My name is Heather. I am 32 years old, a wife and stay-at-home mommy to four kids. My three boys are 11, 8, and 5. My daughter is 2. I may not have a traditional job, but I do volunteer many hours a week to being a Cub Scout den leader, a soccer mom, and a preschool leader at my church.
My back story: Until a year ago, I was a healthy 31 year old. I do have a seizure disorder that started at the age of 17, but while I had children, I was off of medicine and have been seizure free since 2001. I did have stomach issues in 2007, but nothing ever really came of that. But since 2013 when I started working out 5 to 6 times a week and eating a very healthy diet, including grains, dairy, nuts, etc., I felt amazing - until spring of 2014. I began having diarrhea, problems focusing, anxiety, and insomnia. I sought help from my family doctor within a couple of weeks of these symptoms beginning. I was also evaluated by my neurologist to be on the safe side. Nothing neurologically was found and my family doctor said everything was stress related. I just dealt with my symptoms until the end of December 2014. My anxiety was getting the best of me and my family doctor prescribed me Zoloft, 50 mg, on December 28th. While it helped my anxiety, insomnia and trouble focusing, I still had diarrhea. On January 30th, 2015 I began having diarrhea so severe that I couldn't leave the house. If I ate, I was having diarrhea 5-8 times within an hour. I was miserable and contacted my family doctor. They were less than helpful! I was even told that I was being dramatic and that if I was really that sick I should go to the ER. While I was really that sick, I knew the ER only had fluids for me, so I pushed fluids at home and stayed away from the ER. After two and half weeks of this, every single person in my house came down with a stomach bug. Out of the six of us, I was the only one who became violently ill for two days straight. Surprisingly, after this bug had passed, I felt better, but not completely. In the meantime, my family doctor did at least call a GI doctor and made me an appointment. I also had more stool tests and blood tests than I'd ever like to have in the near future. I didn't have celiac or anything else for that matter. Also, as of mid March I have been taken off of Zoloft and put on Celexa 10 mg. I go for a med review on April 30th and I'm certain this will change because it has been mostly unhelpful with my anxiety.
Fast forward to my GI appointment at the beginning of March...I almost cancelled it because while I was still having diarrhea and stomach pains, it wasn't as severe and I had become accustomed to living with it. My husband insisted I go anyway. My appointment ended in my worse fear...a colonoscopy. I had already had a colonoscopy back in 2007, due to stomach problems, but nothing was found and I was told that I might have IBS. Anyway, I HATE the colonoscopy prep and not to mention the doctor started my last colonoscopy without me being completely under - not pleasant! While it had changed since 2007, it wasn't any better for me. I fought the doctor's decision, but finally relented. March 24th was my big day! After my procedure, the doctor came in to tell me that everything looked great that that I probably had IBS. BLAH! He did proceed to tell me that they removed a polyp and took biopsies "just in case". Me being uninformed, I didn't ask why they took the biopsies. Well, on March 26th, I found out why. The nurse told me over the phone that I have lymphocytic colitis. What? What's that? I had never even heard of it. The nurse instructed me to take the steroids that they were calling in and see how I felt in 50 days. OK?! I was given no more information or even a future appointment. So of course I turned to the internet and, wow, talk about lack of information there too - that is until I found you guys!
Where I am today: I did NOT start the steroids. I chose to change my diet first. Since my diarrhea hasn't been severe, I felt I could take that luxury. I have been off of gluten since April 4th....well, minus the one time I ate it without even thinking! OOPS! I've also discovered that I cannot have dairy, nuts, anything containing a lot refined sugars - all make me have intense stomach pains and diarrhea. Giving up dairy has been a battle for me. I'm used to eating full fat dairy often. It's my secret love. :) I'm not talking about ice cream either, I'm talking about greek yogurt, cheese, a glass of milk, and sour cream. I hadn't had dairy in a week or so, but I gave into my cravings and ate some cheese yesterday. BIG mistake, not only did I have stomach pains, I began to itch all over my body. I took Benadryl for the first time in my life last night to help me sleep because of the itching, but I'm still itching today. UGH! I also have been suffering from brain fog and joint pain in my hands. I will add that my mother also has autoimmune diseases, Graves and psoriasis. She is 58 and has yet to have a colonoscopy, which I'm urging her to have - along with biopsies.
My future goals over the next year:
1.) To keep my faith the center of my life...this is God's battle not mine!
2.) To stay gluten, dairy, nut, and refined sugar free
3.) To find a doctor that will help me navigate through this and my insurance will cover
4.) To have the EnteroLab testing done
5.) To help my family understand my diagnosis
6.) To read Tex's book
7.) To continue to laugh despite my bad days
8.) To not stress over my messier than I'd like house because my bad days still out weigh my good *EAISER SAID THAN DONE!*
9.) To keep a positive attitude
10.) To achieve REMISSION!
Finally, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the wealth of information you have provided me. I'm also open to any suggestions and thank you in advance to anyone who reads this.
God Bless!
Heather
