I followed up with my gastroenterologist yesterday. All in all, things are going fairly well, with only a couple of minor flareups over the last couple of months. I’ve only missed one day of work in that time, which is a good thing since I have about five hours of sick leave left for the rest of this year. I’m about 90% improved. Things could stay that way, could get worse, or I could go into complete remission. There’s no way of predicting what will happen. I shall hope for the latter.
I know I’m fortunate to have such a mild case. And that it responds to medication. The side effects aren’t really that bad — at least, they’re no worse than the condition itself. Really, everything could be a lot worse.
If I start losing more weight or if my symptoms worsen, I need to make an appointment, but otherwise I don’t need to see him for a year. At least he didn’t want to add any additional prescriptions. I was hoping to be able to cut down the anti-inflammatory regimen I’m on, but he didn’t think that would be a good idea.
I’m supposed to not take NSAIDs, which I knew already and wasn’t happy about. Tylenol does not help with overuse injuries like Motrin does. He said I can try taking ibuprofen on very rare occasions, but if it triggers a flare, I’ll have to stop.
I was also counseled to watch what I eat in order to not trigger flareups. Rich food is to be avoided (duh), but so is roughage. . . which actually didn’t come as much of a surprise. I found out the hard way that lettuce isn’t something I can tolerate anymore, and I’m afraid tomatoes are on the horizon. Right now, I’m not sure how to balance 1) setting a good example for Aya by eating veggies and whole grains and 2) following a heart-healthy cancer-preventative diet and 3) not triggering a flare that leaves me anemic and doubled over with abdominal cramps.
But… Hi, I guess I’ll just cook for myself now. The rest of y’all are on yer own.
Alright, I got my mac and cheese.
On one hand, it makes me hopeful, and on the other hand I’m crossing my eyes for you here.