I can't believe it has been a full year since I last made a blog post about Colleen's health.
Usually at this time of the year, I am giving my "holiday speech" - that speech where I will beg a loved one to not force the holidays on anyone who is sick. The holidays are filled with a lot of stress, but more importantly, they can also be filled with a lot of FOOD. And when your loved one has a chronic stomach condition, well - food is public enemy number one. Combining food and the stress that can go along with the holidays is a double-edged sword. You are now trying to force something on someone who is both physically and mentally unable to do what you are forcing. Obviously, I get your plight: You want them with you as you make the rounds to friends and family and all of the joy that can come with that. But be aware that by doing that, you are potentially making their condition worse.
I have found through the years that patience will be key. I have never always been the most patient of human beings (as my close friends and family can attest to!) I essentially went from one extreme to another - perhaps being a bit too patient with people nowadays. But when it comes to your sick loved one, PATIENCE is probably the number one thing you should learn to practice. It can be frustrating as several doctors throw several things at your loved one, only to see nothing work. They will see good doctors, they will see bad doctors. They will be recommended people who are alternative (I am not against alternative medicine in the least bit - but BE CAREFUL. There are more snake oil salesmen out there than you can ever imagine. If something seems to be too good to be true or pure illusion, guess what? It probably is. You wouldn't rely on Penn & Teller to cure your disease with an illusion, so don't expect one of these doctors to be able to do it. Even alternative medicine should make sense.)
Now for a little plot twist in this post: Colleen is actually feeling better as I type this. Gone are the 12-13 hour sleep days - replaced with a schedule that is much less sleep dependent. Gone are the days of being so sick that even when she was awake, she couldn't really function. She now does her exercise routines. (intense exercise routines at that!) She now can eat more foods - no more reliance on Cream of Rice, Minute Rice, and whatever else she might be able to hold down on a good day. This is not to say that she can necessarily eat anything and feel great - but this IS to say that she has been able to eat different foods and not feel awful within an hour of doing so.
Every holiday season, the Christmas Light Tour is one of our favorite things to do - we drive around the state of NJ, just looking at Christmas lights and decorations that people put up (Note: If you use those new projector lights, Colleen will give you a very big thumbs DOWN. If you use bright lights that don't blink and give you a headache, you will get a big KUDOS! And if you own a house that is is bigger than Sicily but don't decorate it? Let us just say that I am glad we don't carry eggs in our car). Anyway, this year we have done more tours than we have in recent years - there were days in the past where she may have wanted to go, but just couldn't. This year? Every night she has wanted to go, she HAS. The word "CAN'T" is quickly being replaced. It isn't being replaced with "CAN" - rather, it is being replaced with the word "WILL".
Does all of this mean Colleen is cured? Of course not. Cured is a very strong word - and if you have ever been hit with a chronic illness, you will find out that the word CURED is probably not one you will use to describe yourself often. I have never described myself that way - after all, if nobody ever could 100% diagnose what was wrong with me, how can I be cured of it? Same type of thing for Colleen - nobody can say "cured". What they can say is "feeling much better than I did last week".
How did Colleen start feeling better? Tricky question. Right now, she is taking a prescription medication (Mirtazapine), a Vagus Nerve Support supplement (Parasym Plus) and essential oils all in combination. By the way, this particular blog is not "for profit". By clicking on products above, I am not getting any kickbacks. I am not even promoting them for use - that is a decision that can be made between you and your physician. I am not a doctor and I surely cannot diagnose you. This is all written from our experiences. I am sure the increased exercise has also helped, but increasing her exercise was a result of starting to feel better. It is possible that the increased exercise has helped her maintain her improved health, of course.
All of the above isn't to say that Colleen feels 100% normal 100% of the time. It is all about taking one day at a time and hoping that her renewed energy and health continue into 2017 and beyond. If you have followed her journey, and have a journey of your own, you know how uplifting that can feel - seeing something that looks like a light at the end of a very, very long tunnel. I hope for many of you that 2017 can bring with it some normalcy in your health and happiness. If someone as sick as Colleen was can start to break out of it, trust me: Anybody who suffers a similar condition can as well.
I will be posting another update "post-holiday".
