Okay. I haven't been posting. I'd like to say that's because everything has been fabulous health-wise. Although partially true, I've hit some bumps on the road. It is expected for the first year after BCIR surgery to be a period of adjustment. After all, my ileum is now serving a completely different purpose than it did its other 30 years of existence in my body. But the important part is that I do not regret, AT ALL, my decision to have surgery. It has completely changed my life for the better in ways unimaginable.
The biggest hiccup has been my chronic pouchitis. I found an awesome GI in my home territory and she's been great about educating herself on my unique anatomy. I had my first post-op colonoscopy with her (which is actually called an ileoscope when you have no colon) and everything went GREAT. I am still waiting on the results of my biopsies but she was amazed at my anatomy and how healthy everything looked. She was also able to look into my small intestine which was always a challenge before because my doctors couldn't navigate the rest of my tract without endangering my intestines. I woke up after the scope and one of my caretakers who was in the room during my procedure was asking me a million questions. How do you know when you need to "go"? What does it feel like? Etc. It was a pretty great feeling to know that my insides looked healthy because I think my doctor was expecting to see something crazy in there. Even for medical professionals, I think it's hard for them to grasp that something atypical can, in fact, be legitimate and a far better option.
Anyway, my pouchitis has been under control with antibiotics but I haven't been able to completely wean off of them since surgery. Obviously no one wants to be on antibiotics for a long period of time so my new doctor prescribed Entyvio which I started in the beginning of November. It can take up to 12 weeks to become therapeutic so right now I am in one of those waiting periods. It really brings me back to the feeling and emotions that these waiting periods used to produce back in the days when I was really sick. It's a completely different sentiment this time. There really is no urgency to find out if Entyvio will "work" for me because my pouchitis is under control with the antibiotics. So the next month or so will definitely be a telling time where we will figure out what the next move is, if I cannot completely wean off of antibiotics. After seeing how healthy my insides looked, my new GI is definitely more receptive to keeping me on a long-term antibiotic regimen.
For anyone who has been wondering what I've been up to--Rather than spew everything that's happened in the last year, here is my 2015 recap, abbreviated:
I had BCIR surgery. Game changer.
The bf and I traveled, went to weddings, spent a lot of time with family.
I got a substantial promotion at work, finally feel settled in my career, and I'm lucky to be with a company that is growing.
My sister popped out another boy. And I'm obsessed, duh.
I discovered that me and my best friend Claire are allergic to snuggle and those nasty rashes I was getting were not, in fact, Crohn's (you may be laughing but it was a pretty serious problem for a few months)
Well, isn't life just thrilling...
-xo
