Today was the last day I would eat solid food with my colon intact. Tomorrow I would be on a clear liquid diet to prep for the surgery. Since June 15th I've been on a restrictive diet in an attempt to curb this disease by eliminating refined sugar, dairy, grains, gluten, certain other carbohydrates like potatoes, and all processed foods. To avoid spending my entire day in the bathroom, I also only ate cooked vegetables and eliminated most fruits except applesauce and bananas. After nearly starving to death by being on the strictest version of the diet for the initial 20 days, I added back in rice and oatmeal. But still, I suffered. No bread, no pasta, making everything from scratch...it was stressful, time-consuming, and not very tasty. Ultimately, it wasn't enough (hence the surgery). But I've kept it up until the very end, figuring that although it wasn't leading to remission, it was at least keeping the diarrhea in check and enabling me to make it through the work day.
For several months, I had eggs for breakfast. I did this because my blood tests consistently showed I was really low on albumin, which was what was causing my legs to swell up all the time. I read that egg whites had a lot of albumin, so every morning I ate eggs (plus I was encouraged by my doctors to eat as much protein as possible). I used to hate eggs, but about three years ago I came around to liking them. After months of my homemade breakfast frittata (with ground turkey, spinach, cheese, and sweet peppers), I do not want to eat eggs again for a long time.
The good news is that after the surgery, I should be able to eat almost anything again. I can't wait!
Here I am, skinny at about 110 lbs. Much of my hair fell out, so I got a shorter haircut so it wouldn't be long and and stringy. I'm smiling, but I'm so tired.
I took this picture of the kids to keep on my phone while I was in the hospital, to motivate me to get released as soon as possible.
I got this pre-surgery card from a friend at work whose son has my same disease.
