A pendulum between two diseases

Between Ulcerative Colitis and Endometriosis

Where did I leave off?

Oh yes. So I kept you hanging with the MRI results, and still no word from either doctor.

On Monday morning I called to make an appointment with both my GI and my endo specialist. My GI had just returned from holidays and I was kind of expecting to hear back from her about all that had happened while she was away – and the pile of files she must have obtained from the various tests I had done – but instead they booked me in to see her later this week. My endo specialist doesnt have an opening until the end of August!!!

Monday and Tuesday were much like all the other days. Even keel pain, and some flickering of something down below (near my ovaries). The biggest thing though was intense (INTENSE!!!) exhaustion. I could barely stay awake. Monday I woke up at 7:30, did some work, and then fell asleep from 10am to 4pm in the evening. Tuesday, a similar pattern (shhh… dont tell my boss).

Wednesday was starting out to be like the others, but my boyfriend was sadly due to fly back to Ottawa, and mom was flying in shortly after to take over the ‘sicko’ shift. I coaxed myself to get up and do some things in the house; some real work, some chores, etc. Greg walked out the door, I had this shooting pain in my pelvic area, went pee, and… started bleeding. Spotting only, but then my ovaries were on fire. Great! Arent I freed from this burden by taking my Visanne every day? As the hours progressed before mom showed up, the bleeding remained a slow dribble but the intensity of the pain got worse, and with it so did the abdominal pain. This was quite the lose lose situation. Mom showed up finally and we somehow mustered up the strength to gab for hours until I called mercy and had to go to sleep. A restless sleep at that.

Thursday morning (today) I prepared for my appointment with the GI. Here is what we concluded:

• the pancreas and liver, and their associated markers, all look normal
• my colon is happy as can be; no word of ‘remission’ yet but my CRP, Calprotectin and all other markers indicate that my colon is not inflamed, and that without diarrhea and bleeding the entyvio appears to be working.
• so this further supports the notion that this could be endo, which is out of my GI’s expertise and hands.
• Oh, and I still have what they consider early stage ‘possible’ PSC which calls for a colonoscopy and an MRI once a year to check on any emergence of odd cells or inflammation.
• As a last effort on her behalf I am to take Dexilant for two weeks to address whether this is acid based (ie an ulcer or something related). If the drug works we see if there is time for a scope and if the drug doesnt work it further supports that its not a colon issue and more an endo issue.

The one good thing out of this is that I am able to try Neproxin for my pain, which was my saving grace before my excision surgery. The downside to this is the drug is advil-based so it may cause bleeding and diarrhea. So I am to monitor this very carefully and see what happens. Again, I will keep you posted.