Happy 50th- Here's Your Colonoscopy!

Oh yeah, I'm going there. Because we have to talk about these things. I had my first colonoscopy (hopefully the last, at least for a while) yesterday, and since it's so important to have it when your doctor wants you to, I'm going to tell you all about it. First of all, it's not that bad. Even the prep, which I was dreading, wasn't horrible for the most part. When the gastroenterologist said she wanted to schedule me for one, she handed me some paperwork with directions for how to get ready. I gave them a glance then set them aside until a couple of days before, which was mistake number one. There are some medications that you have to stop taking a full week prior to the test! There are some others, like NSAIDS and iron pills, that you have to stop taking 5 days prior, but I was already only 2 days out and had taken an Aleve AND my iron pill the day before- ooops! I called, thinking WHEW, I can reschedule, but no such luck. They said it would be OK just make sure to tell the nurse and not to take anymore.

You also have to watch what you eat several days before the test- no roughage, things like nuts, salad, popcorn, and so forth. Then there's the medicine to really clean things out the day before- some pills and a powder (both over the counter) you have to mix with 64 ounces of liquid, either water, Gatorade, or Crystal Lite. 64 ounces!! That's the hard part. The powder had no discernible flavor whatsoever when I mixed it with Gatorade; as far as I could tell it dissolved completely. Mixing it with Gatorade, however, was my second mistake. See, 64 ounces is a LOT of liquid, and you have to drink it all within a two hour period. The first glass went down, no problem. Same for the second and third, but after that, not so much. Let me tell you, for someone who strictly drinks water, that Gatorade gets cloyingly sweet after that third glass. I couldn't do it! I just physically could not drink down the last quarter or so of that Gatorade. Trying to get it down was the worst part, because my body was reacting to the medicine and trying to get everything back OUT. Everything in me was saying "NO MORE INPUT, NO MORE INPUT"!!!!! I figured I would be able to drink more down as soon as at least a little was back out, but I just gave up, because once, umm, "output" commenced it was pretty obvious I didn't need any more of the medicine. Blech. I was sick to my stomach and going through the worst of the "output" for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half total, then I was fine. (As long as I stayed near the bathroom!) I couldn't take anything else sweet, though- all those popsicles and jello and Italian ice that I bought- the kids had a party because I wasn't going anywhere near it.

Luckily DH took pity on me and made me some broth by throwing a bunch of veggies (carrots, onions, and celery braised in olive oil) in a pot with half a bouillon cube and a bunch of water then cooking it to death. He didn't even add salt since he figured the Gatorade had me salted up enough, and he was right! I strained the broth, then, since I could see the olive oil floating on the surface, I put it through my de-fatting cup. (The directions said clear liquids, so this helped make it as clear as possible.) That was really soothing, but just a little bit went a long way.

As for things I did right, I kept my schedule light and finished up really early the day before the procedure, then nothing on the calendar for afterwards. I was able to eat breakfast the day before so an early doctor's appointment (at an office close to home) was OK. After breakfast it was all liquids so I knew I would be really shaky and wouldn't have the energy to do much, and that's pretty much how it happened, but I wasn't as physically uncomfortable as I thought I would be. The clear liquids (especially that broth) kept me going just fine, especially since I didn't have anything much I was trying to get done. Having some movies and a good book on standby helped keep me distracted as well.

On to the actual procedure. It was absolutely no sweat; I breezed right through it. They gave me an IV in the prep area, then I had to wait just a bit to go back to where they were going to actually do the procedure. (I had an endoscopy too- they looked in both ends!) They had me turn onto my left side and strapped a weird mouth guard in to keep my mouth open for the endoscopy, and put the oxygen tube thing in my nose. (The kind everyone has in those TV hospital dramas- it tickles.) Right after that, the nurse said "OK, you're going to sleep now", and that was that. The next thing I was back in the prep area and roused up enough for the nurse to see I was awake. She brought me an apple juice then things got fuzzy again for a bit, then I was more alert and she told me I could get dressed, then DH came back and they sent me home. I didn't get sick from the sedation at all, which I was worried about since I've seen DH get sick after his surgeries- apparently they don't sedate you as heavily for this as they do for an actual surgery, so I felt fine coming out of it. I was still a little woozy the rest of the day; they don't let you drive or go back to work for the next 12 hours.

The best part- as soon as it was over I could eat!! I had crackers waiting for me in DH's back pack- another good idea. I also had some lollipops which helped my scratchy throat, but one was enough because, yeah, sugar; still not over the Gatorade.

So there you have it- my colonoscopy de-briefing. This is not meant as a substitute for medical advice by any means, and is specific to my experience, especially since hospitals may have different prep directions. But if anything is helpful for anyone else facing their first colonoscopy, then yeah! Feel free to ask questions- I told DH I should do an "AMA" (ask me anything) on Reddit but he said they can run like 6 hours long, so no. But you really can AMA about the procedure; if my experiences can help you get through your own colonoscopy then I'm a happy girl.

PS: And yes, I just turned 50. I had the procedure both because it's recommended when you turn 50 and because I seem to be rather anemic these days, and the doctors are trying to figure out why. The colonoscopy and endoscopy results were perfect, so they have to look elsewhere for the problem. I may get to swallow a camera!!

Book Review: Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

Ackkk!!! One of my favorite bloggers (hi Kathy!) read my blog and left a comment, on probably one of the lamest posts ever!!! So now I have to redeem myself with something wonderous and witty and amusing to read.... and I got nothing. But I have been reading a lot of novels lately, and the book I just finished is "Skinny Dip" by Carl Hiaasen, one of my favorite authors, so I'll give you a review. Carl also brought us "Hoot", for the youngsters, that was made into a movie my kids watched about a bazillion times over on DVD. He's a Florida author and many (if not all, I haven't researched it) of his books are set here, so as a Florida native myself, (3 generations back on my daddy's side) it's fun to recognize the settings.

This one starts out on a cruise ship that docks at Port Everglades in Broward County, with a murder. Or at least an attempted one, so it's a mystery. I'm not usually a fan of mysteries but I make exceptions when they are also funny and/or quirky, like this one. It's very "Tell Tale Heart" but with a lot of twists and turns, because it's a novel and not a short story, and well, not much remorse on the part of the murderer, except that he... oops, no spoilers! And the humor- Carl Hiaasen cracks me up! He amazes me with how he looks at things, and how he can take so many different threads and weave them all together, wrapping everything up at the end.

The characters are all interesting- the likable ones and even some of the initially not so likeable ones are all, well, likeable, and the bad guys are really slimy. Joey (the intended murder victim) and her husband Chaz are the main characters. Chaz is the bad guy who gets caught up in the "Gaslight"-like scenario cooked up by Joey, who wants revenge and closure. There's a whole ensemble of additional characters to follow including a hermit, a corrupt farmer, a good cop who just wants to move back home to the frigid north, an estranged mistress, a New Zealand sheep farmer, and the bumbling bodyguard/hit man with the heart of gold.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one; if you're looking for a fun read, give it a go!

Figuring Things Out

So, yeah, I mentioned taking care of my own health care issues this summer. One of the things scheduled was to see my GP and get orders for blood work, since the last time I had it done was almost 10 years ago. Well, I had the blood drawn and the results were released to me today via e-mail, and as it turns out I am anemic as all get out! I knew my iron levels weren't great since I can never donate blood, but they would reassure me that my levels were OK for my health just not high enough to donate based on the quick tests at the blood mobile. More in depth tests revealed a very different answer! The doctor hasn't gone over the results with me yet but it's pretty darn obvious given the numbers.

It explains a lot, really. I've been so tired lately but I was writing it off as fibro flare ups that just seemed to be getting more frequent and severe. My daily walks have been extremely difficult to maintain, although I've tried, and I can't seem to get anything done around the house. Taking the kids to their various activities and running errands has been exhausting.

I'm looking forward to seeing the GP again in a week and half so I can get going with treatment. I've been fighting the energy drain for so long now; I'm almost in tears realizing that I'm going to feel better soon. In the meantime, more "Kalicious" smoothies from Whole Foods are definitely on tap!! (They are LOADED with iron.) I'm also thinking I'm just going to give in until my appointment and chilax for a while. I've been fighting this for so long, pushing myself when I was too tired for words, that giving in for a little bit sounds heavenly.

My take away from this is, if you have fibro and you're feeling lousy, don't just assume it's the fibro. Get yourself checked out for other issues that may be causing similar or worsening symptoms.

Summer Rhythms

Even homeschooling families can find their lives quite a bit different once the traditional school year is over. Our summers always bring something new, sometimes good, sometimes bad. For the bad years, we lost loved ones in the summer of 2007 and 2008, and a very close family member was hospitalized for months after a serious medical emergency in July, 2010 so I spent a lot of that summer at his bedside. (The kids didn't miss me too much- we got our first dog the day after he was hospitalized and the second one about two months later.)

As for the good years, my daughter and I went to Europe in 2009, technically in the spring but close enough. The Wild Child was diagnosed with his reading disability in July, 2011, which was actually a good thing because then he started getting the help he needed. He finished with his reading tutor just a couple of weeks ago and he's turned into a bookworm! I know he's not technically at grade level yet but he's so close, and he loves books and reading so much that I consider it only a matter of time until he catches up then surpasses his reading level entirely. (He's always loved books- he used to grab encyclopedias off the shelf and drag them around the house when he was a toddler.)

Martha, Jr. and I went to Washington, DC last summer with a bus load of Girl Scouts and the pace of the guided tour just about killed me; I spent the rest of that summer in physical therapy for my back!! (Totally worth it, though- it was an amazing trip and WE SAW ALL THE THINGS.)

Going way back, two of my three children were born in summer. Their due dates were pretty close together but The Eldest was born a little early and The Wild Child was born a little late, so they're a couple of weeks apart. (Martha, Jr., aptly enough given her personality, was born EXACTLY on her due date in the fall.) And, well, I was born in the summer, come to think about it. (Now that really is waaaaaayyyy back!)

So as summer begins this year I'm wondering what it will bring. I have some projects lined up, one of them being my own health. I tend to put off doctor visits for little things during the school year- I'm too busy running around with the kids to schedule anything for myself, so if I can put it off until summer I do it. That means stacked appointments once the school year activities slow down- three doctors this past week. It looks like physical therapy again, this time for some tendinitis in my left knee, the result of a fall a year and a half ago. (NOT during the summer!) It's not too bad so hopefully I won't be in therapy for long, and the doctor said I shouldn't have any long term problems from it.

I went to another doctor for restless leg syndrome and she said, yes, I have it, and I can try a few over the counter supplements, and if they don't work she can prescribe something. After talking to her I realized it's probably my own darn fault about the RLS- I used to take a multi-vitamin then I stopped because the only ones I could find without soy (I have issues with soy) give me gas. (The stinky kind- not fun.) But the multi-vitamin had iron in it, and on top of that I was taking an iron supplement every other day. I continued the supplement every other day, but I didn't do anything to make up for the iron in the multi-vitamin. Since I have a history of low iron (not terribly low- in the range where the level is OK for my health but I usually can't donate blood) this probably wasn't the best idea, and it's probably why I developed RLS. Hopefully taking more iron again will alleviate the RLS symptoms, so that will be a problem easily solved- whew!

As for the third doctor, I went to her about my fibromyalgia symptoms. I was diagnosed about 13 years ago and haven't had much in the way of medical attention since then, at least in terms of the fibro. I don't want to take the prescription medications so I've tried to manage on my own. Well, I decided I should probably at least talk to a doctor about my symptoms and what's going on. What if the diagnosis wasn't accurate, (although I think it was based on everything I've learned about fibro) or there are some other underlying problems that could be addressed to make things better? Sleep apnea, for instance, or some sort of vitamin deficiency similar to the RLS problem- something that can be addressed without the meds. The doctor took my concerns very seriously and ordered all sorts of tests, including a sleep study, so it will be interesting to see what happens with all of that. I have to go sleep in a hotel for the sleep study; I don't know how much sleeping I'll actually be able to do, but I'll give it a try!

Alright, enough with the dreaded "wall of text"! Here's a picture of how we spent our day today; just because it's summer doesn't mean we can't still learn things, especially when the learning is fun!!

Haikus

Martha Jr. is struggling with writing a haiku. She gets this way sometimes- she is a very capable student, but sometimes she puts up a wall in her brain when she doesn't immediately get a concept. The rest of us were encouraging her by writing haikus of our own; they were too good (ahem) not too share!!! (Well, "good" may be stretching it...)

Here they are:

Me:
Orange sunset bright
Beautiful color hues
My favorite time

DH:
Orange blossoms fall
Writing Florida haikus sucks
But then maybe not

The Eldest:
This is really hard
Haikus are pretty silly
Nature reference

Me:
Cherry blossoms fall
Streets of Washington shimmer
Fabulous field trips

(DH said there was a haiku meme on the internet a while back where you had to start every haiku with "cherry blossoms fall". That reminded me of our field trip to Washington, DC where they were celebrating the cherry blossom trees that were gifted to the city from Japan 100 years before, thus my haiku.)

The Wild Child:
Minecraft really rocks
I am digging for diamonds
Creepers explode BOOM

I'll post an update when Martha Jr. stops being her own worst enemy and writes one of her own!!

Frustrating Limits

Fibro stinks. One of the reasons it stinks is because of the limitations it puts on my life. I'm handling it as well as can be expected, some people are completely disabled by fibromyalgia after all, but I am frustrated that I can't do everything I want to do. I love the various groups I've been involved with, Girl Scouts, 4H, political campaigns, a local non-profit for kids, and a greyhound rescue group to name a few, but I can't do as much for each of them as I'd like. I constantly find myself saying "NO" when I would so dearly love to say "YES", just because I don't have the energy reserves to take on the work. This week was one of those weeks. Monday and Tuesday were both busy, busy days, up early and running around with the kids for various activities, and by the end of the day on Tuesday it was catching up with me. I struggled through a trip to the grocery store, then about passed out after I got home. On Wednesday I was bed ridden. I had a full "to do" list but just getting up out of bed made me tired, so I mostly didn't. I feel terrible that I'm leaning on my husband so much- he picks up the slack when I have those "fibro days", but I just can't. It feels like when you have the flu and you're over the worst of it, but you still feel lousy and weak, so you know there's a few more days of recovery and bed rest left to go. That's the exact feeling I have when I get a bad flare up. I stand up and immediately feel like I need to lay down again. Sometimes I can push through it, but that's hard to do. Sometimes I need to just give in, cancel everything, and rest. Thanks to DH, when I have those days I usually can get the rest I need; I can't imagine having to work for a paycheck while dealing with this.

So when you ask me to help out with something, and I say no with some lame excuse, it's because I'm feeling a flare coming on, or I know I'm over-scheduled, or I've taken on too much already, and I just can't. I rarely say it's because of the fibro, I'm not sure why, but that's usually what it is. Maybe it's because I hate acknowledging it myself- if I admit that's why I can't do something, then I'm admitting I have a disability. Blech. I want to feel healthy and alive and in control of my life, not limited and weak, but it is what it is. I can't say I'd be a Type A personality if I didn't have fibro, but I would be a much more active go-getter if I could manage it. Sigh.

Oh, well; we all have to handle the cards we're dealt, so here's to life and making the best of it. :)

A Jane Austen Read Through!

I don't know if "read throughs" are a thing, but "cook throughs" are, made popular by the Julie & Julia blog. Lots and lots of bloggers have cooked through various cookbooks since then; too much work for me, so don't expect that here! What I am reporting about, however, is my Jane Austen read through. I read all of her novels (not that many, but still) a couple of weeks ago. I started with Pride & Prejudice, then backtracked to Sense & Sensibility, then read the rest in the order of publication. I followed that up with Lady Susan and the unfinished Sandition. This wasn't the first time I've read her work; she's one of my favorite authors.

As I've grown older, I've valued her work for different reasons. Originally I liked the stories- they are very charming and so easy to love. I still adore the stories, but now I feel a deeper connection to them. Not because of the stories themselves, or any feeling of connection to the author, but more of a connection to the generations of women who've read them before me. When my grandmother was alive I once mentioned my fondness for Jane Austen and she said she read her work too; my mother said the same thing recently. That made me realize how many generations these books have touched- 200 years of women. Countless women have taken time out of their busy lives to stop and read these very books. I wonder at the clothing they might have been wearing, from the popular dress when they were first published to women in the last century wearing the fashions of their day, to now, the 2000's. Where were they sitting? What were they in the middle of when they stopped to read? My Great Aunt Peg, who died young- I don't know much about her, but I do know she frequently babysat my mom and aunt, and that she liked apples and reading. Did she grab an apple, find a cozy spot, and open a beloved copy of Pride & Prejudice while my mom and aunt played nearby? She never could have envisioned the way I read these books recently- on my electronic reader. What would she have thought of that, I wonder!!

I feel such a sense of nostalgia when I read these books now. It wasn't my first time reading them all, and I'm sure it won't be my last. Jane Austen endures because she is a thread that connects women through time; I hope that thread continues for many more centuries to come.