Time to move south

So I went in to see my doctor from Park Nicollet today, since it was the first available appointment to see him since my latest flare up. As with my previous visits with the doc, my flare up is pretty much done now with the help of the Prednisone, so this was really just a follow-up with him. He wants me to stay on full dosage of Prednisone until Friday and then we gradually reduce it over the next 5 weeks until I'm off of it. However, he wants me to take the Sulfasalazine, the stuff that I was taking before the Prednisone, once I'm 2 weeks into the taper process.

I also mentioned that I will be going to the Mayo Clinic and he became really angry, just kidding. He was fine with the break up, although, I have a feeling he still wants to see me after the Mayo Clinic. I mean, we still have to be cordial since I won't be going down to Mayo for every future flare up. I don't want to burn any bridges so I told him my family and friends pretty much forced me to book the appointment at Mayo. I think he bought it.

We also talked about my particular case with Colitis. He thinks I have Ulcerative Colitis, but he said it was not for certain. It could be a version of Chrone's possibly or some other form of Colitis. He said that the Mayo Clinic will probably probe me with enough tests to know for sure. I also asked him where I ranked in terms of how serious my particular Colitis is and he said I was an 'interesting' case because I had been clear of any symptoms for 10 months while not taking any medications. Most people would have more frequent flare ups if they didn't take the daily meds that they prescribe. So we are back to a mystery case for me, although when I was leaving I mentioned that I have had a couple flare ups now and they just happen to coincide with winter. He said he used to practice down in Arizona and there were far fewer cases of colitis down there and continued to say that in general, the south has less IBD problems. Time to move to San Diego?

Five days of steroids

It seems the Prednisone is starting to work. I was only up once last night and frequency has reduced. I'm still having the same pains but it's less often. Instead of 12 per day, I'm down to about 6 bathroom visits.

I was able to make an appointment at the Mayo Clinic for march 23rd. They say I should plan to be there for 3 days so they can test the shit out of me, pun intended.

I also have an appointment with my Park Nicollet doctor next Monday. Im going to tell him that I'm seeing someone else for my condition. I hope he takes the breakup well. I feel like it's going to be awkward.

A little more info on what is Ulcerative colitis

While I have not yet been diagnosed with anything specific, signs point to Ulcerative Colitis. Hopefully when I go to the Mayo Clinic, this will be made clear. Here are a few fun facts I learned tonight:

- Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset (ouch)
- Ulcerative colitis occurs in 35–100 people for every 100,000 in the United States, or less than 0.1% of the population.
- Ulcerative colitis has no known cause, there is a presumed genetic component to susceptibility.

Wanting more? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis

....

As for an update on how I'm doing. I would say I'm getting better, but I'm still up multiple times per night as I am right now. I'm on four 10mg Prednisone pills per day for until I'm better.

I have 25 days to get better for Vegas :)

'Roid Raging

I began taking four Prednisone steroid pills yesterday around 4pm and I felt really good until about 11pm when I started to get the stomach pains again and had to go to the bathroom. So I had 7 hours of 'freedom' where I was feeling rather normal again. After 11, I started getting some pretty sharp pains in the lower abdomen, so I took 2 more Prednisone pills. I probably shouldn't have taken the additional 2, but I just wanted the pains to go away. I'll stick to the dosage exactly now.

Went to brunch today and had an omelette with bacon, mushroom, and cheese. No gluten, but it was a bit buttery which I dont think my colon liked. Next Prednisone dose is at 4pm and I'm hoping that gets me through more than 7 hours this time.

Big Purdue game tomorrow night. Boiler Up kiddies!

Don't hold the Mayo!

I spent a good amount of the day talking to the nurse from my current doctor at Park Nicollet passing back and forth notes to the Doctor like I was in 4th grade. The current drug, which is called Sulfasalazine, has not been working out for me. I've been on it since Monday afternoon and I have not been improving at all. Its actually getting worse.

I did contact the Mayo clinic today to try to setup an appointment down there. They are widely considered the best butt doctors in the world, so I'm looking forward to being able to get down there. I dont have an appointment yet, first they need to get my records from Park Nicollet and then in 3-5 days I should get a call after they review the records.

I'm going back on the steroid Prednisone tonight. Last time, this is the drug that did the trick to get me fixed up, but it also is a powerful drug that can have some wicked side effects. At the time I was taking it last year, I was severely anemic as well, so its possible that I blamed some of the symptoms of being anemic on the Prednisone. All I know right now, is its worth the risk to get back on the Prednisone now.

Welcome to my blog!

I decided to start up this blog to keep track of my new found condition called Colitis. Its going to be an IN DEPTH look at what my life is like with Colitis as well as all the details about my day to day dealings with it. If you've stumbled upon this on accident, then you may want to turn away now because there will be details that only mothers, wives, and damn good friends can handle. I'm going to keep a journal of my daily nutrition as well as my, eh hem, bathroom visits so I can bring all the information to my doctor for analysis. I'm hoping to find the silver bullet that will trigger a flare up.