Oops?
So, I was chugging along at a good clip there, posting everyday for almost a week... and then went two whole weeks without posting anything. Whoops?
I hope everyone who celebrates it had a good Thanksgiving. We had dinner at my parents' house this year (determined by whose house was closest to the hospital where my cousin - an OR nurse - was on call). Considering that I'm still on a pretty strict diet and the medicine I'm taking hasn't seemed to have any effect yet, it went about as well as could be expected for a holiday dedicated entirely to food and overeating. At least it was only my mom's side of the family, since we haven't actually told anyone on my dad's side that I've been sick. For those who like menus, we had: butternut squash soup, salad, turkey (of course), stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, corn and peas, cranberry sauce, corn bread, cranberry orange bread, chocolate cheesecake, pumpkin mousse pie, carrot cake, and cookies. (Bonus points if you can guess how many of those things I actually ate.)
My parents went out shopping for Black Friday (my dad is usually up at 4am anyway). I opted to sleep. My parents came back empty-handed (the stores had already sold out of the stuff they wanted), while I went out at 11:30, shopped for less than an hour, and managed to get two Christmas presents. We also put up our Christmas tree while I was home, but I didn't really help much because I was laying on the sofa, supposed to be doing my homework, but mostly just being in pain.
Speaking of the health issues, I've been on the meds for almost three weeks now. I'm taking Asacol HD, which is an oral pill, and an oh-so-fun suppository, which, like I said, don't seem to be doing much good. I've had some luck with seafood, but I'm still unable to eat large portions of the food pyramid (like red meat, processed meat, complex grains, or vegetables in any form, and I'm still a little afraid of milk). I also went for a small bowel MRI to see just how far up my intestines this inflammation goes, which, judging by the pain, I think is pretty far. I don't go back to the doctor until next Thursday, but I'm getting really impatient at this point to just get better. It's almost like I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd just be sick and in pain forever when it took them months to figure out the problem, but now that we have a diagnosis and I'm on medication, I'm like why the fuck isn't it working right NOW NOW NOW? I think I'm just so far past my breaking point, I don't even know how I'm doing this anymore.
I do seem to have a pretty impressive ability to turn it on and off, though. Like I said, we haven't told my dad's side of the family, but we went to visit my grandmother on Saturday, meaning I had to pretend I wasn't sick and that I just lost weight the usual way (diet and exercise). We couldn't pretend that didn't happen, since I do look drastically thinner. Then I had to eat a meal in a restaurant that wouldn't raise suspicions. It was kind of like a reality show challenge or something. But we went to Red Lobster (see above re: luck with seafood) and I passed with flying colors. People I haven't told generally don't realize I'm sick, which I guess is a good thing? But it's kind of exhausting. It's also kind of weird to have half my family not know. Originally, we didn't want to tell my grandmother, because she'd worry like crazy and call me fifty times a day, and that's really, really annoying. And, I mean, it's not like my aunt and uncle can't keep a secret, lol, but there was this weird limbo thing where we thought it wouldn't be a big deal and I'd get better, and so there'd be nothing to tell. And then I didn't, and it turned out to be more serious than we thought, but the more time that passes, if we tell them, it's like, well, why are they just hearing about it now? And there's weirdness. I don't know.
So, that's me. How's your week?
I hope everyone who celebrates it had a good Thanksgiving. We had dinner at my parents' house this year (determined by whose house was closest to the hospital where my cousin - an OR nurse - was on call). Considering that I'm still on a pretty strict diet and the medicine I'm taking hasn't seemed to have any effect yet, it went about as well as could be expected for a holiday dedicated entirely to food and overeating. At least it was only my mom's side of the family, since we haven't actually told anyone on my dad's side that I've been sick. For those who like menus, we had: butternut squash soup, salad, turkey (of course), stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, corn and peas, cranberry sauce, corn bread, cranberry orange bread, chocolate cheesecake, pumpkin mousse pie, carrot cake, and cookies. (Bonus points if you can guess how many of those things I actually ate.)
My parents went out shopping for Black Friday (my dad is usually up at 4am anyway). I opted to sleep. My parents came back empty-handed (the stores had already sold out of the stuff they wanted), while I went out at 11:30, shopped for less than an hour, and managed to get two Christmas presents. We also put up our Christmas tree while I was home, but I didn't really help much because I was laying on the sofa, supposed to be doing my homework, but mostly just being in pain.
Speaking of the health issues, I've been on the meds for almost three weeks now. I'm taking Asacol HD, which is an oral pill, and an oh-so-fun suppository, which, like I said, don't seem to be doing much good. I've had some luck with seafood, but I'm still unable to eat large portions of the food pyramid (like red meat, processed meat, complex grains, or vegetables in any form, and I'm still a little afraid of milk). I also went for a small bowel MRI to see just how far up my intestines this inflammation goes, which, judging by the pain, I think is pretty far. I don't go back to the doctor until next Thursday, but I'm getting really impatient at this point to just get better. It's almost like I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd just be sick and in pain forever when it took them months to figure out the problem, but now that we have a diagnosis and I'm on medication, I'm like why the fuck isn't it working right NOW NOW NOW? I think I'm just so far past my breaking point, I don't even know how I'm doing this anymore.
I do seem to have a pretty impressive ability to turn it on and off, though. Like I said, we haven't told my dad's side of the family, but we went to visit my grandmother on Saturday, meaning I had to pretend I wasn't sick and that I just lost weight the usual way (diet and exercise). We couldn't pretend that didn't happen, since I do look drastically thinner. Then I had to eat a meal in a restaurant that wouldn't raise suspicions. It was kind of like a reality show challenge or something. But we went to Red Lobster (see above re: luck with seafood) and I passed with flying colors. People I haven't told generally don't realize I'm sick, which I guess is a good thing? But it's kind of exhausting. It's also kind of weird to have half my family not know. Originally, we didn't want to tell my grandmother, because she'd worry like crazy and call me fifty times a day, and that's really, really annoying. And, I mean, it's not like my aunt and uncle can't keep a secret, lol, but there was this weird limbo thing where we thought it wouldn't be a big deal and I'd get better, and so there'd be nothing to tell. And then I didn't, and it turned out to be more serious than we thought, but the more time that passes, if we tell them, it's like, well, why are they just hearing about it now? And there's weirdness. I don't know.
So, that's me. How's your week?