Lizz

So, in my last post, I was bitching about pooin’ my pants.  I am HAPPY to update to you, my J-pouch friends, that this was in fact NOT a flare, rather a side-effect of one of my new medicines.  Nowhere do I recall reading on the label, “may cause one to crap one’s pants. Oops.”  But, indeed abdominal pain, diarrhea, et al. were side-effects.  I have since stopped taking it and have been continent and happy for several days now! Also glad that no scope was needed. “The dreaded apparatus!” as Kramer would say.

So, I am in Portland, apartment and job-hunting and had a nice interview this morning. When asked for a “candid” reason why I left my last job, I replied, “I had emergency surgery.” I did not go into detail, because explaining that I was having surgery for a twisted J-pouch required much too much explanation! She then followed-up with, “Are you doing okay now? Is this something that would prevent you from working?” I paused…answered, “No.” I wasn’t exactly forthcoming about my GI distresses, but I have been able to work for the past 6 months.  It’s hard to decide how to handle these situations. I can work now. There is the possibility that I will not be able to at some points in the future, but not being a fortune-teller, I kept my mouth shut.

I’m also on the hunt for a good GI out here, before I officially move. The one my current GI recommended is not in my insurance “network”. God bless the insurance companies! So, the search continues. Feel free to recommend who manages your guts in Portland.

Hope you are all having a good, adult-diapers-free week!

And just an added note about the aforementioned twisting of the pouch. NOT common. This happened b/c for some reason or other, I did not make the scar tissue most folks do that basically holds the pouch in place. It happened once, and was “untwisted” by my surgeon, who chose to avoid surgery to “tack it down” to my tailbone unless it happened again. It did happen again…So I had surgery this past April to fix it and so far so good. Very painful, but again, not at all common.  I asked my surgeon once if this could be because I did lots of yoga. He kindly giggled and said, “No.”

These posts might also help out:

• April 5, 2010 -- Home from Surgery #1 (1)
• November 10, 2009 -- 6 Months Later: Jaypouchirifical (22)
• June 17, 2009 -- Keepin’ it Real in the Real World with IBD. (6)
• June 6, 2009 -- Let’s just call it … IBD (8)

But when I started taking it, it made me feel better and I had almost no side-effects. I had some difficulty sleeping and I didn’t feel full as quickly (my satiation point seemed to disappear somewhat) but that’s it. When I was in the hospital, I was on ridiculously high amounts and it really didn’t effect me much. I was concerned because it looked like I would be taking it once a year or so for about a month, but the physician told me that taking it that infrequently probably didn’t have much effect long-term.

I’m not saying that Prednisone is pleasant and I know that some people have absolutely awful experiences with it. I just want to point out that it can make you feel a lot better and if medically it makes sense for you to try it, know that it may not be as awful as you anticipate.

These posts might also help out:

• February 25, 2010 -- Commenter with Questions (8)
• November 10, 2009 -- Just Dance! (8)
• July 15, 2009 -- Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (12)
• February 13, 2010 -- Take a walk in my shoes (59)