IBD stands for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which includes Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. IBD is essentially an auto-immune disease in the gut that is caused by a combination of factors including genetics, environment, and microbiota in the gut. The exact cause is unknown. The two diseases differ in that Chron's can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract, but Ulcerative Colitis is found in the colon and rectum. These disease are quite serious. It's not just "going to the bathroom" more than normal. If left untreated, it can be fatal. The symptoms can range in severity, and people have different responses to treatment, so experiences with the disease may be very different.
My symptoms began in January 2015 (although there were some issues a few months before that that resolved and I chalked it up to a stomach bug...). I was going to the bathroom way too many times and not having normal, formed stool. I assumed it was stress because of crazy school things that I'm not going into detail in, so I ignored it for a month. When I started noticing occasional blood, that's when I knew I had to go get it checked out. I saw my PA, who was great. She ran through a bunch of tests (celiac, parasites, communicable GI diseases, and an occult blood test). Everything was negative except the occult blood. So I repeated that and it was again positive. She immediately got me a referral to a gastroenterologist. During this time, I started experiencing cramping, but it seemed to be directly correlated with the intensity of my workouts. I had to stop several times when the pain got bad. Even during our trip to Disneyland, the pain was increasing and we were just going from one bathroom to the next in between rides. I had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis.So I've pretty much shared how my triathlon season was affected by this already. The month before Nationals, I was really sick, but I kept trying to convince myself that I was fine. We had already been trying anti-inflammatory medications (mesalamine) in various forms (enema, suppository, oral) with zero improvement. Symptomatically I was getting worse. We tried a couple doses of Prednisone and Flagyl (that stuff is horrid) to no avail. I was bleeding a lot and going to the bathroom a lot and the pain was unbearable most of the time (my parents took me to the ER 3 times before I moved). I kept trying to train and convince myself that I was fine. I wanted to go to Nationals. I wasn't fine, and deep down, I knew it. The week before Nationals, we decided to try IV steroids, which meant staying in the hospital. I was devastated.
I still wasn't improving, so we went tried a biologic, Simponi (this one is a TNFalpha blocker). Two months after the hospital stay, I was still getting worse and began vomiting a lot. This led to more ER visits. I had C. diff. Apparently Ulcerative Colitis makes you more prone to C. diff. That plus hospitals and steroids are like the perfect storm. Still no improvement, so we tried a different biologic. C. diff. is a terrible bacteria that us becoming increasingly antibiotic resistant. For me, it caused nausea and pain so severe that I wished I were dead.
And then, C. diff again. I knew right away when I almost passed out in the shower after vomiting a lot at school. I was in so much pain I crawled to bed and my parents made me call an ambulance. No one even believed me (except my parents) when I said it felt like the last time I had C. diff. I ended up going to the ER twice the week before practicals and tests at the end of the semester. My GI put me on antibiotics pretty much right away just in case while we awaited results (another positive). It took a month to start to feel better. I got a rescue cat, Briar Rose, but she really rescued me. She knows when I don't feel well. She's a snuggler. A few months later, I had C. diff for a third time. My dad put the camping mattress in the bathroom for me to sleep on with my cat.We made the decision to do a fecal transplant to prevent C. diff from coming back. I had to drive all the way to Reno from Sacramento (and mommy had to drive me the day of the procedure). The good news is, I feel so much better already. The bad news is, a lot of my symptoms are still there. The pain has reduced to just occasional cramping rather than lying on the floor curled up in a ball. So I'm thankful for that. I've also been able to start training more and even worked up to a 50 mile bike ride! But the reality is, with symptoms still having a major negative impact, that means that the current biologic treatment has not been successful, so now we have to try something else. I'm going to take the victories that I can, and I'm planning on racing next month at Folsom International and/or Tri for Real #2. After all that has happened, I know that I'm not as fast as I used to be. Speed isn't the point triathlon. Accomplishing new goals is the point. And having fun. That's always the point.
Now you're all aware.
