Fresh Start

My marathon of bowel preps is now over. Thank you Jesus! It definitely wasn’t my first rodeo as I’ve definitely known how to survive a bowel prep but being that a colonoscopy wasn’t waiting at the end made it quite different.

I would like to know who gets hired to write the labels for bowel prep kits. My BFF Mamie and I were joking on Twitter about some of the descriptions. This week’s bottle read “sparkling saline laxative” as if using the word “sparkling” would make it easier to drink. Mamie’s favorite was the brand “Go-Litely” which should have been retitled, “Go-all-day-and-all-nightly.” I think the one that really takes the cake are the barium shakes you have to drink before CT scan or upper GI which kindly read, “Pleasantly Flavored.” Whoever the jerk is that wrote that I would LOVE to treat him or her to three or four bottles and see how pleasant they find it.

But I digress.

Lately its been no secret that I haven’t been happy with my body. I busted tail in 2010 to lose close to 40 pounds. I was so proud of myself and definitely felt confident about my body for the first time in a long time.

Then 2011 happened.

It was not a good year. Pain seemed to escalate throughout the year regardless of any type of intervention we tried. Surgery did not even provide relief as we would have hoped and let’s not get started on the megace treatment.

Between the pain, inactivity, and treatments, it kills me to say that all of the weight I lost is now back and its a struggle to not hate myself for it.

So with this week’s cleanse, I’ve decided to make something positive out of it and use this as an opportunity to have a fresh start and start to make better choices about what I put in my body. The timing of the kickoff of Sharing Our Spoons is great as I’m really looking forward to having the accountability and support of some amazing ladies on this journey to regain control of my body or maybe re-lose would be the better way to think.

Either way, I’m ready to go. I just signed up for a six-month meal planning service to help me plan healthy, gluten-free and kid-friendly meals in advance instead of showing up at the house every day after work and having John and I ask each other, “What do you want to do for dinner?’ Menu planning will commence tonight and grocery shopping will take place this weekend to help us get off on the right foot!

I feel super-charged already just putting this all in writing! Who’s with me?

The Love Yourself Challenge
 

*P.S. The giveaways associated with the Sharing Our Spoons kick-off will run through the weekend & winners will be drawn Monday so be sure to check it out!*

My Hospital Saga – Part 2

Yesterday I headed to Charlotte with my husband for my follow-up visit with my gastroenterologist after my weekend trip to the ER. I wasn’t able to see my primary GI doctor because they wanted me to get in as soon as possible so my appointment was set up with one of his associates so I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Right off the bat, they ruled out pancreatitis. While I had slightly elevated levels, it was nothing close to what would indicate pancreatitis so we were able to mark that off the list. We next did a brief overview of my medical history. He immediately apologized when I told him about my journey with endo. He said that endometriosis is like the black plague for women. I have never heard a better description. That man deserves a medal.

We went over the blood work taken at the ER and compared it to my blood work done at my previous visit. My liver enzymes are a little up but not anything crazy – just something to keep an eye on. He sent me for more blood work as well as an abdominal xray and then met me back in the office. At my latest EGD, they discovered my gastroparesis. After confirming with the xray, it seems that its not only my stomach that is paralyzed but pretty much my entire GI system. This coupled with existing chronic pelvic pain (endo/adhestions/etc) was probably the source of my severe abdominal pain.

So the plan is to attempt to jump start my GI system with back-to-back bowel preps (I started the 2nd this morning). I will also start a new medicine that will try to help stimulate my system which will help the gastroparesis as well. We also dropped to the two new medications I started last week as they were likely adding to the irritation.  Not sure what that will mean for my pain levels but hopefully once things get moving again I will notice a big difference!

Sharing Our Spoons Kickoff! *Closed*

The day is finally here to kick off the new Sharing Our Spoons campaign! You may have read some of the background on the Sharing Our Spoons page but in case you missed it, the idea for this campaign came to me after I noticed just how important the online community has been for fighting my illnesses as well as for health/weight-loss. I wanted to see what would happen if we combined the two and after getting come feedback, Sharing Our Spoons was born!

“Sharing Our Spoons” will be a weekly link-up where you are able to find support and encouragement to focus on your entire health. Not just physical but all of you. For this link-up you will be able to choose holistic goals to help you achieve optimal health. The five goals include:

  1. Physical: could be weight loss or exercise related or it could be goals like eating more veggies or cutting soda
  2. Mental/Emotional: take a day to be alone, write a letter, paint, etc
  3. Spiritual: start a new devotional book, commit a certain amount of time a day for prayer/meditation
  4. Something fun: Take time to treat yourself – maybe a pedicure or Starbucks (if you don’t typically splurge for specialty coffee)
  5. BONUS: One thing to get you out of your comfort zone a week – try something new, sign up for a class you maybe have been putting off.

Get your thinking caps on to select what your first set of goals will be & you can share next week for our first official link-up!

In the meantime, add your blog url to the link up list so we can pay each other a visit this week!

Also, what fun would a kick-off be without some giveaways? How about 3? The kick-off giveaways include:

 creativegirlmedia.comA free pre-made blog template by the amazing April of CreativeGirlMedia

April is the design genius behind the most recent makeover of A New Kind of Normal as well as previous make-overs! She is amazingly talented & a great girl all the way around!

 

Fingerless Gloves - CC Almon

A fabulous pair of fingerless gloves by the amazing C.C. Almon

CC Almon is a fellow spoonie and a totally gifted knitter! I received a pair of these gloves of my own and love them! Abby got a pair as well for her birthday! CC is an amazing friend and supporter and if you haven’t had the blessing of meeting her before now hopefully you will have the chance to throughout Sharing Our Spoons!

The Pitter Pat BoutiqueA $10 Gift Certificate to The Pitter Pat Boutique

I have known Emmylou, the owner of The Pitter Pat Boutique, for several years and am so thankful that our paths crossed when they did! She has recently opened up her boutique and I have been a frequent shopper and all of her designs and products are amazing! I know you will fall in love with The Pitter Pat Boutique like I have!

So to enter the giveaways, all you have to do is leave a comment finishing this statement – I WANT TO SHARE MY SPOONS BECAUSE…

And that’s it!

Just to be clear, to be entered for the giveaways, leave a comment. If you want to visit and meet participants as well as have others visit you, be sure to link up your blog using the linky tool below! Be sure to grab a badge as well! If you are twitter and want to chat, you can use hashtag #soskickoff!

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