Hi from JJ

[JJ]

Howdy dear friends....!

A warm welcome to all new members, and a Happy Birthday to all the people with past birthdays. My new teaching job has totally taken over my life for the past few weeks....end of the term.....report cards etc. I have been getting home late, leaving early, with little time for anything else.

The good news is that I have been able to cut back on the Entocort. I was actually almost becoming constipated, so figured this was a sign. I am taking 2 pills one day and then one the next. I am hoping that I can taper down to one a day in the next month or so. At one point, I was down to one pill every other day, but as you all know, I had some personal challenges and my stress level went sky high.

I hope I can do a better job at staying connected....take care ...Love, JJ

[katbox]

Hi JJ and thanks for the welcome. I'm a 2-week'er and learning a lot from everyone here.

I feel very lucky to have found this site shortly after being diagnosed with mc. I am currently taking 9mg 1x day.

finally today I had as Norman a as I have had for quite some time. this disease is so challenging and just trying to figure out what works, and what aggravates is an obsession almost!

glad to hear you're on track and I'll be very interested to see how your meds adjustments go. I have not gone gf completely, but I've taken some steps to adjust my diet slightly for now. I go see my gi (1st visit) on the 6th. I'm hoping I have a good one, but we'll see! I have a twisted colon that I want to find info out about.

I'm struggling, but feel I've got a good start and very supportive site!

thanks again for the warm welcome and I guess I should say welcome back!!??

take care,

[JoAnn]

Hi JJ, I joined in Dec. and am also a teacher. What do you teach? I was diagnosed in Aug. and had to take a few months off to get myself together. Still working on that. I was on asacol which didn't do much, next pepto, and just started entocort last week. I think it might be the one that works. Hope to hear more about your teaching. JoAnn

[JJ]

Hi Kat....this is the best group of people ever...lots of info and support. I haven't gone GF yet....but am about ready to embark on a low carb diet again....no sweets, bread, chips, etc. I know I will feel better when I do....like Oprah, I can't believe I'm still talking about my weight. I lost 40 pounds about 10 years ago, and it has all come back! Well, I had something to do with its return...hahahahha.

Congrats on your norman! Yippee yahoo! Only another Potty Person would be able to appreciate the significance of this grand event!

Thanks for the warm welcome back....take care.....JJ

[JJ]

Hi JoAnn......welcome! I teach Middle School Art at a private Catholic school. I was at another private school for 23 years, and taught Upper School Art and Art History. They made my job part-time and I had to search for a new position. I moved to a new town last summer and am only an hour away from my old home town. I am 25 mins form the ski slopes and 45mins away from Seattle....I love it here in the mountains!

What do you teach? Where are you in Utah? I interviewed for a job in Sandy, but didn't get it...I would have loved being so close to the mountains.

I was allergic to Asacol and broke out in hives....pepto was first, but is not a long term fix. This a tricky thing to figure out....people are all different. I am doing fine on the Entocort and it has allowed me to lead a normal life. I hope the Entocort will work for you too....it changed my life.

Take care...I am so glad you found this group!

JJ

[JoAnn]

Hi JJ, Did you interview at Juan Diego in Sandy? It's a Catholic school but I think it might be in Draper. I live in Bluffdale just across the valley from Sandy. I teach for Jordan School District and taught 6th grade for 13 years and got smart and changed to 2nd grade about 5 years ago. I'm hoping to teach 5 more years then retire. I had great health until going through menopause which seemed to knock the dominoes down one by one in my life with thyroid problems, mc, restless leg syndrome, etc. If my health holds up, I'll continue to teach-I really enjoy it, but it is demanding and you can't just call in sick. Sub plans, and so on make it complicated. I think teaching middle school art would be a great experience. My daughter is a graphic designer and art is her life. I teach in a year round school so I get breaks several times during the year. I have one coming up in a few weeks, but I'll be doing report cards during part of that time.
You would have loved Utah for the skiing. I'm sure you're aware we're near several canyons with skiing resorts like Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, and Sundance to the south. It's good to talk to a fellow teacher. Has your mc caused you any problems with your job? JoAnn

[JJ]

Hi JoAnn,

I can't remember the name of the school, but it wasn't a Catholic School. I will try to remember the name. Yes, I was very interested in the job because of its proximity to the ski resorts. I also applied for a job in Vail, hahahaha...oh ya and one in Telluride. Now I live 25 minutes from the slopes and I haven't skied yet this year. I bought a season pass, but have been too busy since Christmas to go up. I love spring skiing so am looking forward to that.

MY CC didn't cause too many problems once I started Entocort. I took Imodium if I felt like things were brewing so to speak. I taught 9-12 grades at my last school and had very small classes....if I needed to leave, I could just leave for a few minutes. At my new school, I can't leave my Middle School kids alone, but so far (knock on wood) it hasn't been a problem. I share my room with a HS art teacher and she has irritable bowel syndrome and will cover for me if I need to run. I have done the same for her. Actually teaching MS is pretty stressful and I am really surprised that I have been able to cut back on my Entocort. Go figure!

Utah is beautiful...do you have a lot of snow now?

Take care....JJ

[JoAnn]

Hi JJ, We've had lots of snow this year, so the skiing has been great. I used to ski years ago, but family things take over and I haven't been for quite a while. My sons like to snowboard when they can. They are also hikers and the mountains around here are fantastic for that. I'm glad you found a place where you can teach and do the things you love. I think all teaching is stressful because of the tremendous demands placed upon us. Discipline and behavior issues were always draining when I taught 6th grade. I don't have those issues so much in 2nd grade, they are so loving and excited to learn, but the workload is still huge. I've been managing well with immodium also, and now hope the entocort and gf will help get me to remission. Good to hear from you, JoAnn