Bowel Obstructions and Vodka

Oh man.

Late Wednesday night into Thursday morning I started to feel the dull, constant pain in my stomach that I know now means only one thing---I'm starting to get blocked up.

Sure enough as Thursday progressed the pain just got worse followed by an intense, thirty-six hour marathon of vomiting. Yes, I counted the hours. Basically every 15 to 20 minutes I was puking. I couldn't keep so much as a sip of water in me. And then I started getting a POUNDING headache around my temples. It was rough. I'm not sure if I actually had a fever because I never actually checked, but I'm pretty sure my temperature had to be elevated if I was feeling that shitty.

Usually I run to the hospital the second I notice pain that is alleviated when I vomit. That's pretty much one of the tell-tale signs that I am obstructed. And you can't really mess around when it comes to them because if your bowel happens to become completely blocked it could lead to much more serious issues, like perforation, which I have experienced in the past and I can tell you it is probably the only time in my life I have actually been in and out of consciousness from pain.

Due to the fact that I burned my bridges at the University of Penn by seeing my doc in Maryland, I really did not like the idea of checking into a random hospital, even though I have done so millions of times in the past. For some reason, even though I was so damn nauseated and in pain I could barely move, I thought I could handle this one on my own. And I guess I was sort of right because by Friday afternoon the pain in my stomach was subsiding even though I couldn't get rid of my damn headache.

By the time I called my doc my pain was improving so he didn't think I needed to be admitted. Basically once I could start keeping fluids down I started drinking as much as I could to get myself hydrated, but it was very hard. I was extremely dehydrated at that point and even though I knew I had to drink, the thought of eating or drinking was unpleasant. I was supposed to follow a liquid diet for a few days, progress to mushy foods, and then back into a low-residue diet for a while. But yea, I just pretty much listened to my body and by Sunday I was eating fairly normal stuff, but just conscious of keeping things simple and smooth.

As quickly as this issue came on it resolved itself. I am still sure I was partially blocked somewhere. Lately this has been happening a bit too often, albeit not as bad as this past incidence. I am going to get my blood checked tomorrow to see if my markers of inflammation are elevated or what. But honestly I feel absolutely fine again. Good enough to drink some vodka and club last night as I watched the Phillies game.

There is certainly a huge difference between bowel obstructions and actual Crohn's-flares but it is still worry-some when the obstructions start happening more often. For now I am just going to look forward to my colonoscopy on the 4th and hope that things look good. My blood tests every month have only been improving, so hopefully that is a sign of what is to come.

Oh, and by the way, I am officially steroid-free!