Learning To Live With Ulcerative Colitis

When I first wrote about living with ulcerative colitis (UC), I was very optimistic, as I typically am. I had just been released from the hospital and was on a heavy dose of steroids to control my symptoms and inflammation. I was a rookie. I didn’t know what was to come, but I was just so happy to get back to my normal life and be free. What I didn’t know was that three years later, I still won’t have found freedom from my disease. Three years. Three years of pain, various medications, steroids, colonoscopies, blood labs, tests, trips to Mass General, desperate calls to my doctor. One of the worst parts about UC, IMO, is the uncertainty of it. No one knows the cause, how your body will react to certain medications, when or why a flare will occur, a cure. Not being able to understand why this is happening makes things more difficult for one reason: on top of all the physical symptoms, it makes me feel guilty. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be taking different vitamins? Spending my money on acupuncture? Should I stop eating gluten? Should I stop drinking alcohol? Should I stop having a life? I don’t know. No one knows. So, I just keep living, day after day, unsure of when I’m going to be bedridden in the fetal position again. Despite my struggle with UC, I consider myself truly blessed. I know that God would not put so hard a burden on me that He knew I could not handle. I count the positives in my life, and understand I could have been dealt...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news