Darn It!

I have lost count of the days that I have felt pretty good!  How amazing is that?  I am probably on Day 4 or 5.  I still have a specific location that I refer to as my "3am" pain.  If I have had any type of full meal at dinner vs little meals, at 3am I wake up to some pain.  Not intolerable pain, but enough that wakes me up.  These days, I don't know how to measure pain, as I am sure my tolerance is pretty high of late.  I have noticed that some days I feel like I am walking on air.  It's surreal.  It's like the pain was so intense that it just held me down and as it lightens, I feel so light!

Another point to note is that one day last week I lost 5 pounds in one day.  That's not normal for me, at all.  It was the first day I felt sort of "out of body" and the best I can explain it is that the inflammation was going down because the drugs are finally kicking in.  I have been bloated for 20 years.  I know that sounds crazy, but with all my GI issues, my stomach is always puffy or bloated.  The first time I ever felt not-bloated was when I did the Candida Diet.  It was remarkable.  That day, the bloating went down, I felt better, I lost weight.  My guess is all the water-retention that is caused by inflammation went away that day.  I'll take it!

SO...the "darn it" part is that I am not out of the woods.  I went to JLS' baseball party for an hour last night and ate a sliver of pizza. I mean a SLIVER.  I chewed well, but MAN it tasted good! :)  By bedtime it was the heartburn and pain, resulting in a pain pill (which I haven't taken in days), and up most of the night.  UGH. The pain is always in my lower right quadrant which makes me SO nervous that it is a more permanent stricture that won't be helped by the drugs.

I am getting more energy every day, wearing myself out in a good way.  I have biked to school 3 times now and it feels SO good!  I drop to the floor when I get home, but it's just the push I need to build my endurance.  I am skipping naps, which is actually hard to do.  But by doing that, I am ultimately helping myself sleep better at night....most nights.

Definitely measurable improvements, definitely still a ways to go.  BUT, what an incredible miracle to be sitting here today typing with NO pain in this moment.  A far cry from where I was a month ago.  I actually get teary thinking, "What if?"  Where would I be without these meds?  Would I survive?  It actually really gets me choked up to think about and very appreciative of Humira, whether its my first choice or not.  It's allowing me a quality of life that I was no where close to having 5 weeks ago!

God is good.  ALL the time!