All posts filed under: Lifestyle

Back from the Dead

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It’s been a really, really long time. I know it. The lapse wasn’t intentional; there have been a few pretty big things that have happened fairly recently that contributed to my nonexistence in the past six months. Let’s see…after a couple of months of contemplation, I decided to accept a promotion at work, which moved me from my three day per week role into a full-time Marketing Manager position, which I was happy about. It took a good bit of time for me to decide if the move was right based on the needs (demands) of my body, but I figured it was worth a shot, particularly because it has come with some pretty incredible health benefits. My annual deductible has now gone from $10,000 per year (which I have met the last three years by summertime) to $100. For the year. It’s insane. Almost too good to be true. I’ve been full time now for a month, and though my body is still playing catch up and reminding me that I can’t ignore its …

The Power of Food

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Food is a powerful thing for me. I’m not sure if I’m different from others in that respect, or if it tends to go hand in hand with having IBD for such a long time. Let me clarify here, I’m not talking about being a “foodie” (a word which I happen to loathe for reasons unknown to even myself). I’m talking about an intense relationship, one similar to that with a lover, a family member, or religion. I experience things through food. Places, events, cultures – even emotions. I would venture to guess that this intensity goes way back to the time frame about a year before I was finally diagnosed; I would have been about 20 years old and was beginning to restrict my diet more and more to try and alleviate the unbearable symptoms I was having at the time. First raw vegetables were cut out, then fruit, followed by dairy. Cooked vegetables didn’t work either, so those were nixed, as were beans and most carbohydrates, including plain white pasta. After about three …

Latest IF Update & Reason for My Absence

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Sorry about the long delay; it’s been a really busy few weeks and I was stuck in the hospital again for another obstruction, which I’ll post about in a couple of days.  New hospital, better experience, in short.  Anyhow, finally getting around to loading the post I wrote a week ago.  — It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but I figured it was time for an update on IF, as I had indicated I would be trying to do periodically. Just after that last post I was in to visit my chiropractor, and was telling him about my experiment and my hopes that it would reduce my inflammation. He cautioned me on continuing with the fasting as I had been doing (fasting for 16 hours each day and eating my meals within an 8 hour window) because for women in particular, it can cause hormonal and metabolism issues. We discussed what I was trying to get out of it, and I told him a few things I had observed during the week I had …

Intermittent Fasting Update/Upcoming Posts

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So, I’m a week in to my little experiment with IF, as I wrote about last week.  While I don’t have a ton to update on at this point, I want to at least check in on it week to week, as I think that will help me process whether or not it’s having a positive effect on my symptoms.  My goal is to do it for a month and then really evaluate whether or not I should continue with it. First, I will say it hasn’t been as bad as I expected.  Choosing the fasting window that I did (8pm through noon the following day) probably helped with that.  I still have my green tea with a little honey and lemon juice first thing in the morning, and I drink lots of water with my Nuun hydration tabs all morning.  I start to get hungry around 11am, and at that point, waiting an hour isn’t really that bad.  I’ve kept my diet constant, and I have lunch at noon, though I have added a …

Intermittent Fasting and Inflammation

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Admittedly, I’ve been hearing about the concept of Intermittent Fasting (IF) for a couple of years now and gave it no thought, as I love food way too much to voluntarily accept any kind of a fast, not to mention that the concept basically flies in the face of everything we’ve been conditioned to accept as gospel in the field of diet and nutrition.  Who hasn’t been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that skipping meals can slow your metabolism?  Up until recently, I have been a follower of the “eat every few hours” mindset, to avoid blood sugar dropping and keeping metabolism up.  Additionally, I have found that since all my surgeries, I can’t consume as much food as I used to in one sitting, and that smaller, more frequent meals were easier on my system. If you’ve read any of my posts in the last few months, you know that my Crohn’s Disease has certainly been beating the hell out of me, what with frequent obstructions, ER …

Coping with PTSD

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A bit of a delay from the last post; my husband came down with a bad cold just after returning to work in the New Year, and despite my best efforts (sleeping in the guest room, wiping down everything with Clorox wipes and practically hosing him down with Lysol every day), less than 24 hours after he was feeling human again, I woke up with a fever of 103 and it turned out to be pneumonia for the third time in just over a year.  It’s taken me over a week to kick most of it out of my system, and now I’m just left with the residual exhaustion and coughing fits. Anyway, now that I’m back, I thought that it would probably be a good time to discuss PTSD, given everything in the news lately with the premiere of American Sniper and the upcoming trial of the man accused of killing the movie’s real-life subject, retired Navy Seal Chris Kyle.  Many people are familiar with the acronym, but most tend to identify it with …

Relationships, Marriage and Obamacare

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I’ve been sitting here stewing about this post for the better part of a week now, and though I know it is something that I need to talk about, it is something that makes me uneasy, as if somehow recalling or mentioning it will bring me right back to where I was that fateful November day seven years ago.  Seven years ago, not eight.  As I’ve mentioned before, November 2nd, 2006 was the day of my emergency colectomy due to Toxic Megacolon and the beginning of my surgical journey, which commenced a bit more than eight years ago.  What few people know is that exactly one year later, on the chilly afternoon of November 2nd, 2007, I got married. While far from a perfect solution to our country’s healthcare crisis, I often wonder how the course of my life would have changed had Obamacare come to fruition that year.  A big believer in fate, I’m fond of the saying that everything happens for a reason and while I am grateful for where I am at …

Getting Fit in the New Year

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With the New Year fast approaching, lots of people will be making those often ill-fated “resolutions” in the eleventh hour, promises that they will better themselves in every possible way, eliminating any bad habits for good.  For many, one of the top resolutions is some variation on the theme of getting in shape, losing weight, etc.  Such a goal is often difficult for many, particularly for those with a chronic illness and possible physical limitations.  The inclination tends to lead more often than not to the extreme, the dramatic and the not-very-sustainable category, one that can be particularly detrimental to those whom are already working from a physical and nutritional deficit. Gyms and other fitness centers will hop on this all-in-or-bust attitude, and discounts on memberships and personal training sessions abound during this time of the year.  It is certainly tempting, and can be a great thing if you use your head.  I am all for getting in shape and using exercise to help combat stress and enhance one’s mood, but there are a few …

A Little Holiday Laugh

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My first holiday season after having my total colectomy wasn’t a fun one.  By the time the holiday rolled around, I had only had my ileostomy for less than two months, and I was still working out the kinks with it.  There were leaks, and I vividly remember having a “blowout” at my stepmom’s house during a family dinner and bursting into tears.  She brought me into her bathroom and helped me clean up, reassuring me that it was no big deal.  That was such a difficult holiday – everything that was happening to me was still so new and unfamiliar.  I didn’t really feel human. One of my other memories from that first holiday season was a visit from my best friend, Nicole.  Many of my friends had kind of vanished over the last really bad year with the disease, but she still came to visit me, undeterred, whether it was in the hospital or while I was recovering at my mom’s.  True friends are hard to come by, and I’m proud to say …

Thanking Your Pit Crew

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Just a quick post today – as I’m sure the case is with everyone, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks and things don’t let up until next week.  My energy levels are lagging this week due to work and holiday engagements; while fun, late nights definitely take their toll.  Last night was our company holiday party that I set up and we feasted on Argentinean cuisine from a local restaurant, so I just finished some leftover empanadas with chimmichurri for lunch.  It was delicious, but now I’m ready for a serious nap. Anyway, of course it’s the season of giving, and if you can make the time, it is always a good idea to give some small gifts to your team of doctors whom you work with regularly.  Given the multi-system nature of Crohn’s, my team or “Pit Crew”, as I like to call them, is made up of my PCP, my GI doc, my Hematologist, Surgeon, Chiropractor and masseuse.  The gifts don’t have to be anything fancy, but I think it is important …