My Crohn's Disease Journey

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A Reflection on 2020

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I had been planning to write a reflection on 2020 for weeks now, and I am not a natural procrastinator, but it is winter break and I have been enjoying the sheer unproductivity of the last few weeks. So here it is, on December 31st, 2020, I am going to reflect on the year 2020.  I, like most people, will be one of the first ones to give an "f you" to 2020. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, I faced one of my most challenging years of chronic illness yet. I spent nearly 30 days on the road and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota this summer trying to get an answer to a health puzzle we were all perplexed by. I am so forever grateful that my family had the means for me to get care at the medical mecca of the world and that my phenomenal team of physicians helped diagnose me with Crohn's Disease - while devastating in some ways it has also felt like a long-awaited answered prayer.  Let's run through 2020 top to bottom, shall we... January I began my second full...
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My 1 Year POTS-Versary!!

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*Before you read this post, please go read this post POTS In The Beginning! if you want to hear my perspective right after I was diagnosed! Anyway... I hope you enjoy and learn something new!* Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a form of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is another name for autonomic dysfunction . The term autonomic dysfunction means that a part of the autonomic nervous system doesn't work right. Your ANS is the part of your nervous system that controls involuntary and unconscious behaviors. Things like heart rate, digestion, temperature regulation, pupillary response, sweating, and the fight or flight response are all things controlled by your autonomic nervous system. Since I have a form of autonomic dysfunction all the functions I just listed are things that my body struggles with on a daily basis. The biggest ANS function out of whack in POTS is heart rate control. Most people are never aware of their HR expect when they are working ou...
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C.Diff...SAY WHAT?

Each setback I face always yields more clarity and perspective.  I am learning and growing as a person each and every day. I was just diagnosed with C.Diff - which is a bacterial infection in your colon. It feels as glorious as it sounds...NOT! C.Diff can occur after prolonged antibiotic use or it can be contracted from someone who has it. Kind of ironic that I was on anti-tubercular antibiotics for 9 months and never got C.Diff. Also ironic that I most definitely caught it from a clinic appointment at the hospital... THE SAME PLACE THAT I LIKELY CAUGHT TUBERCULOSIS. God the irony kills me! But anyway, s uch a horrible infection with unrelenting symptoms showed me the true importance of advocating for your health ALWAYS.   My GI issues are a large part of my POTS and my daily life - but about 3 weeks ago I started to feel really sick with new symptoms. Right away these symptoms didn’t sit well with me - this was NOT my normal. I had just finished a round of follow-up...
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