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.
