Bleeech

That's pretty much how I feel right now. I think I'm coming down with a cold. It's floating around our little community and though I've tried to stay away from people who have it apparently it didn't work.

It doesn't help matters any that the Humira suppresses my immune system, so I'm anxious about getting a cold - or anything for that matter. I woke up with a slight sore throat and at the end of the day I'm getting those runny eyes, sore throat, beginning of a runny nose signs that tell me a cold is imminent. I'm hoping to get rid of it fairly quickly, but the people I know who have or have had it said it doesn't shake that quickly. GREAT!!! Just what I needed.

However, the Humira is working way better than I expected. I gave myself my third injection last Friday. I had a follow-up doctor appointment and he was thrilled that it seems to be working so well for me. So am I. The only thing I can think of is that I bruise a little easier now. I'm going to call one of the nurses to discuss that, but I think it's to be expected.

Actually one other thing that tells me it's really working is the weight gain I'm experiencing. I'm actually going to have to start watching how much I eat. It was an eat whatever I can to get some nutrients and now it's watch what I'm eating because I'm gaining too much weight. I'm not really complaining, but the weight always goes to my bust and my butt first and I feel like I'm carrying a whole other body on my rear end when I walk. I can feel the darned thing moving back there and I don't like it any more. Ms. Lopez and Ms. Kardashian can keep it all to themselves, I want my big butt gone again.

It's amazing to me how heavy that extra weight is. I can't believe I carried that around for so long and was used to it. I can't stand it now. Of course, nibbling on candy corn (as I'm doing as I type this) isn't helping any.

Oh well, there are worse things that could be happening to me right now and I am grateful beyond words that the Humira is working for me right now.

Happy September

Another 2 months and we are heading into fall. Here's an update on what's going on:

Crafting

I've done a few dishcloths and two pairs of sleeves for my sister.

I'm not too sure about these sleeves. I followed the pattern and checked the gauge and they just seem so small, but she's a skinny thing and hopefully they will work. There is a lot of give in them. They are made from a very light weight merino. I'll post pictures in the next post.

I've been thinking about all of the patterns I've acquired throughout the years. I'm thinking that I need to stop acquiring and start making them. So I think I'll start working my way through the patterns I've saved on my computer. Just do down the list and do them. I'll have to figure out a way to list them on the blog and cross them off as they are done. It will be a big task, but what's the point of keeping the patterns if you're not going to make them?

Health

I'm still on the prednisone, once I hit 10mg in the tapering process I started having flare up symptoms and called the doctor. He put me back up to 20mg and had me begin tapering off at 2.5mg per week. I'm going down to 7.5mg tomorrow. I started my Humira injections on August 15th. I went to my doctors office to learn how to self-inject and had my initial 4 injections. Two in my tummy and one in each thigh. I decided then and there that I would have all future self-injections into my tummy. The thighs hurt way more than the tummy shots. There was hardly anything injecting into the tummy. (Hopefully I haven't grossed anyone out with the injection story.)

Anyway, I don't know if it was because it was a mega-dose or what, but I felt better in that first week and my symptoms have drastically changed for the better since being on the Humira. I gave myself the next set of injections this past Friday and have had none of the complications assocated that could possibly come up with the injections. So far I am very happy with the Humira and hope it will continue when I'm taken off of the pills (which will hopefully be very soon).

Well I guess that's it for now. I'll have to get out the camera and take some photos of the dishcloths I've done and my sisters arm sleeves. Right now I need to get out and do some chores for the day in the barn.

July !?! Update

It's already July, half the year is gone!

Oh well, here's what's happening. In my continuing bouts with my Crohn's, I am on round three (or is it four) with prednisone. I waver between calling it a blessing and evil. Because it's really both. It gets rid of the inflammation and makes me feel human again, but at the same time it has a laundry list of evil side effects. My nickname when I'm on it is "Rex" after the hamster in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels because of the moon face I get from the bloating.

The latest is that as the current group of drugs I'm on aren't doing what they should so I will need to move up a level to "biologicals" which involve self-administered injections. Only they have their own laundry list of side effects and bad things. Today I have an appointment with my neurologist to review the three (yes, three) MRI's I had on Saturday to determine if there is any MS lurking in my system. As my sister has been diagnosed with it and now a half-sister also possibly has it they want to make sure I don't have any underlying as the new regimen of drugs could "bring it out" if I do. The thought that crossed my mind whenI heard my gastro say that was "lovely". But I'm thinking positive and we'll go from there.

I've added a link to my sidebar if anyone would like to learn more about Crohn's because they are curious, knows someone with it or may have symptoms and aren't sure what they are. It seems to be showing up in more people lately and I can't help but think it's tied to the crap we've been fed by food scientists for decades now.

EAT LOCAL, EAT FRESH, KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM!!!

Now on to crafting. I'm currently working on knitted sleeves for my sister. They are being knit in sport weight merino on size 9 needles and are very lightweight and airy, but talk about taking a lot of stitches to get somewhere. I'll post pictures if when they are done.

I've also been going through my crafting books (mainly quilting) and boy am I getting excited about quilting again. I have a few tops that are already pieced and just need to be quilted, so I'll probably start with those.

On the crochet front, I found a link through a dishcloth group I'm in for Crochet by Numbers you really have to check this site out. I sent him a picture and he has turned it into a pattern for me. I'm doing the test pattern right now to learn the techniques and then I'll probably do another before I tackle the picture. I'm thinking Christmas present if it works out. It is really amazing and if you crochet, I really suggest you check out the site.

Well I have to get running now. More later.

Sometimes you just have to plunge in

I have been working myself up to learning to crochet for quite some time now. Well after receiving a copy of the Carol Alexander crochet newsletter that featured Thread Bears I joined the Yahoo group Thread Animals and sat down in front of the computer to learn.

I found a web site that has videos of someone teaching you how to crochet. It's called NexStitch.

It was a life saver for me because try as hard as I do, I just can't pick it up from the books. I'm just a visual learner. Anyway, doing the chains and sample stitches got real boring, real quick so I went through the dozens of patterns I've tucked away and decided to try one. It is of a pig with a chicken on it's back and I did the chicken in one night. Here he is:


Other than my hypercritical judgments, and considering he's my first object from crochet and consisted of mainly single crochet and single crochet decrease I think I did pretty good. The next one will be even better. I've done the body for the piggy and have to finish the rest of him, the the chicken can take his place perched on his back.

On another note, lately I've been on a "give me cake-like substances and give them to me NOW!" binge. The reason is I'm back on prednisone thanks to a flare up of my Crohn's Disease. Prednisone always ramps up my appetite and increases my cravings for sugar immensely. So lately I've been giving in to the cravings. It's like a have a little monkey on my back who starts smacking me in the back of the head when the cravings hit. He's a persistent little monkey and he doesn't quit until he gets his fix.

Here's a blueberry swirl coffee cake I made using the ever popular Bisquick recipe. I made a cherry one last week and this week it was blueberry. In case you're wondering, don't worry I am not the only one eating this or you wouldn't be able to get me out of the door. My glaze kind of pooled in the middle because it wasn't completely cooled (it's the monkeys fault), but the end result was yummy nonetheless.

Good things and not so good things

Good things - It's only Tuesday and it's been a doozy of a week so far. On the good end, our farm picked up an account at a new local grocery store to carry our pasture raised chicken, turkey and eggs. We made our first delivery last Thursday. We came home from market on Sunday to a message requesting more eggs and on Monday received a call for more chicken. On top of that they've ordered 50 or our turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Needless to say we are extremely happy that our product is selling at the store. We know that once people taste our chicken and eggs they tend to become loyal customers. It's just really nice to see it happen at a retail level.

So most of today was spent getting the second order prepped and out the door and we'll be making our third delivery on Thursday. If you want to check out the store here's the link: Plum Market

It's a really great store. I can wander around there for hours. I got an amazing 3 year old gouda cheese from them today. The flavor is incredible.

Needless to say, my crafting has very much been hit and miss. I get some knitting in while riding in the passenger seat to market. I've cut out several pieces for the pin cushions and now I need to sew, stuff and finish them. Then I need to wash and block all the dish cloths. I've promised myself that Thursday night is craft night so I plan to have some pictures to post on Friday of something...ANYTHING...craft related.

I've got to get something done on my Wagon Challenge list. I have actually knitted the skull and cross bones cloth, I just have to block it.

Not so good things - On the health front, I'm experiencing major "moon" face from the prednisone. I actually startled myself last night when I looked in the mirror. I didn't realize how pronounced it was this time around. It looks like I'll be on the prednisone for a while so I'll just have to get used to it.

My sister has been in the hospital since last Wednesday out in LA with numbness in her feet. She was diagnosed with MS about 5 years ago and after a bunch of tests and a spinal tap they have decided she is having a recurrence of the MS which is causing the numbness. They don't know if it will go back to normal or stay the way it is or partially go away, she'll have to wait and see. I'll be out in LA the first week of November to help her recuperate from surgery for something else...if she still has it. Her neurologist is worried that the surgery will be another level of physical stress on her body and make the MS worse. So we'll have to decide if she's going to have it. It seems that if it's not one thing, it's another for us as far as health is concerned lately. Time to do some positive visualization.

So that's it for the day. I'm turning in so I can get up at 4a.m. tomorrow and feed the chicks and turkeys and prep the next order for the store and farmers' markets. Then I'm going to craft something just to remind myself that I can get something finished.

Evil Flare Up

As I wrote previously, I have Crohn's Disease. My first course of treatment was prednisone and Asacol to knock the inflammation down and keep it down. Well after finally being weaned from the prednisone and feeling like a million dollars after hovering around a penny for so long I started feeling the symptoms return and they returned with a vengeance.

I think it's a combination of not having the prednisone coursing through my system and a lack of firm diligence on my behalf towards keeping an eye on a proper diet. I have been avoiding preservatives, additives and such like the plague, but some things (chocolate, an occasional latte) started appearing on the scene too much and I'm now paying the price.

So now I have a wicked flare up of my Crohn's and I'm back on the prednisone until my new meds kick in. That will take a few months but they are supposed to have fewer nasty possible consequences that come from being on prednisone for too long of a time. This is something I'm going to be dealing with for the rest of my life and it is going to be a very difficult thing to maintain considering our culture of food. I love to cook so it's not a problem, the problem is planning ahead far enough to cover the bases if I'm out of the house too long. I've got some serious sorting out to do with this because I don't want the list of meds to continue to grow and I don't want a hospital stay and I don't want to be one of the many who end up having surgery as a result of this disease.

I also will have to take a calcium/Vitamin D supplement twice a day and have regular blood work done to make sure everything is balanced properly with the new med. And I do so love getting poked and having my blood drawn...NOT.

So expect the occasional rant about this. It's got to go somewhere...

The Bloat

I have now been on my meds for 4 weeks. I have to admit that I am feeling nearly 100 percent better. I have my appetite back (almost too much of an appetite). I'm seriously going to have to watch my intake. But as of Friday I began retaining water. Retained to the tune of 29 pounds as of this morning. I know I haven't eaten enough to gain that amount of weight and it is definitely bloat because I didn't look like this Thursday night.

After a call to my gastroenterologist I was told that I should have been tapering off of the Prednisone by now. Only problem is they didn't give me any tapering instructions and the next appointment I have isn't until July. How the heck was I supposed to know to taper? Anyway, I'll be tapering down for the next few weeks at a rate of 1/2 pill per week. Maybe now the "moon face" that is typical of Prednisone use will begin to fade too.

Right now my legs look like stuffed sausages and my tummy jiggles from all of the water when I walk. I'll be going in to see my primary care physician tomorrow and hopefully I'll get a diuretic or something because it's painful around the legs right now.

But other than the weight gain, I'm feeling really good. I've been drinking kefir smoothies once a day. They are good and seem to be helping get the bacteria levels evened out. I'm still reading "Breaking The Vicious Cycle" and making notes. I'll be tackling that food plan in earnest once I fully understand what's expected. If it puts me into remission and keeps me there, I'm all for it.

Well that's it, I've gone from bony to bloated and from literally starving to can't get enough to eat. I need to find the happy medium already!

Crohn's Disease

BE WARNED, THIS POST MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES AND MEDICAL PROCEDURES!!

Well how's that for a topic? For the past 9 or so (maybe more) years I have been having recurring problems with my intestinal tract and my eyes. The problem with my eyes was diagnosed as iritis and it would flair up on occasion and send me scurrying to my opthamologist for the necessary treatments (generally steroid drops).

My intestinal problems turned into a medical chart of epic proportions. One of the first doctors who treated me pretty much figured it was all in my head. Why? Because I'm female? Who knows, all I know is he referred me to a psychologist who based on the questions he asked seemed to think my sex life had something to do with my stomach issues.

Skipping ahead a little, one day my ankles were swollen beyond belief so I went in to have them looked at. After a swivel or two the same doctor who sent me to the shrink pronouced it arthritis and put me on Voltaren. BIG MISTAKE. I wound up in Urgent Care the next day with every joint in my body swollen. I moved at a snails pace. Once they got me inside and did the preliminary questions they asked me if I could stay to see the rheumotologist. Where else was I going? This doctor turned out to be sent from heaven. Not only did he get pissed off at the misdiagnosis (no I DON'T have arthritis) but after glancing at my two ton medical chart he asked what else was wrong. Upon telling him about my stomach issues he wrote a prescription for Pepcid. I swear to you the next day after I took it, the relief was almost immediate. I promptly made him my primary physician.

So skip ahead to 2004. In between I had the recurring iritis issues and some stomach spells, but nothing really bad. I moved from Los Angeles to Michigan. Big change. BIG CHANGE. A welcome change, one I wanted more than anything. I was tired of the city, the noise, the smog, the people, the concrete, hunting for parking, the hour long 12 mile drive to work on the freeway. It was time for blue skies, green grass and actual seasons again. The first year I got here, I was in heaven. I still am, but around mid-2005 the stomach problems started to creep up again. I wrote it off to stress from starting a new business venture. But it kept getting worse. Between working to get the farm ready for our business (raising chickens for meat and eggs and turkeys) I dropped 40 pounds. I was a big girl when I came here (277.5) so losing the weight was a very happy and good thing.

However, as my stomach ailments increased the weight began to melt away. Some people might think that is a good thing, but not when you lose 100 pounds in the course of a year because you cannot eat. It hurt so much that at one point eating was a chore and I didn't want to do it. I spent more time running to the bathroom and in the bathroom than I did working.

Now leaving a steady paying job to raise chickens also left me without medical insurance. No insurance, no visits to the doctor. After locating a local health plan I was placed on the waiting list. Once an opening came up I went in, completed the paperwork and was immediately sent to a doctor. By this time I had lost 120 pounds total.

My new doctor and her staff have been wonderful. Not having insurance is rough. Some things were covered on the plan and some things weren't (like hospitalization costs). In order to have the hospitalization covered I had to apply for another plan which I am very grateful to have been approved for and the hospital is picking up most, if not all, of any hospitalization costs.

Anyway, one ultrasound later I was referred for a colonoscopy. I was originally told I couldn't get in to see the doctor until July (this was in February). As my protein, iron and sodium numbers were steadily dropping my primary physician's office went a little nuts and after some demands got me in earlier.

Earlier turned out to be May 7 after a CAT scan to clarify some of the ultrasound pictures. I met with the doctor for the initial visit and the second I mentioned iritis he said "Has anyone ever said the words Crohn's Disease to you?" Well no, never. It turns out Crohn's can be a direct cause of iritis. He was baffled that no one had ever put the two together. After hearing that, so was I. He was pretty sure that's what I had, but he wanted the colonoscopy to verify it.

Enter into a bit of a nightmare. I was warned about the pre-cleansing, that it would be pretty horrible. And they were right. Boy were they right. I checked in to the clinic at 7:30am on May 7th, put on the backwards gown, had the blood pressure and pulse checked. The IV line was inserted (I can't begin to tell you how much I hate having needles of any kind poked into me, but how much I really HATE HAVING THEM POKED INTO MY HAND!!!) and I waited patiently to be rolled in for the procedure. About an hour later, I went in and all I remember is watching the nurse administer the first dose of sedative and that was all she wrote. No counting backwards or anything, just sweet oblivion.

The aftermath was anything but sweet. My colon was so swollen that they had to give me multiple doses of sedative to keep my out. When they rolled me into recovery, my partner and very good friend was told that I wouldn't be giving him any trouble today because they really had to knock me out. Good thing he was there because I vaguely remember seeing the doctor talk but I don't remember a word he was saying. I was told he said he didn't need to wait for biopsies to confirm that it was Crohn's and wrote me out two prescriptions. I got dressed, had a couple of Lorna Doone's and half a glass of juice and headed out the door. I then proceeded to throw up the entire trip home and afterwards.

During the colonoscopy they will use a little air to inflate the colon to enable the probe to move about more freely. They tell you there may be some cramping because of this but the air will pass. My colon was so irritated that they had to use extra. It was no joy ride, the pain was excruciating. So between worshipping the porcelain god, I had massive attacks of cramping and gas from the air leaving the area. At some point I managed to crawl into bed and pass out.

Only to wake up the next day feeling like I was on fire. Turns out I was. I had a temperature of 103.4. After a call into my doctor I left a message with the nurse and my partner was busy hosing me down with damp rags and ice to try and get the temp down. I missed the doctors call later that day because I was once again out of it in bed. When I woke up the next morning, the fever had broken and I and the bed were drenched in sweat. This is gross, but it was the most awful smell as well. Something wasn't right. I spoke to the doctor finally and he explained that the throwing up and high temperature came from the extra amounts of sedatives they had to give me. I wasn't up and running for a good 4 days. He asked me if I remembered any of the procedure and when I said no, he very quickly said "that's good!" It must have been a doozy is all I can say. I think every toxin in my body was released when that fever broke. I was having some trouble turning my head from side to side before (once again I was thinking stress related) but now I can darn near swivel it like an owl with no pain. Not to mention I haven't had a single Tylenol since the procedure. Like I said, some bad toxins must have been released.

I am now on a regimen of Prednisone and Asacol to treat the inflammation. I'm on my second week of the meds and the past two days have been the first where I feel like I'm finally firing on all pistons. My intestinal tract has greatly calmed down, but it's only the second week so i've still got a long way to go. There are days when I wake up perky and ready to go and then deflate like a balloon half way through the day.

Since the diagnosis I have met quite a few people who have the same disease. It's actually been really uplifiting to know that I'm haven't been losing my mind and I'm not the only one. One of my customers referred me to a wonderul lady who almost lost her life to this disease because they didn't diagnosis it properly and they have both steered me towards drinking kefir as part of my treatment to get the bacteria in my system back up to where they should be. I drank my first kefir smoothie (with berries, banana and honey) last night and despite my previous aversion to milk products because of the insuing gas and pain, I had no issues whatsover with the kefir. I make my own using the "grain" the customer gave me.

I was also referred to a book called "Breaking the Vicious Cycle - Intestinal Health through Diet" by Elaine Gottschall which gives you a diet to follow to get the Crohn's and other intestinal diseases under control. It arrived today (thanks Amazon!) and I'll be reading it thoroughly. It does call for eating homemade yogurt (again to get your healthy bacteria back up) so I'll be looking forward to that as well.

Basically it's all about eating clean, fresh foods. No additives, no preservatives, no MSG, etc. I had cut a lot of that out on my own trying to doctor myself. Now I'm going to be even stricter with it.

Needless to say, while I'm finally very happy to have a name to the condition I have, I still have the fears of having to live with this. There is no known cure. All you can do is try to bring it into remission and keep it there. Steroids are nasty little suckers that have their own set of problems tacked on (like the moon face I'm developing, possible cataracs, glaucoma, etc.) so you can't be on them forever. Not to mention my other med has a copay of $200 a refill. I've applied to the manufacturer to try to get that one at a lower cost or for free. I'm hoping like crazy to be accepted to the program. Right now I have a box full of samples from the doctor to get me through for the time being.

My weight right now is 132.5. That's up 4 pounds since the colonoscopy. I dropped 9 doing the cleansing for an all time low of 128.5. Which would bring my total weight loss to 149 pounds. I don't recommend it as a method to lose weight. Now my goal is to get some weight on. Being able to count your ribs is not fun. All those times I wanted to lose weight. Now I have and I'm miserable. I'm hoping to get up to about 150 (I'm 5' 10 1/2" with a smallish frame) I'm finally getting my appetite back so hopefully the weight will follow.

Whew, this has been some post, so I'm going to wrap it up. I know this has nothing to do with crafting, but in a way it does because dealing with this has put a serious damper on my creativity for pretty much the past year and half. Now that I know what I'm dealing with I'm feeling the juices start to turn again and will be getting back to work. I need to reduce stress levels so crafting will be my way to do it.

If anyone out there reads this and has Crohn's Disease and would like to share and/or commiserate with me, please feel free to drop me an email. Thanks for working your way through this post if you did. I hope I haven't bored anyone silly or grossed anyone out. It really helps to get it out of my head and that's what blogs are for!