls Protocol, and have experienced about an 80% reduction in symptoms. Enough that I can say I have my life back, it’s not all about managing my health, which is how it used to feel.) Anyhow, I hope you’ll check it out, b/c I have great faith in it. Whatever the case, all the best to you. You seem really cool; I just found your blog and am enjoying it very much.