7 year itch

I guess that is what I had!

I was very lucky for 7 years.....I know I bitterly complained about 8 pills a day as a 26 year old....but all in all I felt good! I had a few flare ups here and there - but all in all I was good!

My GI had me on a every 2 year colonoscopy routine. So - December 2007 I went in. All looked good - all the biopsies came back ok - plan was to continue with what was working! And to repeat colonoscopy in 3 years! Woo Hoo - felt like I graduated a bit!

In spring of 2009 I began a new diet plan. The lady who was training me convinced me to try to live a gluten free life. She showed me all sorts of studies that said it would help my UC. I reluctantly gave it a go! It was very hard in the beginning but it did make my tummy feel less bloated and I could eat more salad and veggies without so much pain! So - I stuck with it. I did have a few cheats here and there - particularly at weddings and such - but all in I was gluten free!

Jump ahead to October 2010 - not feeling great! Wondering why the Gluten free plan was not working as well! The list of foods that were super painful kept getting longer and longer. It was 2 months till my scheduled colonoscopy. I figured to ride it out till then - it would be ok! I was also in the middle of running the largest fundraiser for my kids school. The big day was the first weekend in November - I chalked up my feeling awful to the stress from that event. I kept telling myself that once that was over I would be just fine again.

The fundraiser came and went (super successful though I might add - raised over $100,000 for the school) and I was still feeling awful - actually some days awful was a nice word to describe how I felt. It was finally colonoscopy time! My GI said after looking at my scope that my insides can no longer look this way - we needed to try something new! He told me I had 2 choices:

*Infusion based medicine

*6MP

The infusion based medicine scared me a bit - started to get memories of the PICC line! So I said lets try the 6MP. After all - I have a girl friend who has Chrohns and has been on 6MP for 3 months already and was feeling great! I immediately text my mom with the news and she got on the computer and started the research on the drug. What we then found out over the next few days was a bit scary! 6MP was a form of chemotherapy? Could that be true? Could that be good for me?

I had the required blood test done to see if I was a candidate for 6MP - this was right before christmas. The doctors office called a few days before the new year and said the 6MP was a go! So - I filled my prescription and began taking it right after the new year! I said 2011 was going to be a great year - and I was hopeful that this new medicine would make me feel good as new! I was looking forward to another great 7 years!

Here is Heather and I toasting to 2011. I rallied for New Years Eve - didn't feel great but was determined to ring in 2011 the right way! With great friends and the love of my life!!!! Didn't get a pic of Tim and I together that night though :(