Sorting through the symptoms

June 21, 2009

I had a dilation on Friday. Dr. T had another doctor in there with her, I don't really remember what she was - teacher, resident - ?? Anyway, it's always strange for me to hear doctors filling in other doctors about my history. Dr. T was explaining my hospitalization last year to the doctor, "And then her colon became toxic," which stuck in my head on Friday.

I remember certain parts of the dilation, but other parts I don't remember at all. I do remember seeing my insides up on the TV screen as Dr. T scoped me. "The opening to your pouch looks really good Abby. I've never seen it this good before." She hardly had to dilate me at all. Which was confusing for me, until she commented on my rectum. "Your rectum is pretty inflamed though." I asked if my rectum being inflamed (which is another way of saying the ulcerative colitis is flaring there again) could make it difficult for me to pass stool too. She said it could. Ahh, that explains it.

So there are possibly some good results of this. You see, the symptoms that I experience when my UC flares are very similar to the symptoms I experience when I have pouchitis. I am taking Cipro for the pouchitis, and I do nightly enemas for the UC. So maybe what I thought was happening when I tried to decrease the Cipro was really just a UC flare. Maybe I will be able to go off the Cipro after all. (Which in turn means maybe pregnancy is a possibility if that's what we decide we want.)

So why the UC flare? The enemas had been helping treat the diseased part of my rectum. Here's one theory I have. I had been taking meds to help me sleep at night. Usually I'd fall asleep around 9:30 p.m. and the meds would help me stay asleep until around 3 a.m., at which time I'd get up and have to go to the bathroom. I do my enemas (or rectal suspension medication) right as I go to bed. Well, a while back I realized I didn't really need my sleeping meds to help me fall asleep any more, so I stopped taking them. I was able to fall asleep just fine, but I was getting up more frequently in the night, which means that I wasn't able to hold the medication in as long. So last night I started taking the sleeping medication again, hoping that it will help me sleep longer (not just fall asleep) so I can hold the medication in longer and maybe cool down this flare a little. Also, I might try doing the enemas twice a day (which my doctor had originally prescribed, but it's kind of hard to hold in when I'm up and moving around. Hard, but not impossible).

All in all I think it was good news because the surgery Dr. T is saying I will need (that I don't yet believe I will need) is due to me needing the dilations, which apparently I didn't really need this week. That's awesome! The rest of the issues I can deal with and am figuring out. It'll just take some time.

I don't know if it was the conscious sedation drugs, or the beginning of a migraine, or that I was trying to stop taking my anti-depression meds (or maybe it was a mixture of all three), but I got really nauseous Friday afternoon and evening. I kept a bucket beside me, worried that I was going to throw up. In the past when I have felt that way I've done whatever I could just to throw up and be done with it, but now with worrying about dehydration and all, I fought it. And I won!! I didn't end up tossing my cookies. I was so relieved. All I needed was some good sleep to take care of the problem.