Hmmm...

Well today was unusual, to say the least.

Apparently the sigmoidoscopy procedure would take 5-10 mins, so I was seen almost immediately after arrival to the ol' Endoscopy department.

Luckily I had a good friend keep me company (and potential chaperone in case I got drugged up) and she brought...Louis! Homemade Walsh wonderfulness. Please see below haha. Inside joke, apologies.

*Skip past usual prep admin*

I'm gowned up, in the room, knees to chest and ready to go. Ish.

I persuaded them to give me gas and air based on previous experiences - to which the nurse replied "women can give babies using just this. You will be fine!" I suppose in a twisted way my labour prep is well on its way!! (Don't worry significant other, no rush)

Ok. I was in there 40 minutes in the end. Standard Harriet timing then?

Unfortunately due to my numerous procedures the original camera couldn't actually get up ze bottom.  The initial scope was straight...my insides were bendy. So we had to change to a flexible scope to get round the bend. Regardless, I have found a clip art of the situation I eventually found myself in...

Good view? That's questionable. But I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder hahaha.

To add insult to injury, as they were prepping the second flexible camera they left the other one on the bed. Next to my bum. This meant my behind was on THREE SCREENS AROUND THE ROOM. So I did what any self respecting person does, and just kept breathing in gas to let the lightheadedness overtake the shame.

But there is good news!

The majority of my large intestine is clear. But we also couldn't see any cause of the bleeding. And obviously by we I totally mean the doctor. I had no idea what was going on. Gassssss.

However he did say that I probably should have just had a full colonoscopy as he went so far round my body. And the pain! Oh the pain! But means to an end. You're already in there...might as well keep going?! Gassssss.

They did find a microscopically small haemorrhoid but it didn't look like it had been bleeding (?) At all. They took some biopsies anyway (odd tugging sensation. Never get used to that) maybe that will offer up an explanation?

All very strange. But course of action is to stick with the higher dose of pred and reduce by a tablet each week. And hopefully that's the end of that.

So all that was left to do was to deflate. For want of a better turn of phrase. And do a stool sample before my next appointment, which meant make my way home on public transport with a bedpan to poo in - except it was just that bit too big for my handbag. Ace.

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Sigmoidoscopy What?!

Well the good news is I saw my consultant this afternoon. The bad news (for my bumhole) is that I have to have an urgent sigmoidoscopy tomorrow.

Nope, I'd never heard of it either.

Here's a diagram that should make it a bit clearer:

Hopefully the doctor's face will be a bit further away than that?! Good lord.

It's a good job I'm used to these consultant appointments though; nothing says 'a normal Thursday afternoon' like pants down, knees to chest and invasion of the personal space.

But at least he couldn't feel any abscesses. So that's a plus. Also got my bloods done and had my steroids increased to 8/day. More fun prednisolone times ahead. Just want to know what's going on in my body!!

In the meantime, its liquids only ready for Anal Invasion v.2.

Needless to say, it'll be a different type of Friday feeling tomorrow...

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Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Oh lordy.

I feel all weepy, sat at the hospital waiting to be seen.

Don't know why? This is not a new experience.

Must just be nerves and wondering...but also the general frustration and worry that goes hand-in-hand with Crohn's.

It's also the biggest journey I've done all week and it's already made me sleepy. God help me when I get back to work! Think nap time will be in order for sure...

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It's a Waiting Game

And what a crappy game it is to play.

Left a message for my IBD nurse this morning; on the understanding that they get back to you within one working day. Also made an appointment with my superstar GP today.

As I thought - and which my doctor confirmed - there ain't no sign of tears, fissures or piles (thank god for that...don't fancy sitting in a rubber ring!) This does mean however that I'm at a loss as to where all this blood is still coming from.

My GP was hesitant to refer me back to the rectal bleeding clinic at my old hospital, as nothing really came of it last time.

One theory we have is that although my previous colonoscopy showed less inflammation where my op was by the terminal ileum (small intestine), when I did a stool sample it showed I still very much have active disease somewhere else.

So perhaps, somewhere in my large intestine it's all kicking off, causing the flare up and possibly being the cause of this bleeding?! Basically. Someone needs to get up my bum and see what's going on. Joy. Goodbye personal space.

Hopefully once I hear from the IBD nurse and/or my GP after she was following up with the hospital, I can get some blood tests to check my iron levels. But also get to the bottom of this. Pun intended.

In the meantime, I just need to try and stay awake during the days as I just feel so empty and weak and shattered.

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Bloody Hell, Part 2

So you know how I wrote the following in a previous post...?

And this is why sometimes the weekends suck; in a medical sense. As now I'm just left wondering if this is going to happen everytime I go to la toilette...

Well. It appears that yes. It will happen every time I go to the toilet. Every. Time.

I think the best thing to do would be to call my IBD nurse tomorrow? I'm just baffled as I have no pain in the nether region. But there is sooooo much blood. And it's getting darker?

Plus it's making me tired and feel weak. Neither of which I'm comfortable with, to be honest.

Fellow IBDers, what do you think is the best course of action?

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Hair we go again!

As my regular readers will know, I like to change my hair when my Crohn's gets all up in my space; yesterday was another one of those days.

I decided it would be a good idea to get my hair dyed dark. Haven't been dark for a while, and it should hopefully make my hair look glossy and healthy and thick. And also (maybe?) make me look a bit healthier. Add to the facade of the invisible illness haha.

But as I don't do normal things with my hair, as in my hair was blue/green (or as I like to call it, MERMAID HAIR), I ended up having it cleansed and now I have an unintentional ombré... Might leave it like this for a while though? As John Lennon once said 'Let It Be'.

Thing is, since I've been back on Azathioprine, I've noticed my hair is falling out again (happened first time round too) Hurumph indeed. It's not like clumps, but if I ran my fingers through my hair, there's too many ending up in my hand for my own comfort.

However I did check whether my hair falling out was due to my dying it; it's not the hair breaking. It's whole strands coming out from the roots. Not ideal, eh?

Is this a medicinal thing or a Crohn's thing? I've seen a few posts on the internet recently asking the same kind of questions. As always in the IBD community, if I can take comfort in anything, it's that I'm not the only one! 

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BLOODY Hell

So my late night ramblings were due to the fact I couldn't sleep. At all. As in fell asleep after 4am.

When I woke up this morning, needless to say I was a tad groggy - but hey ho it's SATURDAY. IT'S THE WEEKEND. REJOICE!

Until I went to the toilet and seemed to have left behind a gallon of blood.

Erm....?!

Could this be down to my meds? Prednisolone, Azathioprine, Humira? Has my blood thinned and just fallen out my arse?!

And this is why sometimes the weekends suck; in a medical sense. As now I'm just left wondering if this is going to happen everytime I go to la toilette...

Bloody hell, indeed.

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Flat Out

Sometimes when the pain is really bad (like now) and I'm super bloated (like now)... I lie on my front to squash my stomach and hope the pain will go away.

FYI. It doesn't. Just makes me feel a bit sick.

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Flare Mare

It's been a while...and boy had I forgotten how much it sucks when flaring up!

I'm grateful that is has been a number of months since my last flare up. But the symptoms have a very sneaky way of suddenly wiping you out;

Extremely tired, nauseous, heavy limbs, excessive toilet trips, and oh the PAIN.

Back on Prednisolone, 6/day for two weeks *awaits the moonface* ohhh such fun.

And talking of 'such fun', I went to see Miranda Hart at the O2 last week. Many lols to be had! (Pluuuunge. Gallop. Moist)

But there was a particular sketch which fits nicely into this post...

She was on a first date, dancing at a club and suddenly buckled in pain. An ambulance was called, she thought she had appendicitis and her date was naturally panicked. As she recoiled to try and keep the pain away, she pulled her body tighter and tighter into a ball. And then... a massive trump. All the pain had been caused by trapped wind. That's all it was - wind. Needless to say, she made a swift exit!

Oh but what I would have given for my pain to disappear by trumping. Trumpity, trump, trump. But no. Crohn's doesn't work like that unfortunately.

So it's working from home for a bit, staying on top of my meds and hoping that the flare up calms the bloody hell down so I can get back to normal. Not asking for much haha.

In the meantime, here's two wind-related Miranda clips: Candle and Curtsey. This particular clip is about 2 seconds long, so please (if you have a moment) scroll to 0:35 for it hahaha Sausage Meat. Always make me laugh!

But remember, all you IBDers out there...

Ciao for now
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PS: Thanks to Louise for sharing the top photo on Facebook, which was via Christina Matthies of The Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Diaries

Bad News for Crohn's Sufferers

The lovely Louise shared this article earlier on today.

Makes for an interesting read! Unfortunately haha.

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Dusting off the trainers

So here's Jamie and I after the BUPA London 10k in 2010:

This was just over a year since I was diagnosed - and whilst I was still pretty fit because of uni - we decided to enter the race and raise money for Crohn's & Colitis UK (formerly NACC).

I would always say that at school I was a sprinter, as opposed to a long distance kinda gal. And anyone who knows me will agree with me when I say that I am NOT A RUNNER.

I think the fact that I bought trainers purely for the run underlines my lack of cardio activity haha. And going 'training' but taking my oyster card (just in case, obviously) probably didn't help much either... *hangs non-athletic head in shame*

But I did the race in 1hr 10mins and more importantly, I survived! Just look at the joy in my face!

Due to the amount of ups and downs that followed though, meant that I never really got a chance to monopolise on my new found fitness (!) however now that I am probably as close to remission as ever, it's time to dust off my trainers, get fit and get running!!

Would sincerely appreciate any form of donation; however big or small.

The race itself is on Sunday May 25th 2014 which gives me plenty of time to get training. Without my oyster card as back up this time.

You can donate in a variety of ways, as I'm sure you're all aware. But just to clarify you can do the following:

• Through our Just Giving page
• By clicking the widget on the left hand side of my blog
• Or text HSJD50 with the amount you wish to donate to 70070

Thanks so much for reading this and for your continued support with my blog.

You guys rock.

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