Thursday, September 6, 2012

Haven't felt fashionable lately

Haven't really felt good about much, to be honest. I'm still battling this stupid skin condition and I have gained back the majority of my weight - both of these things make me UNhappy!

There are however a couple things that make me very happy. I've had two more friends come to visit me, that I hadn't seen in more than 3 years. It was nice to be with them and not feel sick! Going out to eat and not worrying if I would have to immediately go home or going to new places and not freaking out about where the bathroom was or how clean it may or may not be. Refreshing. It's the weirdest stuff that gets us IBDers excited I tell ya.

While I am talking about eating - up there I did, see 'going out to eat...' - I wanted to dispel any myths my non-ostomy non-IBD friends may have about my current ability to eat certain foods. All ostomates and IBDers are different when it comes to diet. I always assumed that other IBDers had the same problems with certain food that I did, but that is not the case. And, getting used to my ostomy I learned that each person handles food differently that way too. To clear the record - and let me just point out I am not a doctor, I do however know a lot about Crohn's disease and specifically how it affects MY body - foods that used to bother me like popcorn, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds and salads DO NOT cause me problems anymore the way they did when I had a colon. The issues now are TOTALLY different - I have to be sure to chew things to death so that they can make there way through my small intestine and out the stoma. I have to make sure I drink LOTS of water to move things through. I've also developed some tricks and taken tips from others with ostomies. For instance, no rice for dinner. If I am going to have rice it has to be at lunch because I NEED the time after lunch to drink enough water to move that rice. 3 handfuls of popcorn is about all I can handle. If I don't really grind up almonds with my teeth they HURT coming out no matter how much water I have drank. Anytime I think something might not be "working out" for me - I drink hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Hot things "melt" for lack of a better term, what is inside and help it go through.

Another happy thing is I think we have finally found a church that feels right. The boys enjoyed VBS there a couple weeks ago and we have attended 2 Sunday services and I really feel at home. Which is huge. I'm SUPER picky - most people who know me wouldn't think I'm a traditional service kinda gal, but I am. I want the Sunday best, a hymnal and a luncheon in the afternoon. I can't get into the jeans and rock music at church. To each their own.

And I wrote this on 7/22 and am posting it just as I left it on that day.

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