Old Habits Are Hard To Break

I realized today in the shower how hard old habits are to break.  I was washing my hair and squeezed a handful of shampoo in my hand.  You see I went from having hair going down to my shoulder blades to having no hair on my neck.  There are times when I instinctively still squeeze a whole palm full of shampoo.  This got me thinking about other habits I have and how many of those are IBD related.

One of the biggest habits I still have is looking for the closest bathroom everywhere I go.  I recently went to a concert at a new venue that just opened in town.  The first time walking in I immediately began looking for the first bathroom I could find.  Then I became so excited because they had one close to the floor where I would be spending most of my time that evening.  I was so excited I even yelled out and pointed to my husband that I found the bathrooms.  "Oh! There's the bathroom!  Right there!"

Another habit is holding my stomach all the time.  I began to hold my stomach when the UC pains first hit.  For whatever reason holding my hand over the areas that were hurting seemed to feel better.  It was comforting to me.  I still find myself holding my right hand on my stomach.  I seem to do it mostly at night as I'm ready to fall asleep.  The pain might not always be there, but the hand is.  It's that comfort thing.

The best habit to leave behind is the feeling I have when I think I'm forgetting something at meal time.  What I'm forgetting is the medications I was on.  When I remember a grin comes across my face.  For the first time in a decade the only prescription I take regularly is my probiotic.  I know this is short lived, but I'm going to savor the moment.  So some habits are hard to shake, but there's others we all can't wait to get rid of.

Finally Some Good News

Today was the day of my third scope in one year.  Needless to say I wasn't too excited for another scope.  Not because of the pain or the prep, but because of what it may or may not find.  I also knew I wouldn't be able to eat for half the day which for me is bad news.

This is the first scope which I needed to do a prep since I had the pouch.  All others had been done on a whim by the doctors.  My prep consisted of one Fleet enema a few hours prior to the scope and no food after midnight.  I wasn't too concerned about the enema.  I've done plenty of enemas in the past.  I was a little concerned about not eating for at least 14 hours.  Turns out I didn't get to eat for 16 hours.  I also take the train to my appointments which means walking the streets of Philly with no food and no meds allowed for any headaches that may crop out.  Turns out my fears were for no reason, and I did just fine.

I was able to watch my scope by twisting my body around while the doctor went in.  To my surprise I had a great looking pouch.  There was just a tiny bit of inflammation just above the anastomosis line (where the pouch attaches to the bit of rectum left).  My doctor was even nice enough to describe what I was looking at as she navigated through the pouch.  Wow, how pretty it was!

So treatment from here consists of no meds for now!  She prescribed some Cipro in case the pouchitis comes back, but gave me authorization to decide for myself when I need it or not.  So I have a bottle of Cipro just in case and a follow-up appointment for October.

Of course my doctor's appointments are never all good news.  I do still need to see my surgeon for the abscesses that were found at my last MRI.  I was hoping since everything was going so well, it could just be ignored.  But I was not so lucky, and was lectured for not making an appointment sooner.  My appointment is scheduled for July 3rd.  It's another waiting game to see what will happen next.  In the meantime I will celebrate the good news tonight with some good beer.

Test #1: Visiting My Parents

The first test for my belly is done, and it was a success.  I spent a long weekend visiting my parents just outside the Delaware beaches.  I was excited to see them since I haven't seen them since last November.  I was hoping my stomach was going to be on its best behavior and brought all my supplies with me.  Everything from my antibiotic to my butt cream to my favorite toilet paper to all the over the counter meds that keep homeostasis.

Night one consisted of mexican food and margaritas.  Night two was crabs, corn on the cob, followed by a mixed party of Santinis (Sangria & Vodka), beer, and cherries soaked in moonshine.  Yes, my parents know how to have some fun.  Day three was a picnic with more food than I could shake a stick at.  Belly still did great.  No problems on the 2 1/2 drive down or return drive home.  Even with construction which brought traffic to a crawl.

Unfortunately, the temperatures were too cool so I never made it to the beach or the pool.  I didn't get to test out my bikini or how the fistula would act during sunning and swimming.  That will have to wait until next time.

Even though the weather was cool, I still managed to return home with a sunburn on my legs.  I also picked up a cold along the way.  If it's not one thing, it's another with me.  I had a great weekend visiting my parents and can't wait until next month to visit again.  Test #1: Pass!